New antibiotic discovered in known soil bacterium
A research team with the participation of the University of Hamburg has identified a new antibiotic in the soil bacterium Streptomyces rimosus , which has already been intensively studied. The active ingredient, called manikomycin, shows efficacy against multi-resistant germs, the university announced. The results were published in the journal “Nature”.
As the team from Hamburg, McMaster University in Ontario and the University of Illinois in Chicago reports, the isolation of the previously unknown substance was achieved through improved fractionation processes. Even in well-researched actinomycetes, new chemical frameworks with unique mechanisms of action could still be found.
Manikomycin can kill multidrug-resistant bacteria and is not susceptible to resistance, which is known in antibiotics already used clinically, it said. In initial preclinical studies on mice, the active ingredient has shown acceptable tolerability. However, sufficient effectiveness has not yet been observed in infection models. The reason for this is apparently a comparatively rapid breakdown in the blood plasma.
The scientists do not see this as a fundamental disadvantage, but as a pharmacological feature that can be optimised. They see the discovery as an important indication that already known microorganisms continue to hold considerable potential for the development of new antibiotics.
Original Paper:
A natural depsipeptide antibiotic binds the E-site of the bacterial ribosome | Nature
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Antibiotic-resistant bacteria detected in German lakes – MedLabPortal
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