An international team with researchers from Goethe University has discovered gene characteristics that distinguish the hospital germ Acinetobacter baumannii from harmless representatives of its genus.
The bacterium (photo) is resistant to antibiotics and is increasingly causing fatal infections.
Sasha Zoske
Sheet maker in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.
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The bioinformaticians compared groups of neighboring genes from Acinetobacter baumannii with the hereditary characteristics of harmless Acinetobacter species.
They found 150 gene groups that are rarely or not at all found in non-pathogenic relatives.
Among other things, the products of these genes enable the pathogen to form biofilms that protect it.
It can also absorb micronutrients such as iron and zinc more effectively.
In addition, the multi-resistant germs break down the carbohydrate kynurenine formed in the human body and use it to generate energy.
At the same time, they probably weaken their host's defenses, because kynurenine is a messenger substance of the immune system.