Bacteria from the intestines of mackerel can kill superbugs

Cork scientists have identified an “arsenal” of new natural alternatives to antibiotics.

Scientists at the APC Microbiome Institute at University College Cork have discovered a range of new antimicrobials that can kill many harmful bacteria.

The latest antimicrobial added to their list of 20 new small proteins is called formicin. It was isolated from the intestine of a fish.

Formicin was picked up by the scientists in their most recent screening for new antimicrobials — the research is the “editor’s choice” in this month’s issue of Microbiology.

Prof Paul Ross leads the Science Foundation Ireland-supported research with Prof Colin Hill at the Institute in UCC and Teagasc.

The scientists recently spun out a new company, Artugen Therapeutics, to develop further the compounds that have some important implications for human health.

“The new antimicrobial, formicin was isolated from bacillus paralichenformis APC1576, a bacteria which was originally isolated from the intestine of a mackerel,” said Fergus Collins, the PhD student who discovered formicin.

“Formicin can kill a wide range of harmful bacteria, including the Gram-positive pathogens, staphylococcus aureus, clostridium difficile, listeria monocytogenes and streptococcus mutans, a causative agent of tooth decay,” he pointed out.

Formicin is a member of a subclass of bacteriocins called lantibotics (as is) that contain modified amino acids that work together to kill the bacterial target.

Prof Ross said they were trying to come up with natural alternatives to antibiotics to limit the amount of antibiotic use.

The institute was established in 2003 but the two academics have been working together on alternatives to antibiotics over the past 20 years.

“A lot of our work is coming to fruition now. We are starting to find compounds that can be used in the fight against microbial resistance,” said Prof Ross.

He described Artugen Therapeutics as a vehicle to develop the compounds commercially for human application within a few years.

APC scientists have been focussing on the microbial community (the microbiome) that live in symbiosis both in and on humans.

The microbiome is comprised of bacteria, yeasts, viruses and bacteriophage that live in harmony with their human and animal hosts, promoting health and, occasionally contributing towards disease.