Could a tiny protein kick koala chlamydia's butt?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-04-15 04:00

Australia; NSW

Researchers may be a step closer to helping koala populations which have been devastated in recent years by using small proteins to protect them against chlamydia. Chlamydia is a significant disease which threatens koala populations, and in recent years, this combined with the Aussie bushfires has plummeted koala populations. Researchers studied cathelicidins, small proteins which protect koala joeys in their pouches before they develop their own immunity. They found the cathelicidin PhciCath5 inactivated the bacteria that causes chlamydia, as well as other yucky bugs like golden staph. While the proteins alone aren’t enough to protect koalas yet, researchers say modifying this protein to enhance its activity could be a solution for koalas and other species in the future.

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conference: PLOS One

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: The University of Sydney, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Funder: This work was supported by an ARC Discovery Grant to K.B (DP14013260) and the Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity seed funding. E.P was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award. T.C.S is a Sydney Medical Foundation Fellow whose work is supported by the NHMRC. M.K hosted E.P at the Zoetis Veterinary Medicine Research and Development facility, Kalamazoo MI USA to complete membrane permeability and serum/blood antibacterial assays.

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