Microorganisms

The foot of the average human male is host to three million bacteria in each toe web alone (Aly & Maibach, 1977). This comes to roughly 15 million bacteria per foot, 30 million bacteria per person, and that’s merely on the feet. Not only are bacteria ubiquitous, but their affinity for evolution, coupled with speedy replication rates allows bacteria to find their own niches for survival (Brock, Madigan, Martinko, & Parker, 1994).

The term “microbe,” however, encompasses several different types of microorganisms: bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Bacteria are some of the simplest life forms (Brock et al., 1994). They consist of a single cell with a single DNA molecule, and replication occurs through asexual processes where binary fission, an equal division of the bacterial cell, results in the formation of two cells from the splitting of the parent cell. Bacteria reside in soil, water, and animal digestive tracts as well as many other environments. Different types of bacteria use different energy sources for survival.

Bacterial Evolution

Fossil records suggest that bacteria existed over 3.5 billion years ago (Davies, 2003). With what seems like a flawless sense of problem solving, bacteria have managed to develop certain advantages to ensure their own propagation as a species and their own immortality. It’s amazing to note that the more unique the adaptation, the more advantageous it actually becomes. Richard Blackmore (Clement, n.d.) discovered a unique bacteria in 1975. He called them Magnetotactic bacteria. These organisms are capable of using the earth’s electromagnetic field as their guide. They are equipped with an internal guidance system for their navigational needs, which constantly directs them to deep areas of the ocean; therefore, those above the equator always face north and downward and those below always face south and downward. This internal compass provides additional advantage. Magnetotactic bacteria are anaerobic by nature, and their internal magnet draws them to the depths of the ocean where oxygen and competition is low and resources are abundant. Consequently, their magnetic nature provides them with an evolutionary advantage.

Scientists continue to discover similar scenarios. Extreme thermophilic bacteria reside in various hot springs of Yellowstone National Park where no other life forms can survive (Brock et al., 1994). Halophilic bacteria are organisms that require salt for growth and flourish in the hostile waters of both the Dead Sea and the Great Salt Lake coloring the water a pinkish-red (Allred & Baxter, n.d.). Other bacteria that live deep within a South African gold mine near Johannesburg sustain themselves with natural radioactivity within the surrounding rock, and the discovered gold could potentially be a byproduct of their existence (Krajick, 1999). 

Antibacterial Craze and Emerging Resistance

Bacteria can quickly evolve when challenged; it is a continual transformation for survival. Some types of bacteria are also known to be human pathogens (Boyd, 1988). Once these microorganisms have entered the human body, they have the ability to cause a multitude of health problems from small skin lesions to systemic infections. As a result, antibiotics have been developed to combat these disease-causing microorganisms. Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, thousands of antibiotics have been created, and these drugs have been widely used to prevent and cure disease (Boyd, 1988).

For years, extensive antibiotic use was labeled as the main culprit in emerging resistance of bacteria. Organisms will naturally develop resistance over time, but many scientists believe the indiscriminant use of antibiotics has accelerated this trend (Brock et al., 1994). They believe that most pathogenic organisms have developed resistance to at least one or more antibiotics used. As a result, there are many diseases that must rely on new treatments because historical treatment is no longer effective. The development of penicillin resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria that causes gonorrhea, is a classic example (Brock et al., 1994).

Is this why so many people are afraid of a tiny microbe?  As a culture obsessed with sanitation, the United States now has more than 700 antibacterial products available for consumer use (Levy, 2000). The American public is being accosted with ads for soaps, hand lotions, cleansers, dishwashing detergents, toothbrushes containing antibacterial agents, along with the newest gimmick: antibacterial pencils (Adams, 2006). These agents were originally designed to protect vulnerable populations from pathogenic organisms within the home, but with the help of flashy fear-based marketing, the demand for antibacterial products was fostered. Levy (2000) suggests that consumers have contributed to bacterial mutation and their evolution. He reveals that bacteria are indeed acquiring immunity to the most basic household cleaners. Specific genes within four types of E.coli are being altered, and resistance is emerging. Bacteria can be killed with the use of triclosan, the most common antibacterial agent, but the five-second hand washing performed by the average person does not produce an effective kill.

As a result, it is thought that the overuse of antibacterial agents is now contributing to new resistant strains. Weaker bacterial cells succumb to these agents, but stronger cells remain to multiply. This trend of overuse perpetuates the bacterial genetics that allow these bacteria to survive (Brock et al., 1994) The result is creation of stronger strains of bacteria such as community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (cMRSA) (Levy, 2000). This new resistant strain mirrors older resistant strains common in hospitals and known as hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but there are distinct differences in their susceptibility to certain antibiotics. This finding suggests that a link exists between the resistance of community-acquired MRSA and the use of antibacterial products (Levy, 2000).

Throughout the last decade, fungi and viruses have also demonstrated their ability to adapt. The biggest contributing factor is also the overuse of antifungal (Balkis, Leidich, Mukherjee & Ghannoum, 2002) and antiviral agents (MacKenzie, 2004). Doctors are now finding resistance to anti-fungal medications that must be given to HIV patients to prevent opportunistic fungal infections (Balkis et al., 2002). Likewise, with the recent discovery of the bird flu, researchers have determined that this particular virus evolves at an unusually fast rate. In an effort to curb its progression, health officials in China are vaccinating millions of birds, but some fear this will also speed up mutation eventually creating a strain with the ability to pass from person to person (Mackenzie, 2004).

Potential Solutions Against Resistant Strains

In order to slow mutation, people should decrease the use of antibacterial products and medications targeting these microbes. Because microorganisms have become resistant to current antimicrobial agents, new options must be explored. Substances must be available to kill pathogenic microbes in order to protect the vulnerable populations. Are synthetic compounds still the solution or could there be a more natural option? Plants may have the answer. History reveals that plants have once played a pivotal part in human health, and current research indicates that they contain antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties (Ates & Erdogrul, 2003; Dorman & Deans, 2000; Suhr & Nielsen, 2003).