New antibiotic found on conventional weeds

Researchers discover a new antibiotic on the leaf surface of a weed field

Swiss researchers have discovered a new, antibiotic-effective chemical on the surface of leaf leaves. a widespread weevil. Their results show that this microcosm hides many unknown natural products that could make possible new drugs

Multidrug-Resistant Disease is on the rise

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently warned of a increasing number of multidrug-resistant bacteria, the increase in antibiotic resistance is an ever greater danger for mankind: if such drugs are no longer effective, even small inflammations can pose a major risk. If the problem is not quickly mastered, it could according to an older study in 2050 about ten million deaths by multidrug-resistant germs. A discovery by researchers in Switzerland could now offer opportunities to overcome existing antibiotic resistance.

Bacteria themselves produce bacteria

Many antibiotics used today have been developed from natural products that bacteria produce themselves to repel bacteria. Other bacteria. These substances have been researched and found mostly in the soil.

Various scientists believe that active substances against resistant germs could also come from the Earth in the future.

Julia Vorholt and Jörn Piel of the Institute of Microbiology of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich is now turning to a completely different ecosystem: the surface of the leaves of plants

In the frame of a project supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), we study the bacterial strains Surface leaf of the watercress (Arabidopsis thaliana)

This microcosm, called phyllosphere, is very poor in nutrients. Vorholt is quoted in a communication from the SNSF

"For this reason, bacteria produce a wide variety of substances to defend their habitat."

Despite the shortage of food, a large number of organisms populate the phyllosphere. , Vorholt and Piel examined more than two hundred bacterial strains, all found on the common wild-type Acker-Schmalwand in Europe

Overcoming existing resistances

Although their genomes were decrypted for strains, they have not been badyzed so far.

Scientists have found a total of 725 antibiotic interactions between different strains, which means that some bacteria do not multiply anymore.

"The big question was, of course, if we only found substances that already came from other Piel habitats.

This would be extremely important for antibiotic research: it looks for new antibiotics with mechanisms of action that are clearly different from those of current drugs and thus overcoming existing antibiotic resistance

Ab To determine if new antibiotics are available, Swiss researchers had to study in detail the chemical composition

They did it for groups of genes and substances from a single bacterial strain that turned out to be a particularly active producer.

They discovered several products One of them, named by Macrobrevin researchers, has an absolutely new chemical structure.

The results of the study have been published in the journal Nature Microbiology

Extend the search for antibiotics in nature

"We will now Clarify whether macrobrevin and other newly discovered substances also act against the bacteria that cause disease in humans, "says Piel.

Even more than this possibility, however, he believes the success of showing that it is in the little explored Phyllosphere yet many natural products for antibiotics to discover:

"This ecosystem incredibly Diversified can certainly provide many new approaches to medicine.Our results confirm that it is worthwhile to broaden the search for antibiotics in nature. "(Ad)