This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Researchers from Monash University, in collaboration with the University of Warwick, have discovered how the bacterial antibiotic "gladiolin" can disarm Candida albicans, one of the leading causes of life-threatening fungal infections, opening new avenues for developing life-saving treatments. Published in Current Biology, the breakthrough is the latest outcome from the Monash Warwick Alliance Programme in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), a long-term strategic collaboration bringing together researchers from both institutions to tackle one of the world's most pressing health challenges.
Led by researchers from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, the study reveals that gladiolin can switch Candida albicans from its tissue-damaging, invasive "hyphae" form back into its benign, round yeast form. Lead author Professor Ana Traven, from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, said although gladiolin was discovered several years ago as an antibiotic made by bacteria, its activity against fungal pathogens had remained poorly understood. "The thread-like hyphae of Candida albicans allow the fungus to penetrate and damage human tissue and form drug-resistant biofilms, leading to dangerous infections," Professor Traven said.
"We've discovered gladiolin effectively 'switches off' this aggressive behavior, pushing the fungus back into its less harmful 'yeast' state. "This gives us a different way to think about controlling fungal infections, not just by killing the fungus but by disarming it." First author Dr. Manasa Bharathwaj, a research fellow at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, said gladiolin has a very interesting property: It changes the metabolism of Candida albicans, inducing the pathogen to consume more glucose in its environment.
"Since glucose is important for the invasive hyphae to grow, gladiolin tricks Candida to use up its glucose supply more quickly, forcing it to switch back to its less invasive yeast state," Bharathwaj said. This new study builds on a 2024 discovery led by Professor Traven and Professor Mibel Aguilar, from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, along with Professor Greg Challis. Both Professor Traven and Professor Challis serve as co-directors of the Monash Warwick Alliance Programme in Antimicrobial Resistance.
The latest research showed that gladiolin dramatically boosts the effectiveness of one of the world's most important antifungal medicines, amphotericin B. Together, the two studies show that naturally occurring bacterial molecules like gladiolin can tackle dangerous fungi in multiple ways, both by boosting the effectiveness of existing antifungal drugs and by switching off one of the fungus's key disease-causing behaviors. Professor Challis said this finding helps identify new ways to tackle infections that are becoming increasingly difficult to treat.
"Importantly, our findings suggest that gladiolin could help existing drugs kill dangerous fungal pathogens, including drug-resistant biofilms that can form on medical devices, while potentially allowing lower, less toxic doses of antifungal drugs to be used," Professor Challis said. "This is an exciting example of how interdisciplinary and international collaboration can open up new approaches to antimicrobial resistance." Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. d research that matter—daily or weekly. The findings add to a growing body of research emerging from the Alliance's strategic investment in antimicrobial resistance research.
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