Context:

• A novel species of a bacterium that produces antibiotic has been discovered by a professor in the University of Hyderabad (UoH) and his researchers.

About the Study:

• Found in the Buffalo Lake on the UoH campus, the newly discovered bacterium, Planctopirus hydrillae, may provide a solution to the problem of diseases becoming resistant to a majority of known drugs.
• The new bacteria would also clean up ammonia waste, a growing environmental concern, it said.
• Scientists have been striving hard to find drugs to overcome the challenge of antimicrobial resistance in the wake of disease-causing germs failing to respond to even the most potent antibiotics, the varsity said.
• In this scenario, the discovery of antibiotic- producing Planctomycete may help in the development of a new drug. The bacterium was isolated from aquatic plant Hydrilla.
• The new species reported by the researchers is a very uncommon bacterium belonging to the phylum Planctomycetes and was isolated from the university campus.
• This is the first report of an antibiotic producing bacterium from the phylum Planctomycetes. Cultivating the bacteria of this phylum is extremely difficult. And we are the first group from India to develop the art of cultivating these bacteria which are very useful even for environmental issues particularly for the treatment of ammonia waste.
• The bacteria are called as “Anamox (Anaerobic ammonia oxidising) bacteria.

Source:TH