Antibiotics found to kill bacteria in a new way!

Fig1.Antibiotics source

Antibiotic is the most powerful “weapon” to fight against bacterial infections. However, according to the World Health Organization, there are more than 700000 people die every year due to antibiotic resistance. On Feb 13th, 2020, Research team from the David Braley center for Antibiotic Discovery, University of McMaster posted an article on nature. Newly found corbomycin and complestatin would kill bacteria in a brand-new way. The discovery of these new groups of antibiotics would be the clinical candidate in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

Fig2,Antibiotic resistance strategies in bacteria. source:Courtesy of E. Gullberg.

Antibiotics are the revolution of the pharmaceutical study in the 20th century. They are the most important type of antibacterial agent which either kills or inhibit the growth of bacterial cell walls. Alexander Fleming discovered modern antibiotic medicine – penicillin in 1928, which saved thousands of people’s life.

What does old antibiotics also bring you?

The enormous benefits of antibiotics also lead to new problems such as over-usage and resistance. Bacteria soon formed resistance toward these antibiotics and caused the ineffectiveness of the medicine. The resistance of antibiotics had become a new-rise problem. The World Health Organization announced: “serious threat is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right now in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone.”

Fig2.image of corbomycin. source

The newly found corbomycin and complestatin have brand new way to attack bacteria. It is discovered from a glycopeptide family, and the new approach appears no significant resistance toward bacteria. “Antibiotics like penicillin kill bacteria by preventing the building of the wall, but the antibiotics that we found actually work by doing the opposite – they prevent the wall form being broken down. This is critical for cell to divide.” Said Beth Culp, a PhD candidate in biochemistry at McMaster.

Why do we know about these?

“We hypothesized that if the genes that made these antibiotics were different, maybe the way they killed the bacteria was also different”, Culp explained. The “unique approach” to kill bacteria is a new mechanism that is worthy of studying. Scientists might be able to find the new family of antibiotics which have a completely different way to attack bacteria. These new antibiotics will be the revolution of modern biochemistry which will be powerful to fight against antibiotic-resistant.

Scientists believed that the observation of corbomycin and complestatin would open the “new door” in the field of antibiotics. People will be able to investigate more antiobiotics to fight against resistance in the glycopeptide family. This study will eventually benefit thousands of people suffering in antibiotic-resistant and give them hope to survive!

–Vicky Gu