Context
Recently, some scientists have started on the road to creating ‘mirror microbes’, synthetic bacteria whose building blocks are mirror-images of their natural counterparts
About Mirror Microbes
- Synthetic bacteria whose building blocks are enantiomers (opposite handedness) of the natural components used in biological organisms.
- Essentially, these microbes would be the “mirror image” of naturally occurring life forms.
- Chirality: Molecules or objects that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other, like left and right hands.
- In biology, certain molecules (e.g., amino acids, DNA) are chiral, meaning their right-handed and left-handed forms are different and can have distinct properties.
In the human body, the amino acids used to build proteins are all left-handed, with their right-handed enantiomers completely absent. Likewise, DNA in our bodies forms a right-handed double helix. The reasons behind this phenomenon remain a mystery.
- Industrial applications: Mirror microbes could have significant advantages in industries that use bacteria for processes like:
- Fermentation
- Decomposition
- Chemical reactions
- These mirror microbes might be more resilient than natural microbes, making them valuable for industrial use.
Risks and Concerns
- Immune evasion: Mirror bacteria may evade the immune systems of humans, animals, and plants, which rely on chiral molecules to recognize foreign invaders.
- This could lead to serious health threats, including lethal infections.
- Predation resistance: Since mirror microbes would differ structurally from natural organisms, they may escape detection by natural predators, allowing them to spread widely in the environment.
- Environmental impact: The spread of mirror microbes could cause irreversible ecological damage due to their potential to disrupt existing biological systems and ecosystems.
- Countermeasures
- Mirror antibiotics: Development of antibiotics specifically targeting mirror microbes.
- Mirror-resistant crops: Crops that are genetically engineered to resist mirror microbes.
- Mirror phages: Viruses that attack mirror bacteria.
- However, these countermeasures may not be sufficient to stop the widespread spread of mirror bacteria or reverse their potential damage to ecosystems.
- Challenges: Difficulty in deploying countermeasures on a global scale. There is a risk of these microbes evolving and diversifying, making it harder to control their spread.
Source: TH
Previous Year Question
Which of the following are the reasons for the occurrence of multi-drug resistance in microbial pathogens in India?
1. Genetic predisposition of some people
2. Taking incorrect doses of antibiotics to cure diseases
3. Using antibiotics in livestock farming
4. Multiple chronic diseases in some people
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2019 Prelims]
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4
(d) 2, 3 and 4
Answer: (b)