SPECIAL FEATURE
ASIA’S RACE TO OUTSMART ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE Asia Research News surveyed institutions in Asia to learn about their latest contributions to antimicrobial resistance research. Credit: 123rf | efks
From investigating predator bacteria and studying organisms at the molecular level, to understanding host responses and looking for effective new drugs, scientists in Asia are making big strides.
Korea Working just south of Seoul, Soojin Jang is the group leader of Institut Pasteur Korea’s Antibacterial Resistance Research Laboratory. She is leading her team’s efforts to study bacterial physiology and resistance mechanisms. Their aim is to use this knowledge to develop new screening systems for identifying small molecules and natural compounds that can be used against drug-resistant organisms.
Further southeast, Robert Mitchell is studying a type of bacteria that destroys other organisms. A biological scientist at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in Korea, he and his colleagues have found that these ‘predatory bacteria’ not only kill other pathogens, but can also remove their DNA, including their antibiotic resistance genes. In his most recent study, Mitchell found that the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio baceriovorus HD100 was active against two groups of antimicrobial resistant pathogens under simulated microgravity conditions. The findings illustrate its potential for treating biofilm-covered surfaces in spacecrafts. Asia Research News covered their previous work in 2017.
Japan At Kyoto University in Japan, structural biologist So Iwata has been using X-ray protein crystallography to investigate how specialized membrane channels, called transporters, remove antimicrobial drugs from inside bacterial cells, saving them from their deadly effects. “We found that these nanoscale molecular machines change their shapes to pump antibiotics out of the bacteria,” he explains. Osaka Metropolitan University dermatologist Toshiyuki Ozawa has been looking into photodynamic therapy. His team uses a light-sensitive substance which reacts with a certain wavelength of light to produce reactive oxygen that selectively kills malignant tumours and bacteria. Unlike antibiotics, the therapy does not produce drug resistant bacteria.
ASIA RESEA RC H NE WS
Bacteria, including drug-resistant ones, have been found growing as biofilms on some surfaces in the International Space Station.
2022
Credit: 123rf | 3dsculptor Credit: 123rf | drmicrobe
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