Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Antibiotics from the Abyss

Dr Katherine Duncan, Senior Lecturer, University of Newcastle

Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, microbial chemistry has revolutionised public health. In fact, most of antibiotics (tetracyclines, aminoglycosides etc) in clinically use were discovered in the ‘golden age of antibiotic discovery’ (1920s-1970s). In the arms race of microbial evolution and our ability to discover new chemistry, the microbes are winning.  By 2050, 10 million deaths will be attributed to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These talented strains are constantly adapting strategies to become resistant to antibiotics, becoming multi-drug resistant and even sometimes termed ‘superbugs’. In the last 50 years, there were various strategies to antibiotic discovery, the main one was making them synthetically in the lab.

Despite the promise, only 4-6 antibiotic classes were discovered with many of the approved drugs being modifications of existing chemistry. It was concluded that nature is a better chemist that we are, and as such strategies to uncover new chemistry include looking in underexplored places, studying rare bacteria and using new methods and technology. Our work focusses on learning what influences the ‘chemical language’ of bacteria – as this is poorly understood. Is it abiotic parameters such as temperature, salinity and pressure or is it biotic factors like microbial community. To do this we look at rare actinomycetes (bacteria) from understudied locations, including Antarctica and the deep sea <4000m. By learning from nature, we will likely unlock secrets as to why chemistry is produced and accelerate antibiotic discovery.
7pm in the Tempest Anderson Lecture Theatre in the Yorkshire Museum on Tuesday 14th October.

YPS Members free, non members £5.

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