Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Qatari Foreign Ministry spox: Mediators say agreement reached on all terms of first phase of Gaza ceasefire.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spox: Mediators say Gaza ceasefire to include end of war, release of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners, and entry of aid.
Trump: Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.
Trump: Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan.
Hamas chief Khalil Al-Hayya is meeting with Egypt's intelligence head to add finishing touches to Gaza agreement: Source
Israeli media: The ceasefire will begin tomorrow at 12:00 PM.
Israeli media, citing officials: The agreement will be signed today, and the release of the first batch of hostages will take place on Saturday or Sunday.
Palestinian Resistance sources to Al Mayadeen: Hamas and the factions have officially approved the deal. Trump was notified while he was live on air.
Palestinian Resistance sources to Al Mayadeen: Hamas has agreed to the deal, which will be signed on Thursday in Egypt.
Trump: We are very close to an agreement in the Middle East.

Plant pathogen breaking ground in combating bacterial infections

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 8 Feb 2023 11:41
  • 4 Shares
3 Min Read

Researchers discover a pathogen lethal to sugarcanes that can act as an antibacterial agent.

  • x
  • A farmer carries sugarcane in Egypt's southern city of Luxor. (AFP
    A farmer carries sugarcane in Egypt's southern city of Luxor. (AFP)

A new plant pathogen has been discovered, revealing a potential new method for combatting the threat of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. With such bacterial infections becoming a major threat, this pathogen is paving the way for the presence of an antibacterial agent that is said to work like nothing else ever deployed in medicine. 

New route exploited to tackle bacterial disease

Under the name of Albicidin, this pathogen is known to cause disease in sugarcane, called leaf scald. A new study looking at the mechanism it uses to attack lifeforms found that Albicidin works as a DNA topoisomerase inhibitor, and has been seen to attack bacteria in a totally different way than common antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones.

Topoisomerases are nuclear enzymes that play essential roles in DNA replication, transcription, recombination, and chromosome segregation. In the study, Albicidin was found to efficiently lock DNA gyrase in antibiotic-resistant E. coli, causing double-strand DNA breaks, and eventual cell death, which has raised several questions in the field. 

A researcher in a British-German-Polish group that studied the potential antibiotic at the John Innes Center in Norwich, UK, Dmitry Ghilarov stated that they could not elicit any resistance towards Albicidin in the laboratory. 

Related News

Superbugs may kill 39m by 2050 amid rising drug resistance: Lancet

Bacteria assisting in rare metal extraction in old batteries

He then proceeds to add that they are excited because they believe it will be very hard for bacteria to evolve resistance against Albicidin-derived antibiotics, which is a sign of positive results. 

Read next: Albicidin, ‘new weapon’ in antibiotic war against bacteria: Scientists

Given the challenges that antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections bring to the field of conventional medicine today, and that its fatality rate is more than that of COVID-19, it is astonishing that developing innovative methods to combat these sort of infections have been largely neglected by major pharmaceutical companies.

“Now we have a structural understanding, we can create modifications of Albicidin to improve its efficacy and pharmacological properties,” said Ghilarov.

“We believe this is one of the most exciting new antibiotic candidates in many years. It has extremely high effectiveness in small concentrations and is highly potent against pathogenic bacteria—even those resistant to the widely used antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones.”, he adds. 

Potential development of new class of pharmaceuticals

With the idea that a unique method of dispatching bacteria could be used to create a powerful new range of antibiotics, a wide range of research is being conducted in the field, including animal-infected models, which have already established both safety and efficacy in two derivatives of Albicidin.

In an attempt to explore this matter more deeply, researchers have shown that inhibitors of DNA gyrase represent an untapped reservoir of potential antibiotic compounds that may aid us expand the field onwards upon an instructional understanding of the processes. With its high effectiveness in small doses, and promising results thus far, this may lead to the development of a whole new class of pharmaceuticals.

  • bacteria
  • DNA
  • antibiotics
  • pharmaceuticals
  • Antibacterial drugs
  • Medicine

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025
The Palestinian resistance and the people of Gaza showed that after combating Israeli aggression for two years, they remain victorious in the face of oppression (Mahdi Rteil/Al Mayadeen English)

Al-Aqsa Flood two years on, a tale of victory

  • Politics
  • 6 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
An Israeli armored vehicle moves on a street of a local market during a military raid in the West Bank refugee camp of Balata, Wednesday, October 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli settlers kill Palestinian youth near Ramallah amid raids

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran interested in resuming nuclear talks: Lavrov

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a news conference at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, April 25, 2025 (AP)
Politics

IMF head flags US budget, Europe Defense spending challenges

Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at UN headquarters (AP)
Politics

Meloni faces ICC complaint over Gaza genocide complicity with Israelis

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS