Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI) have discovered a bacteria that produces a strong antimicrobial natural product effective against fungi. The substance has proven to be a tough killer against both human-pathogenic fungi and plant fungal disease. Tough enough to be named after “John Wick” star Keanu Reeves.
The keanumycins in bacteria fight effectively against the plant pest Botrytis cinerea. This pest can trigger grey mold causing immense harvest losses every year. The active ingredient in Botrytis cinerea also inhibits fungi called Candida albicans. These are dangerous to humans.
Theoretically, keanumycins could be an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical pesticides. Furthermore, they could offer people an alternative in the battle against resistant fungi.
Discovering the Fungi Killer
Sebastian Götze, a first author of the study and postdoc at Leibniz-HKI, explained, “We have a crisis in anti-infectives. Many human-pathogenic fungi are now resistant to antimycotics—partly because they are used in large quantities in agricultural fields.”
Researchers have been studying “pseudomonads for some time” admitted the study leader Pierre Stallforth. He is professor of Bioorganic Chemistry and Paleobiotechnology at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and the head of the department of Paleobiotechnology at Leibniz-HKI.
Stallforth added that they knew “that many of these bacterial species are very toxic to amoebae, which feed on bacteria.”
Researchers believe that there are several toxins responsible for the deadly effect of the bacteria. However, scientists only know about one currently. Furthermore, researchers discovered biosynthesis genes for the newly discovered natural products, the keanumycins A, B, and C from the genome of the bacteria.
Name Inspired by Strength
Researchers speculate ” the keanumycin-containing supernatant” cultivated from Pseudomonas “could be used directly for plants,” said Götze.
The teams’ research will be further studied by colleagues in Erfurt. The fungi killer, keanumycin, is biodegradable. This means it leaves no permanent residues should form in the soil. That’s why researchers believe it potentially could be an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical pesticides.
Currently, there aren’t many antifungal medications on the market. This makes this discovery even more important. The keanumycin “kill so efficiently that we named them after Keanu Reeves,” Götze stated. “Because he, too, is extremely deadly in his roles.”
By Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Phys.org: Keanu Reeves, the molecule: New active ingredient from bacteria could protect plants
Independent: Molecule named after Keanu Reeves kills microbes ‘efficiently’, study says
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Governo do Estado de São Paulo‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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