Antibiotic substances are produced by a variety of organisms
throughout nature. As I described in my ABJ article ("The Red Queen's
Army") the battle between organisms is ongoing and endless, hence we
should not even expect a single antibiotic or pesticide to work
"forever". The development of resistance by organisms to *each other*
is not new, had been going on for a couple of billion years, is called
evolution.

So, the problem of resistance is a double edged sword. The
introduction of novel antibiotics can lead to bacterial and viral
resistance to those substances. However, the opposite is not
necessarily true: organisms may fail to produce needed defenses on
their own and simply fail and die out. The survival of no species is
assured; what is assured is that microscopic pathogens get better at
killing more quickly than their hosts.

Enhancement of host defenses may be the path to be on in the future.
Apparently bee venom is very effective against a wide variety of
microbes, and has been used against Lyme Disease, MS, and
fibromyalgia. Maybe we could breed bees with more and stronger venom,
which could lead to healthier colonies. Perhaps their is a direct link
between colony defensiveness and colony health?

* * *

Animal peptide antibiotics are widespread in nature,
occurring in mammals, amphibians and insects.

These peptides are major constituents of the innate immune
system for non-specific defence of the host against microbial
parasites. They can be rapidly activated after injury or invasion
of the host by microbial agents, combating parasitic growth
immediately after infection. Antimicrobial peptides thus provide
an important defence mechanism in lower animals and the
first line of host defence during the time required for
mobilization of specific immunity in vertebrates.

Amphipathic cationic peptides are a major group of
antimicrobial peptides and can be divided into four classes
according to their structure. Genes for peptides belonging to
the a-helix class have been identified in, for example, moths
and mammals (cecropins), frogs (magainin) and honey bees
(melittin).

--
Antimicrobial peptides melittin and cecropin inhibit replication
of human immunodeficiency virus 1 by suppressing viral gene
expression

-- 
Peter L Borst
Danby, NY  USA
42.35, -76.50
http://picasaweb.google.com/peterlborst

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