Antarctic sea sponge could be key to fighting MRSA

TAMPA (FOX 13) - A chemical isolated from an aquatic sponge brought back from Antarctica shows promise in fighting anti-biotic resistant Staphylococcal infections, called MRSA.

University of South Florida researchers have been searching the Antarctic since the 1990s. They said, because of the extreme conditions in the area, the creatures living there have developed unique protective mechanisms to keep predators, or the environment, from wiping them out.

In 2011, USF chemistry professor Bill Baker brought back a sponge called Dendrilla Membranosa. USF microbiologist Dr. Lindsey Shaw and his team created an extract from the sponge. They tested it against the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) bacteria in two ways. 

In the first test, they looked at the bacteria's response to the extract. Dr. Bill Baker said those results were disappointing.

They later found it showed promise, not against the MRSA bacteria, but against something called a bio-film. 

Dr. Shaw explained, "Biofilm is probably the natural way bacteria grow in the wild and in human beings. They get together in these little groups, and then they put on a protective coat of proteins, and DNA, and sugars. And so, this particular protective coat just stops the immune system, and drugs killing them, and so they've got this natural way to avoid killing by almost anything. So it's the way they like to live. It's cozy, it's protective, and you can't get rid of them."      

Initially, the team wasn't very impressed with the extract's performance against the bacteria. 

Then, Dr. Baker said, they realized how well it worked against the MRSA biofilm.

"That was really the ‘eureka’ moment with this. ‘Wow, this thing is four times more potent against the biofilm than it is the free-living form,’ and that was really exciting, just to notice that," Dr. Baker said.

The team is calling the discovery ‘Darwinolide’ and said they will need five or six years to approach clinical trials.