Battling Bacteria

The might of the Roman Empire is embodied in their legions; they succeeded in battle by hunkering down, raising their shields and forming an impenetrable barrier. Sticking together is a proven defence at the microscopic level too. When bacteria close ranks to form a biofilm they’re harder to treat with antibiotics. One kind capable of this manoeuvre is MRSA. Searching for antibiotics to prevent MRSA biofilms, researchers turned to ceftaroline. At high enough doses it was successful against a variety of MRSA strains, causing the bacteria to become fatally deformed, as captured here using scanning electron microscopy. However at low doses it actually encouraged biofilm formation in some strains. Such low doses can occur at the start and end of a treatment regime. It’s therefore vital to keep ceftaroline levels up if it’ s to stand a chance in the battle against MRSA.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Image from work by María Lázaro-Díez and Sara Remuzgo-Martínez, and colleagues
• Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla and Instituto de Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla (IDIVAL), Santander, Cantabria, Spain
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS ONE, January 2016