Date: February 22, 2017
Source: American Chemical Society
In a land where survival is
precarious, Komodo dragons thrive despite being exposed to scads of bacteria
that would kill less hardy creatures. Now in a study published in the Journal
of Proteome Research, scientists report that they have detected antimicrobial
protein fragments in the lizard's blood that appear to help them resist deadly
infections. The discovery could lead to the development of new drugs capable of
combating bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics.
The world's largest lizard,
Komodo dragons live on five small islands in Indonesia. The saliva of these
creatures contains at least 57 species of bacteria, which are believed to
contribute to the demise of their prey. Yet, the Komodo dragon appears
resistant to these bacteria, and serum from these animals has been shown to
have antibacterial activity. Substances known as cationic antimicrobial
peptides (CAMPs) are produced by nearly all living creatures and are an
essential part of the innate immune system. So, Barney Bishop, Monique van Hoek
and colleagues at the College of Science at George Mason University wondered
whether they could isolate CAMPs from Komodo dragon blood, as they previously
had done with alligator blood to expand the library of known CAMPs for
therapeutic studies.
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