Scientists discover two new antibiotics from the human bacterial genome
November 21, 2016 Source: Bio Valley
Window._bd_share_config={ "common":{ "bdSnsKey":{ },"bdText":"","bdMini":"2","bdMiniList":false,"bdPic":"","bdStyle":" 0","bdSize":"16"},"share":{ }};with(document)0[(getElementsByTagName('head')[0]||body).appendChild(createElement('script')) .src='http://bdimg.share.baidu.com/static/api/js/share.js?v=89860593.js?cdnversion='+~(-new Date()/36e5)];Most of the antibiotics currently in use are actually natural molecules produced by bacteria. Due to the increasing drug resistance, there is an urgent need in the medical field to develop new antibiotics. However, inducing bacteria to produce new antibiotics is a tricky business. Most bacteria do not grow in the laboratory, and even if these bacteria are grown in the laboratory, most of the antibiotic-producing genes are rarely expressed. Recently, researchers at Rockefeller University have found new ways to solve problems.
Researchers find new antibiotics Humimycin A and Humimycin B that kill drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Researchers have found bacterial genomes in the human genome from public gene databases and then used specialized computer software to scan hundreds of gene clusters that specifically compile synthetic non-ribosomal peptide molecules, which form the basis of many antibiotics. Finally they used software to predict the molecular chemical structure produced by the gene cluster. By using computational methods to select genes for the production of antibiotic compounds in the microbial genome, and then directly synthesizing the compounds themselves by skipping the bacterial culture process, they have successfully found two new antibiotics by such methods.
Discover the journey of huminmycin
Of the 57 potentially useful gene clusters originally identified by the software, the researchers further screened 30 gene clusters. Brandi and his colleagues then used a solid phase peptide synthesis to make 25 different compounds.
By testing the response of these compounds to human pathogens, the researchers successfully screened two antibiotics, which they named Humimycin A and Humimycin B. Both are found in a bacterium called Rhodococcus, a new antibiotic that has never been found in traditional bacterial cultures.
Staphylococcus and streptococcus are two major bacteria that harm the human body. In recent years, they have gradually shown resistance to various antibiotics. Experiments have shown that humimycins cleaves the cell wall synthesis pathway by inhibiting bacterial cell wall synthetase, and the bacteria die immediately. Thus humimycins are very effective against both types of bacteria.
The role of Humimycins is not limited to this. Beta-lactams are a widely used class of prescription antibiotics, and their effects often disappear with the emergence of resistance to bacteria. However, scientists have found that one of the humimycins can be used to re-sensitize bacteria and eliminate bacterial resistance to beta-lactam.
Magical synergy
In the experiment, they exposed β-lactam-resistant Staphylococcus to a mixture with β-lactam antibiotics and humimycin A, and the bacteria were found to die immediately. Even when the content of Humimycin A is small, the same result still occurs. So Brandi speculated that both antibiotics played a role in interrupting bacterial life.
To further validate the inference, Brandi and his colleagues infected mice with β-lactam resistant S. aureus. They found that mice treated with a mixture containing humimycin A and beta-lactam antibiotics were far superior to mice that used only one of these drugs. This provides a new idea for the treatment of drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
Brandi hopes that this discovery will inspire more research teams to mine the bacterial genome and find more new antibiotics. In addition, Brandi suggests that everyone's vision can be confined to the genome of human microbes, and the microbial genome is a huge treasure waiting for humans to mine.
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