18 October 2016
Milk from Tasmanian devils could
offer up a useful weapon against antibiotic-resistant superbugs, according to
Australian researchers.
The marsupial's milk contains
important peptides that appear to be able to kill hard-to-treat infections,
including MRSA, say the Sydney University team.
Experts believe devils evolved
this cocktail to help their young grow stronger.
The scientists are looking to
make new treatments that mimic the peptides.
They have scanned the devil's
genetic code to find and recreate the infection-fighting compounds, called
cathelicidins.
PhD student Emma Peel, who worked
on the research which is published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, said
they had found six important peptides.
These appear to be similar to
peptides in the milk of other marsupials, which means these animals are worth
studying too.
"Tammar wallabies have eight
of these peptides and opossums have 12," she said, adding that studies
into koala's milk had now started.
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