
Antibiotic resistance, where disease-causing bacteria evolve resistance to drugs that usually kill them, is a rising problem globally, meaning new antibiotics need to be found. However, it is difficult for researchers to know which parts of bacterial cells to target with new drugs.
A team led by professor Alain Filloux at Imperial College London, and Despoina Mavridou at The University of Texas at Austin has identified a potential drug target that could be an ideal candidate for the development of novel antibiotics. Their findings are published today in Nature Microbiology.
The new drug target, identified in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is also crucial for the survival of other pathogenic bacteria, including those that cause meningitis, urinary tract infections and staph infections – meaning any antibiotic targeting it could have a range of uses. At the same time, the new antibiotic would not harm the so-called ‘good’ bacteria that live in our gut and support our health.
“The quest for new antibiotic targets is a challenging one,” said co-corresponding author Mavridou, a new assistant professor of molecular biosciences at UT Austin. “Most ubiquitous essential processes are already being inhibited by existing drugs, while specialized antibiotics usually inhibit only one bacterial species. It is exciting to identify a new target, especially one that is found primarily in many pathogens but not in commensal bacteria.”
Different species, and even different strains of the same species of bacteria, can compete for resources by launching weapons that impair or kill their competitors. One of these is a microscopic harpoon, a type of toxin, which several bacteria use to fire arrows at other bacteria.
While several of these toxins are known, the researchers suspected that other toxins, which attack different parts of their rival bacteria, were waiting to be discovered. Using an approach called transposon directed insertion-site sequencing, the team identified both previously known toxins and immunities, as well as a range of new ones.
They then studied one of the new toxin genes, known as Tse8, to find out how it was able to harm bacterial competitors. They found that the toxin impacted the function of a cell component called the transamidosome complex, which is crucial for protein synthesis in certain bacteria. Tse8 causes the transamidosome complex to gum up by overly promoting the recruitment of one of its components, ultimately impairing the growth of the affected bacteria.
“Knowing how the toxin works means we can now seek to find, or design, small molecules that could produce the same effect,” Filloux said.
Mavridou noted that the Tse8 protein as it occurs naturally isn’t likely to be an effective antibiotic in humans. Large proteins like that often elicit an immune response or break down quickly in the body. It can also be hard to get them past the double membranes of gram-negative bacteria.
“The value of the discovery of Tse8 is that it has demonstrated that the transamidosome complex is a useful target for antibiotic discovery,” Mavridou explained.
In addition, the team’s method also could be replicated for finding yet more antibiotic targets that bacteria already exploit when fighting each other.
“At the end of the day, [bacteria] have fought each other for billions of years and surely know the most effective targets to hit in order to kill competitors,” said first author Laura Nolan, from the MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection (CMBI) and the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial.
Original Article:Bacterial Warfare Provides New Antibiotic Target
More from:University of Texas at Austin | Imperial College London
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Novel antibiotics
- Whether Violent Or Natural by Natasha Calder review – superbug apocalypse now
The author’s first solo debut novel is a terrifying and inventive tale of rampaging superbugs that keeps readers guessing ...
- AI Battles Superbugs: Helps Find New Antibiotic Drug To Combat Drug-Resistant Infections
The machine-learning algorithm identified a compound that kills Acinetobacter baumannii, a bacterium that lurks in many hospital settings. Using an artificial intelligence algorithm, researchers at MI ...
- AI could end the war on antibiotic-resistant bacteria
MIT and McMaster researchers use machine learning to identify an antibiotic treatment that kills a common hospital bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii.
- AI zeroes in on an antibiotic drug that can kill a dangerous bacteria
Scientists trained a machine-learning model to analyze whether a chemical compound will inhibit the growth of killer bacteria A. baumannii.
- Scientists use AI to identify new antibiotic that could fight drug-resistant infections
Using an artificial intelligence algorithm, researchers at MIT and McMaster University have identified a new antibiotic that can kill a type of bacteria that is responsible for many drug-resistant ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Novel antibiotics
[google_news title=”” keyword=”novel antibiotics” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Antibiotic resistance
- Antibiotic That Destroys One of World’s Deadliest Superbugs Discovered by AI Supercomputer
An antibiotic that could be used to treat one of the world's most drug-resistant superbugs has been discovered by AI and supercomputer.
- AI Unleashes Antibiotic to Wipe Away Drug-Resistant Bacteria
AI unlocks a new antibiotic that could combat drug-resistant bacteria The new antibiotic shows promise in fighting Acinetobacter baumannii The antibiotic demonstrates a "narrow spectrum" killing ...
- A new antibiotic, discovered with artificial intelligence, may defeat a dangerous superbug
Using artificial intelligence, researchers say, they’ve found a new type of antibiotic that works against a particularly menacing drug-resistant bacteria.
- AI zeroes in on an antibiotic drug that can kill a dangerous bacteria
Scientists trained a machine-learning model to analyze whether a chemical compound will inhibit the growth of killer bacteria A. baumannii.
- Scientists use AI to identify new antibiotic that could fight drug-resistant infections
Using an artificial intelligence algorithm, researchers at MIT and McMaster University have identified a new antibiotic that can kill a type of bacteria that is responsible for many drug-resistant ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Antibiotic resistance
[google_news title=”” keyword=”antibiotic resistance” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]