Ancient Bacteria in Romanian Cave Resist 10 Antibiotics

Scientists from the Romanian Academy of Sciences have uncovered a strain of bacteria preserved in a 5,000-year-old ice layer within Romania's Scarisoara Ice Cave that resists 10 modern antibiotics commonly used to treat serious infections. The discovery, detailed in a study published this week in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, highlights both the risks and opportunities posed by ancient microbes in a warming world.

The bacterial strain, identified as Psychrobacter SC65A.3, belongs to a genus known for its adaptation to cold environments and its potential to cause infections in humans and animals. Researchers, led by Dr. Cristina Purcarea, a senior scientist at the Institute of Biology Bucharest, extracted samples from the cave's Great Hall, a vast underground chamber in the Apuseni Mountains. They drilled a 25-meter ice core spanning a 13,000-year timeline, carefully transporting frozen fragments in sterile bags to a laboratory for analysis. There, the team isolated bacterial strains, sequenced their genomes, and tested them against 28 antibiotics from 10 classes routinely prescribed for bacterial infections.

The results showed Psychrobacter SC65A.3 resistant to all 10...