Scientists from The University of Manchester have discovered a new way
to produce complex antibiotics using CRISPRgene editing to reprogram
pathways to future medicines urgently needed to fight antimicrobial
resistance, treat neglected diseases, and tackle future pabdenics.

The Manchester researchers usedCRISPR-Cas9 to create new nonribosomal
peptide synthetase (NRPS) enzymes that deliver clinically important
antibiotics. NRPS enzymes are prolific producers of natural antibiotics
such as penicillin. However, manipulating these complex enzymes to
produce new and more effective antibiotics has been a major challenge
for scientists to date.

The team says gene editing could be used to produce improved antibiotics
and possibly lead to the development of new treatments in the fight
against drug-resistant pathogens and illnesses in the future. Jason
Micklefield, Professor of Chemical Biology at the Manchester Institute
of Biotechnology (MIB), UK, explains: "The emergence of
antibiotic-resistant pathogens is one of the biggest threats we face
today. The gene editing approach we developed is a very efficient and
rapid way to engineer complex assembly line enzymes that can produce new
antibiotic structures with potentially improved properties."

Manchester scientists produce new antibiotics by gene editing
[www.manchester.ac.uk]