WASHINGTON, March 31 (Xinhua) -- American scientists found an untapped antibiotic candidate in the protective slime that coats young fish.
The study presented on Sunday at the American Chemical Society's spring meeting showed that the viscous substance could protect fish from bacteria, fungi, and viruses in their environment, trapping the microbes before they can cause infections.
They identified bacteria in the mucus with promising antibiotic activity against known pathogens even dangerous multidrug-resistant organisms, providing a potential option as current antibiotics dwindle in effectiveness.
The scientists examined juvenile deep-sea and surface-dwelling fish caught off the Southern California coast because they have a less-developed immune system and more mucus on the outside of their scales that could contain a greater concentration of active bacteria than adult fish.
They isolated and screened 47 different strains of bacteria from the slime. Five bacterial extracts strongly inhibited MRSA, a bacterium that is resistant to most antibiotics, and three inhibited a fungus pathogenic to humans.
The study of fish mucus could also help reduce the use of antibiotics in fish farming by leading to better antibiotics specifically targeted to the microbes clinging to certain types of fish, according to the study.
