Banding Together

Banding Together

Harmful bacteria join forces.

Antimicrobial treatments—which enlist bacteria-killing bacteria to fight harmful infections—have been hailed as a promising alternative to antibiotics as antibiotic resistance becomes more prevalent worldwide. But new research shows these natural predators are less effective when the species of harmful bacteria they’re attacking are mixed together. Biological sciences grad students Benjamin Wucher and James Winans, with Carey Nadell, assistant prof of biological sciences, found that rival bacteria such as E coli and the bacteria that cause cholera gain protection when they coexist. The antimicrobial killed only an outer layer of the bacterial colony, or biofilm. Meanwhile, the insulated cells continued to multiply. The research appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Nancy Schoeffler