The 5 most dangerous mushrooms for humans 2:06
(CNN) --
It's not every day that effective fungus-killing compounds are discovered, so a group of German researchers knew their recent find needed a special name.
After identifying and testing three natural compounds lethal to fungi, they were so impressed that they named them after actor Keanu Reeves, a nod to his way of taking out villains in movies like "John Wick" and "The Matrix."
This potential treatment against fungi comes at a time when these organisms are increasingly resistant to known antifungals, explained Sebastian Götze, study co-author and a researcher at Germany's Leibniz Institute for Natural Products Research and Infection Biology.
The newly named microbes are not only effective against fungi in plants, but the researchers found that the compounds -- molecules commonly found in bacteria called lipopeptides -- are also an effective treatment against fungal infections in humans.
The study was recently published in the Journal
of the American Chemical Society.
"Lipopeptides kill so effectively that we named them after Keanu Reeves because he, too, is extremely deadly in his roles," Götze said in a statement.
Fury and fear for "The Last of Us": these are the most dangerous mushrooms for humans
"We have an anti-infective crisis. Many human pathogenic fungi are now resistant to antifungals (antifungals), in part because they are used in large numbers on agricultural fields," he added.
The newly discovered antimicrobial compounds, which go by the name "keanumicins," are a natural byproduct of Pseudomonas
bacteria
that are commonly found in soil and water.
The researchers discovered these compounds by studying the efficacy of
Pseudomonas
against predatory amoebas.
advertising
Scientists knew that "many of these bacterial species (
Pseudomonas
) are highly toxic to amoebae, which feed on bacteria," Pierre Stallforth, the study's lead author and head of the Leibniz Institute's Paleobiotechnology department, said in a statement.
Stallforth and his colleagues wanted to explore the effectiveness of the bacteria against fungi, which have a similar cell structure to amoebas, according to the study.
What can keanumicins do?
The researchers initially tested keanumicins A, B, and C on a hydrangea infected with
Botrytis cinerea
, a plant pest best known as a trigger for gray mold rot.
This fungus commonly infects certain fruits and vegetables, causing collateral damage to crops.
The compounds are biodegradable, according to the study, and could represent a green alternative to pesticides in efforts to save the food supply.
Other tests have also shown that keanumicins are effective against
Candida albicans
, a naturally occurring yeast that is commonly found in the human microbiome but can overgrow and become a serious infection.
How psilocybin, the psychedelic from mushrooms, can rewire the brain to ease depression, anxiety and more
Fungal infections have been a popular topic of late due to HBO's "The Last of Us," and as the series suggests, the conditions can be difficult to treat, but not impossible.
(HBO, like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Tests with keanumicins have shown that the compounds are not particularly harmful or toxic to human cells, a problem often seen in the development of antifungal treatments, since fungal cells share similar properties with animal cells.
"This study documents another interesting means by which microbes have evolved to compete with and fight other organisms," says Dr. Matt Nelsen, a researcher at the Field Museum in Chicago, in an email.
"Previous efforts have tried to exploit such natural products for human use to combat animal and plant pathogens," Nelsen added.
"However, over time, many pathogenic organisms, including fungi, have developed resistance to the chemicals we use to combat them. Consequently, we have to find a new way to outsmart or outmaneuver them."
The keanumicins are "good backbone candidates for antifungal drug development," according to the study, and could be a new treatment option in an area where they are "desperately needed."
The researchers say they will do more testing with the compounds.
"One of the means by which organisms wage this battle (competition with other organisms) is the synthesis of chemicals that can inhibit the growth of other organisms or kill them," Nelsen explained.
Nelsen added that if further research is carried out, it will be interesting to know how widespread keanumicins are and how many other species in the genus
Pseudomonas
can produce these compounds.
Fungus