Dhaka, 2021. Heartiest congratulations to Prof. Haseena Khan, Prof Aftab Uddin, Prof Mohammad Riazul Islam and their enthusiastic researcher team at University of Dhaka and BCSIR for the identification of a novel lantibiotics produced  by a jute endophyte. The study has been conducted in Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (DU) in collaboation with Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (DU) and Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR). The team consists of Dr M Aftab Uddin, Shammi Akter, Mahbuba Ferdous, Badrul Haidar, Al Amin, AHM Shofiul Islam Molla, Dr Haseena Khan and Dr Mohammad Riazul Islam

Search for novel antibiotics are demand of time since the overuse of existing antibiotics are creating antibiotic resistance making them inefficient. Lantibiotics are ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides possessing unusual amino acids. The team have shown that an endophyte of jute named Staphylococcus hominis strain MBL_AB63 gives promising antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus SG511. The lantibiotic is named homiocorcin (keeping in mind about the scientific name of its niche that is corchorus or jute). It shows 82%similarity to a previously reported peptide called epicidin 280, but with difference of 7 amino acids in several positions. The bacteria produces 5 antibiotics that have the potential to fight various drug resistant bacterial diseases. 

Such studies need several steps which can not be completed in one hand where knowledge of different disciplines are combined, and this study is an example of such collaboration of researh works among Bangladeshi researchers. Congratulations and kudos to them for this effort. The study is published in the 'Scientific Report' journal of the renowed Nature publishing group. You can read more about it here. 

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