US EditionBacteria Frozen 5,000 Years in Romanian Cave Resists 10 Antibiotics
The Psychrobacter SC65A.3 strain from 5,000-year-old cave ice resists 10 antibiotics and carries 100+ resistance genes, posing risks and offering biotechnological potentials.
- Today the Institute of Biology Bucharest published a Frontiers in Microbiology study documenting Psychrobacter SC65A.3 isolated from 5,000-year-old Scărișoara Ice Cave ice and tested for antibiotic resistance.
- The team drilled a 25-meter ice core from the Great Hall, kept ice fragments sterile, isolated strains in the lab, and sequenced genomes to link genes to cold survival and antimicrobial activity.
- Genomic analysis found over 100 resistance-related genes and almost 600 genes of unknown function, with resistance to ten modern antibiotics including ciprofloxacin, and 1 gene with antimicrobial potential.
- Scientists warned melting ice could release resistance genes into modern bacteria, while researchers say enzymes and antimicrobial compounds offer biotech potential and call for lab safety and further research.
- With warming glaciers and caves, researchers say the findings raise urgent global questions as climate change and thawing frozen environments could reawaken dormant microbes, while antibiotic resistance causes 1.27 million deaths annually, underscoring the need for monitoring ancient genomes and evolutionary insight.
43 Articles
43 Articles
Deeply hidden in the ice, Romanian researchers have discovered an ancient bacterium that has the potential to become a "superbug" – and poses enormous risks.
There are some important nuances.
In a Romanian ice cave, researchers have come across a "super germ" that can cause infections in humans. At the same time, the bacteria are insensitive to several modern antibiotics – that can become dangerous. 5000 years of the bacteria slumbered in the ice before researchers have now brought them to the surface. "The super germ" from the Scarisoara cave in Romania can be brought back to life even after thousands of years – neither scorching he…
In a Romanian ice cave, researchers discover an ancient bacterium that is resistant to many modern antibiotics. However, the pathogen does not only present great dangers for global health, but also new opportunities for medicine.
The ancient ice layer in the Aranyosfői Cave gives researchers a unique opportunity to map the genes of microorganisms adapted to the cold.
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