New Nano-Weapon Discovered In Dangerous Bacteria

Opportunistic Threat: Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is an opportunistic bacterium that infects individuals weakened by illnesses like pneumonia or wounds. It can colonize the lungs and cause infections in organs or on the skin, surviving on dry surfaces for up to a month, often found on healthcare workers. Resistant to traditional eradication methods, the World Health Organization has classified A. baumannii as a top-priority critical bacterium due to its danger.

Researchers at Monash University found that A. baumannii’s success likely stems from its ability to outcompete other bacteria. They discovered that it uses a needle-like nano “machine” to inject lethal toxins into nearby bacteria, eliminating them.

Study co-author Brooke Hayes explained that the toxin Tse15 attaches to a needle, stored in a cage within A. baumannii, and is released to kill other bacteria without harming the bacterium itself.

The Injection Process Explained

This process involves interactions between the toxin, the surface of the cage, and the T6SS needle. Once the needle injects the toxin into a competing bacterium, the toxin activates and kills it, allowing A. baumannii to take over that surface.

Now that the researchers have decoded this attack system, they believe they can find ways to fight this bacterium or even recruit it for beneficial purposes. Disabling its weapon system could lead to more efficient methods of killing it, but there is also the potential to engineer the bacterium to inject other toxins into harmful bacteria, turning it into a tool to combat dangerous invaders.

Advancing the Fight Against Superbugs

This breakthrough adds to methods like molecular wedges for antibiotic destruction, mechanical techniques to prevent bacterial evolution, and combined strategies to overwhelm and disable disease-causing bacteria.

Read the original arcle on: New Atlas

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