Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Isolation and Identification of Waterborne Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Molecular Characterization of their Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Published on: March 3, 2023
Engineered toxin-intein antimicrobials can selectively target and kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria in mixed
Rocío López-Igual1,2,3, Joaquín Bernal-Bayard4, Alfonso Rodríguez-Patón5
1Unité de Plasticité du Génome Bactérie, Département Génomes et Génétique, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Abstract:
Targeted killing of pathogenic bacteria without harming beneficial members of host microbiota holds promise as a strategy to cure disease and limit both antimicrobial-related dysbiosis and development of antimicrobial resistance. We engineer toxins that are split by inteins and deliver them by conjugation into a mixed population of bacteria. Our toxin-intein antimicrobial is only activated in bacteria that harbor specific transcription factors. We apply our antimicrobial to specifically target and kill antibiotic-resistant Vibrio cholerae present in mixed populations. We find that 100% of antibiotic-resistant V. cholerae receiving the plasmid are killed. Escape mutants were extremely rare (10-6-10-8). We show that conjugation and specific killing of targeted bacteria occurs in the microbiota of zebrafish and crustacean larvae, which are natural hosts for Vibrio spp. Toxins split with inteins could form the basis of precision antimicrobials to target pathogens that are antibiotic resistant.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Antibiotic Selection
Development of Antibiotic Resistance
Conservation of Small Populations
Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
Antimicrobial Effectiveness
What is Population Genetics?

