Compound that kills drug-resistant fungi is isolated from ant microbiota
Antimicrobial and antifungal resistance, which describe the ability of bacteria and other pathogens to resist the effects of drugs to which they were once sensitive, is a major public health problem worldwide. A study published recently in the journal Nature Communications suggests that the solution may come from the tiny bodies of insects, or more accurately, from the microbiota that they host. This innovative hypothesis was first proposed by Brazilian and US researchers as part of a collaborative project begun in 2014 with support from FAPESP and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The idea was to isolate bacteria that live in symbiosis with leafcutting ants of the genus Atta and to look for natural compounds with the potential to yield new drugs (read more at: agencia.fapesp.br/19498). By pursuing this strategy, a research group led by Monica Tallarico Pupo, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of São Paulo’s Ribeirão Preto School of Pharmaceutical...