• Komodo dragons have at least 57 types of bacteria in saliva, but appear resistant
  • Researchers incubated Komodo dragon blood, revealing antimicrobial activity 
  • Discovery could help develop new drugs to fight antibiotic-resistant superbugs


By Cheyenne Macdonald For Dailymail.com

Published: 22 February 2017

They’re the largest lizards in the world, with deadly saliva that’s loaded with at least 57 species of bacteria to bring down their prey.

And, according to new research, the blood of Komodo dragons could be the key to developing new drugs in the fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

The team used a method known as ‘bioprospecting,’ revealing antimicrobial protein fragments in their blood that protects them against infections. 

They’re the largest lizards in the world, with deadly saliva that’s loaded with at least 57 species of bacteria to bring down their prey. And, according to new research, the blood of Komodo dragons could be the key to developing new drugs to fight antibiotic-resistant superbugs

They’re the largest lizards in the world, with deadly saliva that’s loaded with at least 57 species of bacteria to bring down their prey. And, according to new research, the blood of Komodo dragons could be the key to developing new drugs to fight antibiotic-resistant superbugs

THE GROWING THREAT OF SUPERBUGS  

Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change to 'outsmart' or resist antibiotic medicine, making it close to impossible to treat the infection.
The bacterium that carries resistance genes to many different antibiotics is called a superbug.

Most of these infections occur in hospitals or in medical care facilities, such as nursing homes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that more than two million people are infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria every year.

More than 23,000 people die from these infections each year.

Experts say that if the epidemic is not brought under control, superbugs may kill more people than cancer by the year 2050.

In the study, researchers from the College of Science at George Mason University investigated whether they could isolate substances known as cationic antimicrobial peptides from Komodo dragon blood – massive lizards the dwell on five small islands in Indonesia.

These CAMP substances are an essential part of the innate immune system, and the team had previously done this with alligator blood.

In a technique called bioprospecting, they incubated the Komodo dragon blood with negatively charged hydrogel particles that they developed to capture the positively charged peptides.

This allowed the researchers to identify and sequence 48 potential CAMPS with mass spectrometry.

All of these, except for one, was derived from histone proteins.

These types of proteins are known to have antimicrobial activities.

The researchers then synthesized eight and tested them against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.

The antibiotic resistant strain of S. Aureus (MRSA) is a growing problem worldwide.

The analysis revealed that seven of the peptides from the Komodo dragon blood were potent against both of the bacteria.

The eighth peptide was only effective against P. aeruginosa.

The researchers then synthesized eight and tested them against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The antibiotic resistant strain of S. Aureus (MRSA) is a growing problem worldwide

The researchers then synthesized eight and tested them against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The antibiotic resistant strain of S. Aureus (MRSA) is a growing problem worldwide

It’s thought that the bacteria in Komodo dragons’ saliva helps them to kill their prey.
But, the dragons themselves appear to be resistant.

According to the new research, serum derived from the animals may have antibacterial abilities as well.

This could pave the way for new therapeutics to treat antibiotic resistant bacteria.

‘The study demonstrates the power and promise of our bioprospecting approach to cationic antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) discovery and it reveals the presence of a plethora of novel h

‘These findings may have broader implications regarding the role that intact histones and histone-derived peptides play in defending the host from infection.’