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Researchers at ETH Zurich discovered new antibiotic-effective chemicals on a field weed. This could provide opportunities to overcome existing antibiotic resistance.
Habitat Acker-Schmalwand / Arabidopsis thaliana (also known as Schottenkresse or Gänserauke – cruciferous family). (Photo: UniNE)
(nda)
Many antibiotics used today have been developed from natural products that bacteria produce themselves to repel other bacteria. These substances have been researched and found mostly in the soil.
Julia Vorholt and Jörn Piel, of the Institute of Microbiology of ETH Zurich, have now turned to a completely different ecosystem: the leaf surface of plants. In the framework of the national research program "Antimicrobial Resistance", they examined bacterial strains of the surface of thale leaves
Against bacteria
This microcosm, called phyllosphere, is very poor in nutrients. Vorholt is quoted in a statement from the Swiss National Research Fund that supports the project. "That's why bacteria produce a wide variety of substances that help them defend their habitat," says the researcher. Despite the shortage of food, a large number of organisms populate the phyllosphere.
In collaboration with Piel, Vorholt studied more than two hundred bacterial strains. Although their genomes have been decrypted for the latter, they have so far hardly been specifically badyzed. The researchers found 725 antibiotic interactions between different strains that cause certain bacteria to no longer multiply.
A completely new substance
"Of course, the big question was whether we only found substances that already came from other Habitats, or if we encountered compounds with completely new properties" Piel explains that this would be extremely important for antibiotic research: she is looking for new antibiotics with mechanisms of action significantly different from those of current drugs, thus overcoming existing resistance to antibiotics.
To determine this , researchers had to study in detail the exact chemical composition.These did for gene clusters and substances from a single bacterial strain that turned out to be a particularly active producer. have discovered several antibiotic chemicals.One of them, named by Macrobrevin researchers, has a absolutely new chemical structure.
It is now time to clarify whether Macrobrevin and other newly discovered substances are also working against the bacteria that cause diseases in humans. The fact that he has discovered so many natural products for antibiotics is gratifying for the scientist: "This incredibly diverse ecosystem can certainly provide many new approaches to medicine. Our findings confirm that it is worthwhile to broaden the search for antibiotics in nature, "says Piel.
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