MRSA can grow and divide in the presence of antibiotics, according to research from University of Sheffield and UCD. The findings published in Science pave the way for new approaches to control infectious disease.

 

MRSA is an antimicrobial resistance superbug that causes over 120,000 deaths per year. Given the urgent need for new, more effective antibiotics and a lack of MRSA vaccines, understanding and combating the superbug is crucial.

 

The study reveals MRSA has a double defence mechanism against antibiotics. Dr Rebecca Corrigan, assistant professor at UCD School of Medicine and author on the paper said: “This discovery is important because it helps us to understand how bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment. It is only through understanding this that we can develop new ways to treat MRSA infections in our efforts to tackle the antimicrobial resistance crisis.” 

 

Bacteria, such as MRSA, have mesh like-cell walls around them that require enzymes to knit them together. The enzymes are the targets for antibiotics such as penicillin and methicillin. This type of antibiotic has saved millions of lives over the decades. 

 

It has been known for many years that in order to be resistant, MRSA has acquired a new cell wall enzyme that allows it to survive exposure to antibiotics. However, the researchers have found that this alone is insufficient for survival.

 

Their study shows MRSA has also evolved an alternative division mechanism that allows it to replicate in the presence of antibiotics.

 

This previously unknown mechanism is essential for MRSA resistance. By understanding the details of this process, researchers are working towards developing inhibitors that can target MRSA’s novel survival strategy.