Week 11 Flashcards
How important are antibiotics for human health?
Modern medicine would be impossible without
antibiotics
Kill infectious microbes, without harming you
Increased average life expectancy by 23 years
What are the groups of antibiotic source and antibiotic from them?
Actinomycetes (most common) - Tetracyclines
Other bacteria - Monobactams
Fungal - Penicillins
Synthetic - Azoles
What was an overview of antibiotic in TB treatment?
1943- Selman Waksman discovers streptomycin - the first treatment for TB
Why do bacteria make antibiotics?
Are they signalling molecules or chemical weapons? (Both probably)
Each species makes ~3 antibiotics in vitro and the rest are “silent” - we don’t know how to switch them on
What is an overview of streptomyces antibiotic production?
Streptomyces bacteria encode ~25 secondary metabolites per species
>600 Streptomyces species are known
How do antibiotics work?
Clinically useful antibiotics work by inhibiting essential machinery that is unique to bacterial cells
What are examples of antibiotics and their target?
Cell membrane - daptomycin
DNA gyrase - Quinolones
RNA polymerase - Rifampcin
Cell wall synthesis - Beta lactams
Folic acid biosynthesis - Sulfonamides
What is the traditional antibiotic discovery pipeline?
Isolate from environment (typically soil)
Bioassay for antibiotic productin
Purify antibiotic
Identify structure of antibitoic
Where did it all go wrong for antibiotic discovery?
Discovery is hard and hampered by problems of rediscovery in soil
Resistance is inevitable - accelerated by misuse
Antibiotics are cheap and not profitable
Nobody wants to pay for antibiotic discovery
What was the ‘Golden Age’ of antibiotic discovery?
1940 to 1960
What is an overview of the future of antibiotics?
In the 1940-50s scientists focussed on soils but new environmental niches give new strains and new scaffolds
>97% of antibiotics are silent, i.e. not made under lab conditions. Switching them on will give us new antibiotics
What is an overview of Leafcutter ants, symbionts and threats?
Leafcutter ants - Acromymrex
Food fungus - Leucoagaricus
Bacteria - Pseudonocardia and Streptomyces
Parasitic fungus - Escovopsis
Where do leafcutter ants get their bacteria?
Vertical transmission: queen or nursery workers inoculate new ants with Pseudonocardia
Horizontal transmission: They ‘SCREEN’ Streptomyces from the soil to combat drug resistance
What is an overview of RNA stable isotope probing for identifying symbionts?
Feed ants 12C glucose or 13C glucose for 14 days
Isolate RNA, separate heavy and light fractions on CsTFA. Amplify and sequence 16S rRNA
What were the results of RNA stable isotope probing for identifying symbionts?
Primarily Pseudonocardia and Streptomyces, as expected, though all bacterial groups such as wolbachia were also present showing sugar secretions were enjoyed by all
How does Pseudonocardia promote symbionts?
Pseudonocardia creates a demanding environment through antibiotic enviroment
Streptomyces often is resistant so can live their and produces its own antibiotics
What are antibiotics that pseudonocardia to kill escobopsis?
Antimycin
Nystatin P1
Candicidin
What antibiotics are produced by Escovopsis to counter ants and bacteria?
Melinacidin IV - antibiotic
Shearinine D and A - insect neurotoxin
Emodin - Feeding deterent
Can we find new antibiotics from fungus growing ants?
Streptomyces formicae a bacteria found on ants has 45 gene pathways
Pathway 28 - antifungal effective against Candida Albicans and Lomentospora prolificans (doesnt have known cure)
Pathway 33 - antibiotic effecitve against Bacillus subtilis and MRSA
What is an overview of Formicamycins?
MRSA does not evolve resistance to formicamycins in vitro
Target both DNA gyrase and Fatty acid biosynthesis
Often resistant in 10 generation
What happens when you inhibit gene pathway 33?
No formicamycins but something more potent is produced
So using comparison of RNA transcripts can narrow down which gene is responsible
This is believed to be pathway #8
What is an overview of Streptomyces formicae pathway 8?
Nonribosomal peptide
That inhibits MRSA
What is an overview of the discovery of Salvasan?
The 606th tested compound proved effective in laboratory animals
Arsphenamine, named Salvarsan
Potentially lethal for patients but did cure infections previously considered hopeless
Proved some chemicals could selectively kill microbes
What is an overview of Paul Elrich thought that led to salvarsan discovery?
Indicated fundamental difference between cell types
Searched for “magic bullet” that would kill microbial pathogens without harming human host
Synthesized arsenic compounds to treat syphilis, caused by spirochete Treponema pallidum
What is an overview of Alexander Fleming?
Named compound penicillin
Showed effective in killing many bacterial species
Unable to purify, he later abandoned research
What is an overview of Ernst Chaina and Howard Florey work?
~10 years later, Ernst Chain and Howard Florey purified, tested compounds in 1941 on police officer with life-threatening Staphylococcus aureus infection
What was the impact of Ernst Chaina and Howard Florey work?
Patient improved dramatically within 24 hours
Supply of purified penicillin ran out and he later died
WWII spurred research and development; penicillin G was first antibiotic (naturally produced antimicrobial)
What is an overview of streptomycin antibiotic history?
Selman Waksman purified streptomycin from soil bacterium Streptomyces griseus
Pharmaceutical companies examine soil samples from around world for microbe produced antibiotics
What is the history of penicillin modification?
Discovered in 1960s that altering structure of penicillin yields new medications
What are antibiotics?
Small molecules produced by microorganisms that kill or arrest growth of, other microorganisms (anti-bacterial, anti-fungal)
Since extended to include synthetic compounds
What is an overview of natural produced antibiotics function?
Naturally produced antibiotics are secondary metabolites (not required for growth) and can also have a broader spectrum of activity e.g. anti-cancer
What are the major natural sources of antibiotics?
Actinomycetes - 7900 (66%)
Other bacteria - 1400 (12%)
Fungi - 2600 (22%)
What is an overview of actinomyces use?
Out of 100 used in clinical therapies around 50 are actinomycete derived