Utoo Radio with Other News Sources - August 29, 2024 - Researchers have discovered that Arctic Ocean microbes called actinobacteria can produce substances that stop harmful bacteria from growing and causing disease.

Around 70% of existing antibiotics were found in actinobacteria, which live in soil on land. However, bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics, making new drugs urgently needed.

Researchers analyzed hundreds of unknown compounds extracted from actinobacteria living inside invertebrates during an expedition to the Arctic Ocean in 2020.

They tested how the compounds affected a pathogenic type of E. coli called enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), which infect intestinal cells and cause severe diarrhea, particularly in children.

Two compounds had particularly strong antibacterial properties: one from a strain of actinobacteria from the Rhodococcus genus and another from a strain belonging to the Kocuria genus. However, more work is needed before either compound could be brought to market.