Antibiotic discovered that comes from marine microbe

The drug is derived from the actinomycete

A completely unknown until now, unusual and promising antibiotic, derived from a marine organism (actinomycetes),which American scientists discovered in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. The discovery of new antibiotics in nature is very rare, but it is welcomed as doctors warn that microbes, especially in hospitals, become increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics.

It is hopeful that the new antibiotic, called anthrakomykini, as illustrated by the first test, appears to be effective against strong bacteria such as carbon and the highly durable and dangerous bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Researchers at the Institute of Oceanography Scripps, led by Professor William Fenikal, published in the German chemistry journal «Angewandte Chemie», according to the BBC,that the chemical structure of the new substance (different from any other known natural antibiotic) is such that it can lead to the creation of a completely new class of powerful antibiotics.

As stated by Th. Fenikal, "the discovery confirms many previous findings that marine bacteria are unique from genetic and chemical point of view." This, he added, shows the importance of the sea as a potential source of new drugs in the future.