A group of researchers was able to find a superbug in a cave at a depth of 300 meters, which has shown resistance to 70% of modern antibiotics. This microorganism has remained isolated from humanity for 4 million years.
The old bacterium is said to render some of the most effective drugs available in modern medicine completely inactive. The internal defense mechanism of this bacterium is millions of years old. This mechanism evolved under the influence of a chemical environment in which other bacteria fight for nutrients. The study refutes the theory that bacteria can develop resistance to antibiotics only after exposure to them.
According to scientists from Ohio University, who were involved in the search for this bacterium, the findings suggest that antibiotic resistance is not born only in hospital settings. By itself, antibiotic resistance in bacteria may be a consequence of evolution. A unique bacterium was found at the bottom of the Lechuguilla Cave, located in the US state of New Mexico. This is one of the most unfriendly places on our planet and the deepest cave in the United States. It is so deep that the sun never looks there. And water takes about 10,000 years to seep from the surface to the bottom of the cave.
These incredibly difficult living conditions lead to a fierce war between colonies of bacteria that fight for precious resources. It is during this war that the natural resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, on which humanity is pinning such hopes, is being developed. (