These bacteria divert fatty acids found in human blood for their own growth, according to the study published in the journal Nature March 5. Bacteria are able to use fatty acids found abundantly in human blood to form their membrane, according to this study. They thus escape the activity of antibiotics supposed to prevent them from making their own fatty acids.
These are the major constituents of the bacterial membrane, they are essential for the cell of the bacterium.
During the work, researchers found that streptococci, a type of bacteria, are unable to grow in conventional culture media when they lack genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis.
However, these streptococci do not exhibit any growth defect in media where human serum supplies the bacterial membrane with essential fatty acids.
The researchers therefore conclude that bacteria use the blood components of the human body and escape the activity of antibiotics, which target the pathway for the biosynthesis of fatty acids.