'Friendly' syringe-like germs could help win the fight against antimicrobial resistance

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

For millions of years, microbes have been fighting a war on germs and battling for survival. According to a new study, friendly germs armed with their own poison-filled syringes could help us overcome the antimicrobial resistance crisis.

Researchers at the University of Manchester and University of Basel studied a special bacteria, which have evolved nanoscopic syringes, that inject ‘toxic cocktails’ into rival microorganisms.

The study, published in the journal PNAS, found that the deadly toxins in the syringes – named Type 6 Secretion Systems (T6SSs) – might be highly valuable in limiting antimicrobial resistance.

In both computer simulations and lab experiments, the researchers found that microbes developed resistance to individual T6SS toxins, but that resistance did not occur when the toxins were injected together.