A powerful plant toxin could help tackle antibiotic resistance

Scientists have found a new chemical that kills bacteria and it could pave the way for a potent new class of antibiotics. Albicidin is produced by a plant bacteria which causes disease in sugar cane. The bacteria uses albicidin to attack plants but against other bacteria, albicidin acts as an antibiotic. Scientists have known about albicidin’s antibiotic qualities for decades but they didn’t fully understand how it worked, so couldn’t use it on humans in case of adverse effects. Now, they’ve identified the mechanism, which is different to other antibiotics. #antibiotics #antimicrobialresistance #antibioticresistance #plants #medicine #discovery #science