Bacteria found in Minnesota soil can live on a diet of — antibiotics

File this under “probably not good:” Scientists studying soil samples taken from Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania have discovered a seemingly new kind of bacteria that not only survives but thrives when it is fed a diet of powerful antibiotics. “These bacteria outwit antibiotics in a disturbingly novel way,” writes Lauran NeerGaard of the Associated Press, “and now the race is on to figure out just how they do it – in case more dangerous germs that sicken people could develop the same ability.” The discovery happened inadvertently during a biofuels study commissioned by the Department of Energy.

New Scientist elaborates on the implications of the discovery, published last Friday in the journal Science:

“Though none of the bacteria normally cause human disease, many are close relatives of pathogenic strains. For instance, [the research] team found numerous species of Pseudomonas bacteria, relatives of a microbe that infects people with cystic fibrosis and burns. And two-fifths of the bugs isolated were related to Burkholderia, a pathogen considered a potential bioterror weapon.

The soil bacteria could pass the genes for antibiotic resistance and metabolism onto pathogens, says Church. In unpublished experiments, he found that the bugs can spread drug resistance to harmless lab strains of E. coli.”