Malacidins - Potent Antibiotics Against Gram-positive Bacteria
Malacidins FAQ
What are malacidins & how do they work?
Malacidins are a class of chemicals made by bacteria found in soil that can kill Gram-positive bacteria. Their activity appears to be dependent on calcium. The discovery of malacidins was published in 2018. The malacidin family were discovered using a new method of soil microbiome screening that does not require cell culturing.
What is the standard state of a malacidin?
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Malacidins are a class of chemicals made by bacteria found in soil that can kill Gram-positive bacteria. Their activity appears to be dependent on calcium. The discovery of malacidins was published in 2018.
Do malacidins kill bacteria?
In the 2018 paper, malacidins were shown to kill only Gram-positive bacteria and not Gram-negative bacteria. They were, however, able to kill multidrug-resistant pathogens, including bacteria resistant to vancomycin in the laboratory, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) skin infections in an animal wound model.
Why is it called malacidin?
The name "malacidin" is derived from the abbreviation of metagenomic acidic lipopeptide antibiotic and the suffix -cidin.
Are malacidins a calcium-dependent antibiotic?
Malacidins appear to take on their active conformation after they bind to calcium; the calcium-bound molecule then appears to bind to lipid II, a bacterial cell wall precursor molecule, leading to destruction of the cell wall and death of the bacteria. Therefore, they would be a new member of the class of calcium-dependent antibiotics.
Malacidins References
If you want to know more about Malacidins, consider exploring links below:
What Is Malacidins
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malacidin
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-018-0110-1
- https://go.drugbank.com/drugs/DB14051
- https://www.insidescience.org/index.php/news/scientists-unearth-new-class-antibiotic-compounds-soil
- https://www.bbc.com/news/health-43032602
- https://blog.education.nationalgeographic.org/2018/02/15/potentially-powerful-new-antibiotic-discovered-in-dirt/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5874163/
- https://www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/antibiotic-candidate-malacidins
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43032602
Malacidins Information
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