Tiny freshwater animals steal antibiotics from bacteria to protect themselves

Recent research by a team from the University of Oxford, the University of Stirling, and the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, reveals that a group of small, freshwater animals protect themselves from infections using antibiotic recipes “stolen” from bacteria.

The tiny creatures are called bdelloid rotifers, also known as ‘crawling wheel-animals,’ which possess typical animal features such as a head, mouth, gut, muscles, and nerves, despite being smaller than a hair‘s breadth.

Upon exposure to fungal infections, the study discovered that these tiny creatures activate hundreds of genes acquired from bacteria and other microbes. Some of these genes are responsible for producing defense mechanisms, including antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents, within the rotifers.

“When we translated the DNA code to see what the stolen genes were doing, we had a surprise,” said lead study author Chris Wilson of the University of Oxford. “The main genes were instructions for chemicals that we didn’t think animals could make — they looked like recipes for antibiotics.”

The previous studies revealed that rotifers have been acquiring DNA from their environment for millions of years. However, the new research is the initial one to observe their utilization of these genes in combating diseases. No other creatures are documented to acquire genes from microorganisms to this extent.

“These complex genes – some of which aren’t found in any other animals – were acquired from bacteria but have undergone evolution in rotifers,” said study co-author David Mark Welch, senior scientist and director of the Josephine Bay Paul Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory. “This raises the potential that rotifers are producing novel antimicrobials that may be less toxic to animals, including humans, than those we develop from bacteria and fungi.”

Bdelloid rotifers, about a hair’s width in size, are the only animals known to acquire a large number of genes from their environment (from bacteria, even plants). Credit: C.G. Wilson

Antibiotics are crucial for modern healthcare, playing a vital role in treating infections. Interestingly, many antibiotics are not man-made but are naturally produced by fungi and bacteria. A recent study has shed light on rotifers, tiny organisms that seem to have adopted a similar strategy. These creatures have acquired genes from microbes that enable them to produce antibiotics, which they use to fight off fungal infections.

The researchers believe that studying rotifers could provide valuable insights for developing new drugs to combat human infections caused by bacteria or fungi. Given the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, as highlighted by the World Health Organization, this research could pave the way for much-needed solutions in the ongoing battle against resistant microbes.

“The recipes the rotifers are using look different from known genes in microbes,” said study author Reuben Nowell of the University of Stirling. “They’re just as long and complicated, but parts of the DNA code have changed. We think the recipe has been altered by a process of evolution to make new and different chemicals in the rotifers. That’s exciting because it might suggest ideas for future medicines.”

This rotifer has just survived a life-threatening infection. When a fungal disease attacked, she switched on hundreds of genes that her ancestors copied from microbes, including antibiotic recipes stolen from bacteria. Credit: C.G. Wilson, 2019

The genes that the rotifers obtained from bacteria contain a unique type of enzymes that construct amino acids into non-ribosomal peptides.

“The next phase of this research should involve identification of multiple non-ribosomally synthesized peptides produced by bdelloid rotifers, and establishment of the conditions upon which the synthesis of these compounds can be induced,” said study co-author Irina Arkhipova, senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory.

One of the challenges in drug development is that many antibiotic substances produced by bacteria and fungi are toxic or have negative effects on animals. Only a small number of these can be developed into treatments that effectively eradicate harmful microbes from the human body.

If rotifers are already producing similar substances in their own cells, they could pave the way for the development of drugs that are safer for use in other animals, including humans.

Rotifers are unique in their ability to acquire and utilize useful genes from microbes at high rates. This phenomenon may be linked to the fact that rotifers reproduce asexually, producing genetic copies of themselves without the need for sex or fertilization. This lack of genetic variation could make them more susceptible to health issues, as any disease affecting one individual could spread to the entire population.

Unlike sexually reproducing animals, rotifers do not have the opportunity for their parental genes to recombine in beneficial ways. As a result, the mother’s genome is directly passed on to her offspring without introducing new variation.

“If rotifers don’t find a way to change their genes, they could go extinct. This might help explain why these rotifers have borrowed so many genes from other places, especially anything that helps them cope with infections,” said Barraclough.

Nowell thinks there is much more to learn from rotifers and their stolen DNA: “The rotifers were using hundreds of genes that aren’t seen in other animals. The antibiotic recipes are exciting, and some other genes even look like they’ve been taken from plants. The findings are part of a growing story about how and why genes get moved between different kinds of life,” he said.

Journal reference:

Reuben W. Nowell, Fernando Rodriguez, Bette J. Hecox-Lea, David B. Mark Welch, Irina R. Arkhipova, Timothy G. Barraclough & Christopher G. Wilson. Bdelloid rotifers deploy horizontally acquired biosynthetic genes against a fungal pathogen. Nature Communications, 2024; DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49919-1

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