Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Killing Resistance
28 April 2015

Killing Resistance

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium commonly found in people’s noses and on their skin. Usually living harmlessly with us (commensal), this organism can cause infections if it enters the body by a cut in the skin, and has rapidly developed resistance to antibiotics. The development of antibacterial enzymes could be an alternative approach to targeting antibiotic-resistant S. aureus. Studies have looked into cloning S. aureus’ own enzymes – autolysins – used in building the cell wall, and genetically engineering them to kill S. aureus. Another option are human lysozymes – antibacterial proteins that protects us from invading microorganisms. Some bacteria (black clusters in cells pictured) safeguard themselves by releasing proteins that bind to lysozymes, inactivating them. By redesigning lysozymes to deceive these proteins, lysozymes can target and kill (stained fluorescent yellow/orange) bacterial pathogens. These new, hopeful antibacterial drug possibilities pave the way for more therapeutic and effective strategies to tackle bacterial resistance.

Written by Katie Panteli

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.