A novel species of bacteria with cholesterol-busting properties
has been discovered by scientists at the Universidad Complutense
de Madrid, Spain. Dr Oliver Drzyzga and colleagues isolated the
new bug, called Gordonia cholesterolivorans, from sewage sludge.
Their findings are reported in the current issue of the
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary
Microbiology. A steroid found in all body tissues, cholesterol
is used in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries as
stabilizer, emollient and water-binding agent. As a consequence,
steroids - including cholesterol - are a major group of
contaminants in urban sewage residues. Gordonia bacteria have
only been classed as a separate group of bacteria since 1997 but
they have already proved useful as they are able to degrade a
wide range of environmental pollutants including phthalates
(used in plastics), rubber and hazardous compounds such as the
explosive hexogen (cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine). Gordonia
cholesterolivorans' ability to break down c