Newly Discovered Antimicrobial Could Prevent or Treat Cholera

September 11, 2024 • by Marc Airhart

Natural antimicrobials called microcins are produced by bacteria in the gut and show promise in fighting infection.

There are two images side-by-side. In the image on the left, a dark ring separates a blue disk in the middle from a field of grey surrounding the disk. The image on the right is similar, except there is no dark ring.

On the left, a Vibrio cholerae strain that produces the antimicrobial MvcC (center) outcompetes a surrounding V. cholerae strain that does not produce an antidote to the antimicrobial. This creates a zone of exclusion between the two strains (dark ring). On the right, neither strain produces an antimicrobial and so neither has a competitive advantage. Credit: Bryan Davies/University of Texas at Austin.


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