ARTICLES
Stimulus Material for depth studies, courtesy of Macquarie University
$6.9 million quest for new antibiotics from Australia’s unique
microbiome
Macquarie University and UWA scientists will join forces with two Australian companies to search for new antibiotics
in 500,000 species of Australian microbes. “We have samples of over 500,000 Australian microbes,” says Dr
Ernest Lacey, Managing Director of Sydney-based company, Microbial Screening Technologies (MST), and the
leader of the project.
“We’ve collected them from the soil in backyards, in paddocks, and forests. We’ve collected them from the guts
of ants, reptiles, and fish. We’ve gone everywhere to find Australia’s unique microbiome.”
“Each microbe contains a unique cocktail of metabolites. When we find an interesting chemical, we’ll be relying
on Macquarie University researcher Dr Andrew Piggott (Department of Molecular Sciences) and his team to help
us to work out its structure and mode of action.
“Then Dr Heng Chooi from UWA will use genomics to unravel how the microbes assemble these metabolites and
then boost their productivity.”
“Advanced Veterinary Therapeutics (AVT) is led by Dr Stephen Page and will focus on animal health potential,”
says Ernest.
The three-year project, “BioAustralis, towards the future”, will harness MST’s unique collection as a source of next-
generation antibiotics capable of overcoming microbial resistance.
“Antibiotic resistance is now one of the most serious threats to both human and animal health worldwide,” says
Molecular Sciences’ Andrew Piggott.
“This project will allow us to identify new and more effective antibiotics already at work in nature that are capable
of defeating these deadly superbugs,” he says.
Find out more
Syllabus link: Biology Module 7 Inquiry question 4
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 67 NO 4