Researchers have reported the discovery of a new class of antibiotics called ODLs, whose operational mechanism is very unique.
This also offers hope for overcoming the menace of drug resistance.
How does the new drug function?
This new class of anti-biotic is unique and promising on two fronts - its unconventional source and its distinct way of killing bacteria.
Both of this suggests that the compound may be effective at treating drug-resistant or hard-to-treat infections.
The Study - Odilorhabdin (or ODL) are antibiotics that are produced by special bacteria that are found inside the soil-dwelling “nematode worms”.
These bacteria live inside the said worms and are engaged in a symbiotic relationship with the insect for food.
They are said to secrete antibiotics to keep competing bacteria away – of which, 80 cultured secretion strains were analysed by researches.
Active compounds were also isolated and studied for engineering enhanced versions of the secretions for bettering their effectiveness.
The Mechanism - ODLs were found to act on the ribosome of other bacteria, which is the molecular machine that makes the vital proteins.
While many clinically useful antibiotics also target ribosome, ODLs are unique because they bind to a place on the ribosome that has never been used by other known antibiotics.
When bound to the ribosome, ODL antibiotics disrupts the ribosome’s ability to read, interpret and translate genetic code and thereby hinders reproduction.
This leads to miscoding of proteins, which make newer bacterial off-springs to be born defective - thereby they die out soon and get annihilation.
How does its potency fare?
Researchers tested ODL compounds against bacterial pathogens, including many known to develop resistance.
ODL compounds were found to cure mice infected with several pathogenic bacteria and demonstrated very positive results.
Many antibiotics can slow bacterial growth, but antibiotics like ODL that kill bacteria are rare - thereby making this discovery a major breakthrough.
