Status: 11.09.2023, 13:38 p.m.
By: Ulrike Hagen
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A team of researchers has found and decoded a revolutionary new antibiotic. It could mean a breakthrough in the fight against deadly superbugs.
Bonn – Antibiotics are life-saving drugs for millions of people, but their effectiveness is threatened by increasing bacterial resistance – including uncontrolled, global use in humans and animals. A completely new antibiotic discovered by a team of researchers from Bonn could now become a game-changer: It seems to be "immune" to antibiotic resistance – and even to be effective against life-threatening, multi-resistant superbugs.
Antibiotic resistance was one of the biggest health challenges in Europe today. © Armin Weigel/dpa
Researchers discover novel antibiotic – it is effective against multidrug-resistant superbugs
"Antibiotic resistance is a global threat, both to public health and the economy," WHO expert Catharina van Weezenbeek sounded the alarm in Geneva at the end of 2022. The organization estimates that 1.3 million people die each year because antibiotics don't work on their infections.
We urgently need new antibiotics to survive in the race against bacteria that have become resistant.
Prof. Tanja Schneider, Institute of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, University of Bonn
Without increased efforts in antibiotic research, a "post-antibiotic era" could occur as early as 2030 – i.e. a situation in which antibiotics would only be effective against bacteria to a limited extent or even not at all. The results of the study, published in the journal Cell, finally give cause for hope.
Bonn scientists find new antibiotic against multidrug-resistant germs
The international team led by Prof. Kim Lewis from the Antimicrobial Discovery Center at the University of Boston (USA) and Prof. Tanja Schneider from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Microbiology at the University of Bonn have discovered an extremely effective antibiotic and elucidated its mode of action.
The expert group identified the new substance, which is produced from the soil by a bacterium native to North Carolina to protect itself from bacterial competition. The innovative antibiotic is highly effective in attacking the cell wall of bacteria, including numerous multidrug-resistant hospital or superbugs.
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"Immune" to resistance: New antibiotic encloses bacteria like a cage
The head of the study, Tanja Schneider, who warned of a "silent pandemic" due to antibiotic resistance, explains: "Clovibactin is new compared to the current antibiotics". The interdisciplinary researchers have jointly deciphered the exact mode of operation. Prof. Schneider explains: "The new antibiotic attacks the structure of the bacterial cell wall at several points at the same time by blocking essential building blocks." It specifically attaches itself to these building blocks and kills the bacteria by destroying their cell envelope.
We are very confident that the bacteria will not develop resistance to clovibactin so quickly.
Prof. Tanja Schneider, Institute of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, University of Bonn
This is where the name of the new antibiotic comes from: "Clovibactin", derived from the Greek "Klouvi" (cage), because it encloses the target structure like a cage. But "Clovibactin" has another impressive talent: as soon as it binds to the cell walls, it generates fibrous structures that tightly enclose these target structures and cause additional damage to the bacterial cells. In addition, clovibactin stimulates bacteria it encounters to release specific enzymes called autolysins, which uncontrollably dissolve the bacteria's own cell envelope.
"The combination of these different mechanisms is the reason for the exceptional resistance to resistance," explains Schneider. This illustrates the immense potential that lies dormant in the natural diversity of bacteria when it comes to the development of new antibiotics. For decades, people around the world have been looking not only for new antibiotics, but also for alternatives. Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are also considered promising candidates.