New method based on mRNA sequencing may be helpful to tackle antibiotic resistance

3N Bio is a company that Dr Pelechano and some of his colleagues have started up in the KI Innovations incubator to develop the method and create a rapid molecular test for clinical use. They have now received financing from the Swedish Research Council to demonstrate proof of concept for such a test in collaboration with the Karolinska University Hospital.

“It’s crucial that doctors can quickly find the right antibiotics for seriously ill patients with bacterial infections to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics,” says Dr Pelechano. “Current methods of testing antibiotic resistance can take hours or even days, but often treatment needs to be given more promptly than that to avoid serious consequences for the patient. Because of this, a broad-spectrum antibiotic is often prescribed, which increases the risk of resistance.”

Examine how bacteria interact

Apart from measuring antibiotic resistance, the method can help researchers understand how bacteria handle stress and interact with each other and their hosts. The researchers will continue to study complex gut samples to examine how the bacterial communities interact in our gut and contribute to health and disease.

Reference:

Huch, S., Nersisyan, L., Ropat, M. et al. Atlas of mRNA translation and decay for bacteria. Nat Microbiol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01393-z.