Ancient microbes yield discovery of novel antibiotics through AI technology

AI facilitates Cesar de la Fuente's search for novel antibiotic possibilities, venturing into unconventional territories like the genetic material of extinct lifeforms and the protein structures of primordial microorganisms.

, and Administrator

2025 September 13 . 7:52 AM

1 min read

Ancient microbes yield novel antibiotics, discovered by AI

Ancient microbes yield discovery of novel antibiotics through AI technology

In a groundbreaking study, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have identified over 12,000 potential antibiotic candidates from Archaea, Earth's oldest life forms. Led by César de la Fuente, a Presidential Associate Professor in bioengineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering, psychiatry, microbiology, and chemistry, the team is testing these candidates, known as "archaeasins," against actual bacteria.

The study, published in Nature Microbiology, explores the use of Archaea in the development of next-generation antibiotics. Previous efforts to find new antibiotics have primarily focused on fungi, bacteria, and animals. However, Archaea's biology, which has evolved in unusual ways, makes them a largely untapped source of new molecular tools, including potential antibiotics.

The researchers used artificial intelligence to mine 233 archaeal proteomes and identify these promising candidates. Fangping Wan, a postdoctoral fellow in de la Fuente's lab, is one of the co-first authors of the paper. Wan states that AI speeds up the process of finding new antibiotics by identifying where the promising candidates are likely to be.

The distribution of electric charge in archaeasins differs from known antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), suggesting that the new antibiotics, if developed, may function differently from those currently in use. The researchers are testing 80 archaeasins against actual bacteria to further investigate their potential as new antibiotics.

The testing of these archaeasins is aimed at finding new antibiotics that could potentially fuel the development of new treatments for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The researchers believe that these discoveries could pave the way for a new era in antibiotic research and development.

For more details about this study, you can read the article on Penn Engineering Today. As the fight against antibiotic resistance continues, the potential of Archaea as a source of new antibiotics is an exciting development in the field.