Research Breakthrough Could Lead to Treatment of Drug-Resistant Diseases

Daniel Kadouri

RSDM and NJMS researchers Daniel Kadouri and Nancy Connell have found evidence that predatory bacteria can kill pneumonia in a rat animal model. The findings were published last month in mBio, the journal of the American Society for Microbiology, which hailed the discovery as a scientific first.

The research shows that predatory bacteria, which are lethal to microorganisms that cause disease, might have therapeutic uses that could help fight the rise of multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. Past research indicates that predatory bacteria caused no harm to animals used in studies.

For more than a decade, Kadouri has studied two types of bacteria. Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, which penetrates prey and kills from within. Micavibrio aeruginosavorus is a vampirish organism that devours germs from the outside. In addition to eradicating bacteria that cause lung disease and germs that could be found in wounds and burns, the predatory bacteria could prey on food borne pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella.

The research is funded by the U.S. military Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Pathogen Predators program for work that explores alternative methods of fighting infections and disease.