Bacterial genomes yield fresh antibiotic

Abstract

By mining bacterial genomes for metabolites distantly related to an antibiotic drug called colistin, which is now threatened by resistance in the clinic , researchers have identified and synthesized a compound that could one day replace it ( Nature 2022, 10.1038/s41586-021-04264-x ). Their strategy may allow researchers to identify additional antibiotic candidates , the authors say. Many clinically important antibiotics, including colistin, are produced by or inspired by metabolites that bacteria make to kill off competing strains. Target bacteria can evolve resistance to these metabolites, and their would-be assassins in turn evolve to produce twists on those compounds to outwit that resistance. It’s those latter compounds—naturally occurring analogs of known drugs—that Sean Brady , a biochemist at the Rockefeller University, set out to find . “Bacteria have been fighting for a long time, likely against the same resistance mechanisms,” Brady says. “Why not return to nature and see if you