Researchers have just identified a powerful new antibiotic – in a significant discovery made not by breaking new ground, but by revisiting familiar territory.
The compound, pre-methylenomycin C lactone, was discovered by a team from Warwick University in the UK and Monash University in Australia. While it’s never been spotted before, it comes from a type of bacteria that scientists have studied for decades.
Potentially, it could help fight bacteria that have become increasingly resistant to modern treatments – and it’s actually an intermediate chemical that’s created during the process of making another antibiotic, methylenomycin A.
Related: Forgotten Antibiotic From Decades Past Could Be a Superbug Killer
“Remarkably, the bacterium that makes methylenomycin A and pre-methylenomycin C lactone – Streptomyces coelicolor – is a model antibiotic-producing species that’s been studied extensively since the 1950s,” says chemist Lona Alkhalaf, from the University of Warwick.
“Finding a new antibiotic in such a familiar organism was a real surprise.”
In lab tests, pre-methylenomycin C lactone was shown to be 100 times more effective than methylenomycin A against Gram-positive bacteria, the kinds that are getting smarter at outwitting our current antibiotics.
Pre-methylenomycin C lactone was found to be much more potent than methylenomycin A. (Corre et al, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2025)
The researchers behind the discovery decided to take a closer look at methylenomycin A by modifying the genes used in the assembly line of the antibiotic, to see what each one did. The resulting compounds, described as biosynthetic intermediates, were then tested for antibiotic activity.
“Methylenomycin A was originally discovered 50 years ago, and while it has been synthesized several times, no one appears to have tested the synthetic intermediates for antimicrobial activity,” says chemist Greg Challis, from the University of Warwick.
The team discovered that pre-methylenomycin C lactone was effective against the bacteria responsible for both Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), two of the infections proving most troublesome for existing antibiotics.
What’s particularly promising is that Enterococcus bacteria exposed to pre-methylenomycin C lactone for 28 days straight didn’t become resistant to it, suggesting the compound could remain effective over the long term.
With experts increasingly worried about antibiotic resistance – already responsible for millions of deaths each year – the need for new and resilient drugs to tackle infections is urgent, as bacteria continue to evolve.
Related: Mixing Coffee And Antibiotics Could Be a Bad Idea, Study Shows
Next, we need more preclinical and lab testing for pre-methylenomycin C lactone to fully understand its potential as an antibiotic – both in the mechanisms through which it works and the pathogen targets that it hits.
Win a $10,000 Space Coast Adventure Holiday
The researchers also see potential in looking at the intermediates of other antibiotics to see if there are more compounds like this to be found.
“This discovery suggests a new paradigm for antibiotic discovery,” says Challis.
“By identifying and testing intermediates in the pathways to diverse natural compounds, we may find potent new antibiotics with more resilience to resistance that will aid us in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.”
The research has been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Related News
Source link
