A group of researcher published an article in “Nature” reporting the discovery of a new cell wall inhibitor, teixobactin, from a screen of uncultured bacteria grown in diffusion chambers in situ using “ iChip” technology.
This powerful new antibiotic is reported to kill an array of drug-resistant bacteria in experimental infections in mice.It is a first new class of antibiotics discovered in decades
Many scientists think that this is a much-needed breakthrough that could lead to a whole new class of disease-fighting treatments which has excited scientists, doctors and the public all over the world.
Teixobactin is an extract of β-proteobacteria named Eleftheria terrae. This antibiotic is only tested in mice, to become a drug to treat infections in people, clinical trials will need to be carried out to make sure that the drug is safe and works in patients. Human trials are not yet started so the drug will not be available in the market for at least 3-4 years.
Time will prove Teixobactin will develop into a new drug or not.
How Teixobactin was discovered?
A new tool called iChip, was used for the isolation of teixobactin from a soil microorganism Eleftheria terrae which does not grow in test tube in laboratory condition. This tool or device allow the researchers to dilute the bacteria containing soil samples, sandwich them between two semi-permeable membranes, then immerse them in soil, allowing the bacteria to be grown in the lab in natural condition.
Scientists believe that this screening could be a ‘game changer’ for discovering new antibiotics from environmental sources, as it allows compounds to be isolated from micro-organisms in the soil that do not grow under normal laboratory conditions.
Uses
Teixobactin is not a panacea against all bacteria. According to the researcher, Teixobactin was ineffective against most Gram-negative bacteria but had shown excellent activity against Gram-positive pathogens, including drug-resistant strains:
- Potency against most species, including difficult-to-treat enterococci and M. tuberculosis
- Teixobactin was exceptionally active against Clostridioides difficile (also known as Clostridium difficile) and Bacillus anthracis.
- Teixobactin had excellent bactericidal activity against S. aureus, MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and Vancomycin Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA)
Mechanism of Action

Teixobactin is an unusual depsipeptide that contains enduracididine, methylphenylalanine, and four D-amino acids. It inhibits cell wall synthesis by binding to a highly conserved motif of lipid II (precursor of peptidoglycan) and lipid III (precursor of cell wall teichoic acid).
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Hello, I would like to get permission for figure reproduction you display on page “http://microbeonline.com/teixobactin-novel-antibiotic-introduction-mechanism-action-uses” under the caption “Use of iChip device to extract Teixobactin compound from soil”. Could you please advice, who is actually the license owner of this artwork? Many thanks in advance for your reply, Vladimir
Dear Vladimir thank you for your comment. These picture were taken from an article in “Nature”. Please follow the links above in Read more section.