New Antibiotic Discovery Helped By Australia Sepsis Study

Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia have led a national study pertaining to four major bacteria that cause sepsis, thereby providing new targets when it comes to developing antibiotics.

Professor Mark Schembri and Professor Mark Walker from the university’s Institute of Molecular Biosciences, along with the University of Melbourne’s Dr. Andre Mu and teams from 23 organisations across Australia, had set up experiments in order to mimic what takes place to bacteria as and when they enter the blood stream during the course of the infection.

It is well to be noted that sepsis is the root cause of 20% of the deaths across the world, in which people succumb to heart attacks, strokes, colon, breast, or prostate cancer. It is often characterised by infection-led organ failure, leaving survivors with cognitive, physical, and psychological side effects that can be seen for the rest of their lives.

Apparently, the researchers have been able to characterise RNA, bacterial genes, proteins, and metabolites from E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Group A Streptococcus, as well as Staphylococcus, and combined the data so as to get an absolute picture of how different species go on to respond when grown in human blood serum.

The research also brought together the biological sciences communities and Australian bacterial-pathogen research and generated loads of data, which happens to be publicly accessible. Due to this, researchers from across the world will be able to pry out this dataset so as to drive antibiotic exploration and development, which is very pivotal considering the fast rise in antibiotics seen worldwide.

Notably, the antibiotic-resistant sepsis pathogens framework initiative consortium is very well supported due to the funding received from the Australian Government’s National Collaboration research infrastructure strategy led Bioplatforms Australia.