Bacteria become resistant to antibiotics when "stressed" , as shown by researchers from the University of California in Irvine (United States) and the Paris VII Denis Diderot Faculty of Medicine in Paris (France), in research published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology . In particular, E. coli bacteria grown at high temperatures spontaneously become resistant to rifampin .
As explained by Olivier Tenaillon, co-author of the study, the research reveals that resistance to antibiotics can occur even in the absence of antibiotics, in this case in a stressful situation due to the increase in temperatures. And, depending on the type of bacteria, and the growth conditions, this resistance, "instead of being expensive to maintain, can be highly beneficial."
Considering that rifampicin is used to treat serious bacterial infections such as tuberculosis, leprosy, and Legionnaires' disease , as well as for prophylaxis in meningococcal meningitis, the finding could have important public health implications.
