New, More Effective Nisin Antibiotics Combat Superbugs And Food Diseases

Researchers at University College Cork have used **bioengineering** to produce a new generation of **natural antibiotics** that target harmful micro-organisms such as **MRSA** and the food-borne pathogen, **Listeria monocytogenes**. Dr Field and colleagues explained how by altering different amino acids in nisin, an antimicrobial protein produced naturally by a bacterium called Lactococcus lactis, they had created a family of variants, each slightly different from the naturally occurring protein. These bioengineered nisin variants possessed greater activities than the parent molecule against a range of important clinical pathogens including MRSA, VRE (Vancomycin resistant Enterococci) and the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. More "Sciencedaily":[ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090330200710.htm]

---