DZIF makes resistant bacterial strains from the WHO pathogen list available for international antibiotics research
Dr Sabine Gronow, biochemist and curator of the collection Pathogenic Bacteria at the Leibniz Institute DSMZ (left) and DZIF scientist Dr Birte Abt, microbiologist and curator of the Pathogen Repository of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF).
According to estimates, 4.95 million deaths worldwide in 2019 were directly or indirectly attributable to infections with resistant bacteria. The rising number of resistant bacterial pathogens, also known as the "creeping pandemic", is increasingly limiting treatment options for infected people and, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), poses the greatest global threat to humanity. In order to focus research and development of new antimicrobial agents on the groups of bacteria for which new antibiotics are most urgently needed, the WHO has drawn up a prioritised list of pathogens, which was only recently updated (May 2024). Seventeen bacterial strains from this list have now been made available for research from the collections of the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ)—in particular from the pathogen repository of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF).
The Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (DSMZ) in Braunschweig, a member institution of the DZIF, has a large collection of microorganisms. This collection is supplemented by the DZIF pathogen repository located at the DSMZ. Both collections contain a large number of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacterial strains.
The DSMZ has now made 17 resistant bacterial strains on the WHO list of antibiotic-resistant priority pathogens—about half of the strains come from the DZIF pathogen repository—available to the global research community, along with resistance profiles and other important data. A further 11 strains will be added soon. The bacterial strains are isolates from patients—the very resistant strains for which therapies are urgently needed.
"The DZIF's clinical network and the DZIF pathogen repository in particular provide the capacity to continuously add new clinical isolates and thus map current resistance developments," emphasises Dr Birte Abt, microbiologist and manager of the DZIF pathogen repository at the DSMZ.
"Secondly, and very importantly, the operation and expansion of the pathogen repository helps to establish and reinforce contact with clinics and the willingness of doctors to participate in public biobanking. In many cases, the DZIF and its clinical member institutions give us access to interesting strains, e.g. from the DZIF Transplant Cohort," adds Abt.
The DZIF pathogen repository comprises over 3,000 strains of microbial pathogens. By storing the repository at the Leibniz Institute DSMZ, the DZIF benefits from the institute's modern infrastructure and its many years of experience and expertise in long-term preservation, especially of challenging organisms. Together with other biobanks and biosample collections in the DZIF network, the DZIF pathogen repository is part of the DZIF infrastructure Bioresources, Biodata and Digital Health.
Further information on the provision of the antibiotic resistant bacterial strains for research can be found in the DSMZ press release.