Gene Discovery May Halt Wheat Epidemic

Stem rust

In a study published by the University of California in Science Daily, a new gene was discovered in a wheat plant that enables resistance to a new strain of stem rust, a type of fungal infection in wheat plants. The strain of stem rust, Ug99, has been infecting wheat plants across Africa and Asia, but has a global impact. A wheat shortage threatens food security worldwide, and with approximately 90% of global wheat plants being susceptible to Ug99, this new fungus is a crisis.

This new gene could provide a new level of protection against this fungus. New strains of wheat plants can be grown next season that are resistant to the fungus, and solving the crisis. Although a new GMO is a great solution to this problem today, like many diseases, a simple mutation in Ug99 could render the resistance gene useless. I think it is great that we are solving these disease problems in our food supply, however when can we begin to find long term solutions that will work regardless of the diseases changing in the future?

Helper Drugs to Fight Antibiotic Resistance

Image: CDC

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (St. Kitts) found specific genes that led to antibiotic resistance in two superbugs. This discovery is pertinent to antibiotic resistance as it is a growing problem and can increase the risk of contracting severe infections in those with weakened immune systems (i.e. cancer patients). Scientists focused on two priority 1 pathogens: E. coli and K. pneumoniae. K. pneumoniae. Using latest genomic technology, they were able to identify genes that contain antibiotic bacteria and were able to use these genes to identify new helper drugs to combat resistance. They hope that a combination of colistin and an anti-fungal drug will disrupt resistance in the genes. 

I thought this was interesting since it's expected that the death toll of antibacterial resistance will overtake that of cancer by 2050. It's definitely important that we find a way to combat resistance before the problem gets worse. 

A Post-Antimicrobial Era

With the ever-rising misuse of antibiotics, bacterial strains are acquiring antibiotic resistant genes and becoming superbugs.  Horizontal gene transfer allows the resistant alleles to be spread in the bacteria, increasing the spread and emergence of antibiotic resistance.  Some strains of bacteria are actually accumulating resistance to a wide range of antibiotic medications.

Bacteria have short generation times, resulting in the increase of their population sizes.  Humans are promoting antibiotic resistance in multiple ways such as; not finishing their prescriptions, taking other people's prescriptions, and using antibiotics in agricultural settings.  We could be entering a post-antimicrobial era as a result of selection pressures that humans are creating for bacteria.  I think that people need to be educated and reminded that misusing antibiotics will eventually lead to a time when infections will be untreatable.  The only way we can slow down the increase the spread of resistance genes is to reduce the selection pressures that bacteria are being exposed to.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160411124713.htm

http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/27/Supplement_1/S12.full.pdf+html

Cigarette Smoke makes Superbug Invincible?

 

 

It was already known that Cigarettes are bad for you, but people really don't care so they never listen. Little did they know that it coats superbugs in particular MRSA. Crotty Alexander and her team tested out whether or not cigarette smoke causes MRSA to become more resistant. They found out that the smoke does make MRSA harder to kill and the more smoke it was exposed to the harder it got to kill it.

 

The team also discovered that smoke-exposed MRSA were more resistant to killing by antimicrobial peptides, small protein pieces the immune system uses to poke holes in bacterial cells and trigger inflammation. The smoke also made MRSA better at sticking to and invading human cells.

 

This is a very serious issue and people that smoke need to be aware of this. Because what's going to stop the superbug from spreading to others. And medicine won't work because it repels almost everything.

 

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150402174345.htm