American Society for Microbiology 37th Regional Meeting, Albany, NY, October 15, 2002
 

Most of the antibiotics we use are isolated from microorganisms that thrive in soil. These microorganisms secrete antibiotics into the soil in order to inhibit the growth of competing microorganisms, which ensures the growth of their own species. Methods have been developed to isolate antibiotics from different bacterial strains and use them clinically to treat various infections. We have focused our attention on infections by the bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of human tuberculosis. Because of the unusual structure of M. tuberculosis bacteria, only a few antibiotics (like rifampin and isoniazid) can be used for chemotherapy. The efficacy of these drugs has been severely compromised by the rapid evolution of antibiotic resistance, and there is an ongoing search for new antibiotics to replace the old. From our large collection of soil bacteria that produce antibacterial compounds, we have focused on those candidates that show significant activity against two non-pathogenic species in the genus Mycobacterium (M. phlei and M. smegmatis). We have begun the isolation of the active compound from one of our candidates. The chemical agent is preferentially soluble in ether, and we have used solvent extractions to achieve significant purification of the anti-mycobacterial compound. We hope these chemical agents will ultimately prove useful in treating modern antibiotic-resistant M. tuberculosis infections.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 31. October 2007