Overview
- Scientists revived Psychrobacter sp. SC65A.3 from a deep Scarisoara Ice Cave core in Romania, with the sampled layer dated to roughly 5,000 years.
- Tests showed resistance to 10 of 28 modern drugs, including rifampicin, vancomycin and ciprofloxacin, and genome sequencing identified more than 100 resistance-related genes.
- The isolate inhibited 14 clinically relevant pathogens in laboratory assays, with reported effects against MRSA, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella and Enterobacter strains.
- The study, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, also flagged 11 genes potentially linked to antimicrobial compound production alongside nearly 600 genes of unknown function.
- The team urges strict biosafety and targeted follow-up to isolate and characterize active molecules and to evaluate gene-transfer risks as glaciers and permafrost thaw.