Antibiotic discovered with never-before-seen method of killing bacteria

Concerns over antibiotic resistance have pushed researchers to look for new agents that can stop the growth of, or kill microorganisms that cause illness.

Researchers at McMaster University have found a group of antibiotics that attack bacteria in a unique way by blocking the remodeling of the bacterial cell wall according to a study published in Nature in February. 

The new antibiotic group is related to the family of glycopeptide antibiotics that are created by soil bacteria. Researchers showed, using mice, that these new antibiotics can stop infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus -the bacteria responsible for MRSA.

The team is led by McMaster professor Gerry Wright, of the David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery, in the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious diseases. The team of researchers includes Elizabeth J. Culp, Nicholas Waglechner, Wenliang Wang, Aline A Fiebig-Comyn, Yen-Pang Hsu, Kalinka Koteva,David Sychantha, Brian K. Coombes, Michael S. Van Nieuwenhze, and Yves V. Brun, who examined known members of the glycopeptide family that do not have known mechanisms to resist bacterial infection. 

“Bacteria have a wall around the outside of their cells that gives them shape and is a source of strength,” said Culp, a PhD candidate in biochemistry and biomedical sciences at McMaster University. "In order for a cell to grow, it has to divide and expand. If you completely block the breakdown of the wall, it is like it is trapped in a prison, and can't expand or grow."

Using cell imaging techniques with Yves Brun and his team at the Université de Montréal, the group confirmed that remodeling of the bacterial cell wall was blocked by these new antibiotics.

Culp said they reported one new antibiotic in the study but have also found others in the same family that utilize this new mechanism. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Ontario Research Fund provided the funding for this research.