Scientists Never Stop Searching For Solutions To Human Life. The land of Cerro Chajnantor mountain in Chile, in the Atacama Desert, which is one of the highest and driest places on Earth, stores microorganisms with the potential to treat HIV and overcome the world antibiotic time bombs. This is revealed by research Newcastle University, England.
This microbial seed bank represents an enormous untapped resource for biotechnology programmes; especially in an era where resistance to existing antibiotics is rapidly becoming a major threat to global health. The discovery of new bacteria could potentially be used to create new treatments as work continues to tackle the antibiotics time-bomb. [1]
Professor Michael Goodfellow, Senior Research Investigator, Dr Roy Sanderson, Lecturer in Biological Modelling at Newcastle University and Dr Hamidah Idris, a former PhD student under their supervision, have explained these exciting findings from soil samples taken from heights of 3,000 to 5,000 metres above sea level. [2]
They has described interesting findings from soil samples taken from a height of 3,000 to 5,000 meters above the sea level.
The Atacama desert is the most extreme non-polar biome on Earth that is considered to represent the dry span of life and is thought to be similar to that on Mars.
In this case, the researchers focus on actinobacteria because of the key species in our ecosystem and are also recognized as an unrivalled source of bioactive compounds.
This study focused on actinobacteria because they are keystone species in terrestrial ecosystems and are acknowledged as an unrivalled source of bioactive compounds. Metagenomic analyses of hyper-arid and extreme hyper-arid soils in this desert revealed a remarkable degree of actinobacterial ‘dark matter’, evidenced by a detected increase of 34% in families against those that are validly published. Rank-abundance analyses indicated that these soils were high-diversity habitats and that the great majority of designated ‘rare’ general (up to 60% of all phylotypes) were always rare. [3]
The researchers found that this landscape is a remarkable warehouse for actinobacterial 'dark matter' comprising most of the microbes that microbiologists today cannot develop.
It is interesting that there is a lot of 'dark matter' in the Atacama Desert Land, although to date it is considered to have no life.
Analyzes done by the researchers, they found that about 40 percent of the actinobacteria captured in the sample could not be named as one has never been found before.
These microbial seed banks are an enormous source of biotechnology programs, especially in an era where resistance to existing antibiotics is rapidly becoming a major threat to global health.
According to the researchers, soils analysis from the Cerro Chajnantor mountain landscape of Chile within the Atacama Desert revealed an extraordinary repository for actinobacterial 'dark matter' - which comprises the vast majority of microbes that microbiologists are currently unable to cultivate. [4]
The discovery of new bacteria is potentially used to create new treatments to overcome antibiotic time bombs.It is also very important that one strain of bacteria found proved to be an enzyme inhibitor that allowed the HIV virus to multiply on its own.
This can provide important clues for the development of anti-HIV drugs.
Analysis of soils
A soil analysis of the Atacama Desert, Chile, one of two coastal deserts in the world has uncovered the treasure of bacteria potentially fighting this deadly disease. This finding is an international project conducted by several universities in the world.
Analysis of soils from the Cerro Chajnantor mountain landscape of Chile within the Atacama Desert, one of only two coastal deserts in the world, has revealed a treasure trove of bacteria with the potential to fight disease. [5]
The researchers managed to find a bacteria healer of HIV-AIDS disease in soil samples taken at an altitude of 3,000 to 5,000 meters above sea level.
It is important to know, one part of this bacteria proven to inhibit enzymes that allow the HIV virus to multiply. This is an important clue for health experts to develop the latest drug from this desert land to cure HIV-AIDS.
REFERENCE
EndNote:
1. Biotechnology programmes source
2. Dr Roy Sanderson source
3. Actinobacteria source
4. New-organisms-discovered-from-atacama-desert-in-chile-may-
combat-hivaids-fight-drug-resistance source
5. Analysis of soils source
