Antibiotic development could be revolutionized by a new genetic decoy system according to British scientists.
Scientist from the John Innes Centre stated that they have proven that by taking a short piece of DNA from a bacterium and delivering it within an existing antibiotic they could switch off drug resistance.
"The DNA sequence acts as a decoy, disrupting gene expression and blocking resistance," Michael McArthur of the Norwich-based institute said. "We are putting genetic information directly into drugs."
The scientists have also patented a way of finding decoys in bacteria without knowing the genes involved. This could allow the development of effective new drugs against any bacterium within the next few years. The process would be interesting to pharmaceutical companies as it would allow them to patent existing antibiotics as a new drug when combined with a decoy.
The decoy system is important advancement since illnesses, like MRSA, are highly resistant to most exisiting antibiotic treatments.
[Source: Yahoo News]
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