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Corbomycin is a member of the
glycopeptide Glycopeptides are peptides that contain carbohydrate moieties (glycans) covalently attached to the side chains of the amino acid residues that constitute the peptide. Over the past few decades it has been recognised that glycans on cell surfac ...
family of
antibiotics An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention ...
that are produced by
soil bacteria Soil microbiology is the study of microorganisms in soil, their functions, and how they affect soil properties. It is believed that between two and four billion years ago, the first ancient bacteria and microorganisms came about on Earth's oceans. ...
.


Mechanism of action

Corbomycin blocks
autolysin Autolysins are endogenous lytic enzymes that break down the peptidoglycan components of biological cells which enables the separation of daughter cells following cell division. They are involved in cell growth, cell wall metabolism, cell division a ...
s by attaching to the
peptidoglycan Peptidoglycan or murein is a unique large macromolecule, a polysaccharide, consisting of sugars and amino acids that forms a mesh-like peptidoglycan layer outside the plasma membrane, the rigid Cell wall#Bacterial_cell_walls, cell wall (murein sac ...
cell wall A cell wall is a structural layer surrounding some types of cells, just outside the cell membrane. It can be tough, flexible, and sometimes rigid. It provides the cell with both structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mec ...
. As a result, the bacterium cannot divide, as division requires the wall to be broken down and remodeled. Ordinary glycopeptides instead block cell wall formation.


Applications

It can block infections caused by the drug-resistant strain of ''
Staphylococcus aureus ''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a Gram-positive spherically shaped bacterium, a member of the Bacillota, and is a usual member of the microbiota of the body, frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the skin. It is often posit ...
'' that cause serious infections. As of 2020 it had not been approved by any regulatory body for human use.


History

The antibiotic was discovered in 2020. Researchers found the substance while studying the biosynthetic genes of glycopeptides that lacked self-resistance mechanisms. Researcher Beth Culp worked with
Yves Brun Yves Brun is an American biologist, currently a Distinguished Professor and Clyde Culbertson Professor at Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana Universit ...
and his team to image the cells to identify the action site. Culp's later team found other antibiotics that employed the same method of action. Complestatin is an existing antibiotic that was shown to use the same mechanism of action.


References

Glycopeptide antibiotics {{Antibiotic-stub