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Pink potato slime bacteria to fight MRSA?

When root vegetables are stored in an area that’s too damp, a pink slime can form which breaks down the cell walls. The rot comes from a bacteria, called Clostridium puniceum, that normally only grows in areas with no oxygen.

However, when in an oxygen rich environment the bacteria produces the slime, which in turn keeps the bacteria alive. It contains two proteins that allow them to live in an environment full of oxygen. When the researchers engineered bacteria that couldn’t produce one of the proteins and infected a potato with it, the bacteria couldn’t grow without its protective slime.

So could this be the silver lining to rotten potatoes? Proteins in the slime have antibiotic properties that makes them kill competing bacteria, including the “superbug” methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA).

Source: consumerist.com

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