As old LSS hands will know by now: as soon as a new antibiotic is developed. those pesky bacteria start developing resistance. Particularly all those gram negative types with that tough extra membrane which they deploy. Which is why a new study reported in Nature Communications [1] and Phys.org [2]reports an intriguing new idea. Don’t hit ’em with one blow, try two.
The authors, led by the resourceful Drs Csaba Pal and Elvin Maharramov of Hungary’s prestigious HUNREN research centre[3], believe that new types of antibiotic which target multiple cellular functions instead of just one, will afford the bacteria less time and opportunity to evolve resistance. To start, they tested three candidate antibiotics on several of our old chums including Escherichia coli, Kebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomomonas aeruginosa, all well known for their increasing levels of resistance. And their results were encouraging, particularly when compared to other antibiotic classes. Ever thorough, the researchers went further, trying to identify genes which might foment antibiotic resistance and their frequency in “wild” populations, if we dare use that term.
As grizzled veterans of the war against antibiotic resistance we welcome this study for several reasons. Its willingness to try different approaches for one. And its field studies of the occurrence of resistance genes out there for another. We hadn’t thought of that one. Full marks, every possible study helps, and where there is learning there is hope.
[1]https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56934-3
[2]https://phys.org/news/2025-03-uncovers-core-principles-resistance-antibiotics.html
#antibiotic resistance #microbiology #medicine #health #hungary #membrane #gram negative #genes
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