Israeli Researchers Discover New Molecule That Could Fight Superbugs

Many lives have been saved since the advent of antibiotics. People have been living longer and healthier lives due to these modern discoveries.

But today, there are bacteria that are antibiotic resistant and this is a big threat to global health, reported The Times of Israel.

“Antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious global health threats of our time,” Dr. Sahar Melamed, head of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Melamed lab, told The Times of Israel.

Around the globe, these superbugs were responsible for 1.27 million deaths. In 2023. Israel’s state controller found that 5,000 Israelis were dying every year from bacterial resistance and that number keeps growing.

That’s why researchers at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem set out to find new ways to attack these bacteria and came up with an innovative new molecule PreS that acts as a switch to boost bacteria-eating viruses. The new study, led by PhD student Aviezer Silverman, was published in the journal Molecular Cell.

What’s Old is New Again
The PreS molecule allows a bacteria-eating virus that’s called a bacteriophage or phage to take over the bacterial cell and use it for itself. That effectively destroys the bacteria. But this technique is not new.

Bacteriophages were first discovered in 1917 by a French-Canadian microbiologist, Félix d’Hérelle. He found that the phage killed the bacteria that cause dysentery. But once penicillin was discovered most scientists stopped researching phage.

In 2028, due to the rise of antibiotic resistance, the Israel Phage Therapy Center was established with Hadassah Medical Center to focus on the potential of phages that kill Bacteria.

Breaking Through the Cell’s Defenses
While most phage research focused on viral proteins, according to a release from Hebrew University, the study showed that phages could use RNA molecules to reprogram the host cell. PreS attaches itself and helps the virus copy the bacteria’s DNA and changes it so that the virus kills the bacteria.

The discovery is important because  phages may contain many small RNAs that have yet to be discovered.

“This small RNA gives the phage another layer of control,” Melamed said in the Hebrew University release. “By regulating essential bacterial genes at exactly the right moment, the virus improves its chances of successful replication. What astonished us most is that phage lambda, one of the most intensively studied viruses for more than 75 years, still hides secrets.”

Discoveries like this show that even tiny viral molecules can have a large impact on solving whether a bacterial infection can be cured. This knowledge can offer a safe and effective tool against drug-resistant bacteria.