Common infections become deadly because the bacteria causing them have learned to resist our best medicines. This is the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance. Scientists are urgently looking for new ways to fight these "superbugs," and a recent discovery offers a promising new approach
This NIH funded research from McMaster University and the University of Illinois identifies and characterizes lariocidin (LAR), a novel lasso peptide antibiotic produced by Paenibacillus sp. M2, which represents the first known member of this class of natural products to inhibit bacterial growth. The mechanism of action is believed to be the targeting of the ribosome and interfering with protein synthesis.
The study elucidates LAR's mechanism of action, its broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, its low propensity for resistance development, and its in vivo efficacy against a multidrug-resistant bacterial infection, highlighting a new avenue for antibiotic discovery.
A New Class of Novel Antibiotics Shows Promise Against Drug Resistant Strains
A Broad Spectrum Lasso Peptide Antibiotic Targeting the Bacterial Ribosome