New antibiotic attacks bacteria in never-before-seen way [View all]

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://today.uic.edu/new-antibiotic-attacks-bacteria-in-never-before-seen-way/

June 9, 2026

Scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago have discovered a new antibiotic that may be a bulwark in the fight against drug-resistant superbugs, according to new research published in Nature.

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“This new antibiotic is amazing because it targets a site of the ribosome that has never been targeted by any other molecule before,” Travin said.

By attacking the ribosome in a new way, manikomycin can evade the existing mechanisms pathogens have developed to resist antibiotics.

That means “bacteria need to jump through hoops to find resistance,” said Alexander Mankin, distinguished professor in the Retzky College of Pharmacy. The paper was co-authored by Mankin and includes UIC co-authors Dorota Klepacki and Nora Vázquez-Laslop.

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Kaur, M., Travin, D.Y., Berger, M.J. et al. A natural depsipeptide antibiotic binds the E-site of the bacterial ribosome. Nature (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10589-2