
Overshadowed by bacterial and viral infections, fungal pathogens claim the lives of over 1.5 million individuals each year, while infecting a staggering 13 million people annually. Similarly, their treatment and the meager funding for fungal research often languish in the shadows. But, as we forge ahead, adapting and inventing new preventive medicines, fungi too evolve, presenting us with a formidable adversary.
A significant challenge we encounter is the rising resistance and diminishing efficacy of antifungals. Similar to bacteria, fungi adapt to evade antifungal inhibitory mechanisms. They are microscopic organisms, allowing them to proliferate at high rates, and therefore can evolve faster; this allows fungi species to mutate their binding sites so they can no longer be recognized by drugs. In fact, fungi might even be harder to treat than bacteria. Because their structure is so similar to that of human cells, it is hard to find defining traits to just target fungal cells. Human-infecting pathogenic fungi are evolving to all licensed antifungals, and here’s where keanumycins come in!
Keanumycins, nonribosomal lipopeptides secreted by the bacteria Pseudomonas, are highly effective antifungals for both humans and plants. In a study published in the Journal of American Chemical Society, headed by Pierre Stallforth, researchers found the keanumycins to kill fungi so efficiently, they couldn’t resist paying homage to the legendary Keanu Reeves, whose action-packed characters served as the catalyst for their inspiration.
Keanumycins are secreted from a living organism and therefore are biodegradable. With the surge in chemical usage in agriculture, the importance of biodegradability grows for plant antifungals. Keanumycins won’t leave any harmful residues in soil or on the plant, ultimately making the plants safer for the environment and human consumption. They have been shown to be effective in inhibiting the spread of the deadly plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea, also known as Gray Mold. Specifically, they have been shown to be highly effective in preventing the infection of Hydrangea Macrophylla, which are commonly known as Hydrangeas.
Keanumycins also provide for advancement in human antifungals. Due to the similarities between fungal cells and human cells, the majority of antifungals have the potential to be toxic to human cells. They share nearly 50% of their DNA, which is also why yeast is commonly used to model the functions of human genes in research. Contrastingly, keanumycins have been shown to not be harmful to human cells! This opens up many doors of opportunity for providing safer alternatives to harsh antifungal medications which could have many unwanted side effects on patients.
The resilience and adaptability of fungi necessitate a continuous exploration of innovative solutions, and keanumycins represent a significant step forward in this ongoing journey. They present safer and more effective treatments for human fungal infections, as well as being environmentally friendly pesticides (due to their biodegradability). As we stand at the precipice of a new era in fungal treatment, armed with keanumycins, it is imperative to prioritize further research, funding, and collaboration to harness the full potential of these remarkable antifungal agents.
References
Fisher, Matthew C., et al. “Tackling the Emerging Threat of Antifungal Resistance to Human Health.” Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 20, no. 9, 29 Mar. 2022, pp. 557-71, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-022-00720-1.
Götze, Sebastian, et al. “Ecological Niche-Inspired Genome Mining Leads to the Discovery of Crop-Protecting Nonribosomal Lipopeptides Featuring a Transient Amino Acid Building Block.” Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 145, no. 4, 20 Jan. 2023, pp. 2342-53, https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.2c11107.
Meena, Khem Raj, and Shamsher S Kanwar. “Lipopeptides as the antifungal and antibacterial agents: applications in food safety and therapeutics.” BioMed research international vol. 2015 (2015): 473050. doi:10.1155/2015/473050
Münch, Ronja. “Keanu Reeves, the molecule: New active ingredient from bacteria could protect plants.” Phys.org, 6 Feb. 2023, phys.org/news/2023-02-keanu-reeves-molecule-ingredient-bacteria.html.
Nicioli, Taylor. “Newly discovered chemicals are so deadly to fungi they are named after Keanu Reeves.” CNN, 3 Mar. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/03/03/world/keanumycin-fungus-killer-discovery-scn/index.html.