Prospecting for antifungal molecules

Abstract

Antifungal Discovery Marine bacteria produce a plethora of natural products that often have unusual chemical structures and corresponding reactivity, which sometimes translate into a valuable biological function. Zhang et al. used a metabolomic screen to zero in on microbial strains from the microbiome of a sea squirt that produces a high diversity of chemical structures. They then screened these molecules for inhibition of fungi (see the Perspective by Cowen). A polycyclic molecule dubbed turbinmicin possessed potent antifungal activity against the multidrug-resistant fungal pathogens Candida auris and Aspergillus fumigatus . Preliminary mechanism-of-action and mouse toxicity studies suggest that this molecule works though a fungus-specific pathway and is well tolerated at therapeutic doses. Science , this issue p. [974][1]; see also p. [906][2] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.abd6919 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.abf1675