The way in which a dangerous bacterium has become resistant to penicillin has been uncovered by researchers at the University of Warwick. The discovery could be a major breakthrough in the creation of designer antibiotics to target major infections. Streptococcus pneumoniae causes millions of fatal cases of pneumonia every year. Normally the antibiotic, penicillin, acts by preventing the construction of a vital component in the cell wall of the bacterium. However, in the case of Streptococcus pneumoniae, a high level of a protein called MurM, which is key to the creation of the dipeptide bridges that help maintain the wall, is present. The presence of MurM renders the bacterium highly resistant to penicillin. The research team were able to replicate the activity of MurM to understand how it works, thereby offering exciting possibilities not only for the effective treatment of this bacterium but also for others, potentially including MRSA, the so-called hospital ‘superbug’.

In a separate study, scientists at the University of Leicester have made significant advances in developing an understating of how tuberculosis (TB) makes itself immune to the only effective treatment against it. The researchers have discovered how mutations in a bacterial enzyme protect it from the pro-drug, Isoniazid, which is used in the treatment of TB. It is hoped this new research will help drug companies to develop treatments for resistant strains of the disease.

You can read more stories like this one in the April edition of Science Insight.