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So obviously we have a big problem with antibiotic resistance. Most of our antibiotics originate from bacteria themselves (or are synthetic variations on scaffolds which originate from bacteria). I have heard it asserted that using antibacterials derived from plants would lessen the problem.

One argument for the use of plants is that the bacteria from which we derive an antibiotic must themselves already be resistant to that antibiotic, meaning that the allele for resistance is already in the bacterial gene pool and when we exert a selection pressure by using the antibiotic, resistance will eventually appear among pathogenic species.

Another argument I have heard is that plants can provide a lot of structurally diverse metabolites from which we might discover new classes of antibacterials.

Is there anything else to this?

(I know I have answered my own question to an extent, but I am wondering whether there are any other good reasons to look to plants for the next generation of antibacterial drugs).

Thank you!

DIPEA
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    You're right that some antibiotics do originate from fungi e.g. penicillin, cephalosporin. But many antibiotics do come from bacteria (especially Streptomyces spp.) for example: chloramphenicol, erythromycin, kanamycin, streptomycin, tetracycline, vancomycin, gentamycin, rifampicin – DIPEA Dec 21 '15 at 20:23
  • Your first argument of use of plants isn't really valid. Take streptomycin, which is derived from Streptomyces griseus. If a person had an S. grisues infection, you wouldn't use streptomycin against it of course. But if they get tuberculosis, you can use streptomycin without worrying the the TB will somehow transfer genetic information from S.g and gain it's "resistance". – Nathan Dec 21 '15 at 21:52
  • I think you raise an interesting point, but I don't think anything is being ignored today as a potential source of antibiotics. Look at that 15th c. ox gall, copper, and this & that recipe to treat chalazions that is effective against MRSA. – anongoodnurse Dec 21 '15 at 22:05
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    @Nathan - If I'm not mistaken, horizontal gene transfer can result in exchange of genetic material between bacteria that are quite distantly related. I think it's possible that a Mycobacterium could acquire streptomycin resistance from Streptomyces. – DIPEA Dec 21 '15 at 23:05
  • @DIPEA Not to be cliche, but anything is possible. But it seems rather unlikely that these two bacteria are going to transfer genetic material given their different native environments. Also given that one produces a molecule specifically meant to kill, or at least, hamper the other. – Nathan Dec 21 '15 at 23:18
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    @Nathan Here's a reference describing gene transfer between distantly related bacteria: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC284573/?page=1 – DIPEA Dec 22 '15 at 10:49
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    @anongoodnurse you're probably right; I guess the search for new antibiotics has just broadened its horizons generally – DIPEA Dec 22 '15 at 10:52
  • @DIPEA - I think that knowing bacteria (and yeast) compete makes the ease of plating and measuring reaction to discs easy enough guesswork (wasn't penicillin discovered because of clear spots on a plate? I can't remember now.) Doing that with all known plants, though... that's a lot harder. Just my guess. But as I said, I think you raise an interesting and good point. – anongoodnurse Dec 22 '15 at 18:32
  • @anongoodnurse Yup, Alexander Fleming had contaminated Petri dishes and realized some fungi had a clear zone without bacteria around and said "That's funny" - true quote. And boom, pennicillin. – Dart Feld Nov 24 '16 at 16:31
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    @DartFeld it wasn't quite "And boom, penicillin". More like "And 12 years later, penicillin" – De Novo Aug 21 '18 at 22:17

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Bacterial isolates from ancient permafrost and isolated caves allow study of the resistome, or the collection of antibacterial resistance genes, in environments without exposure to modern antibiotics for medical and agricultural use. These samples have genes for resistance to antibiotics derived from a variety of sources, including fungal sources (penicillins, cephalosporins) and synthetic dyes (sulfonamides), as well as bacterial sources (macrolides, aminoglycosides, etc). This finding was surprising, but does help explain the rapid emergence of resistance in response to clinical use. The genes have been there all along.

The OP is correct that a great deal of our current armament of antibiotics were derived from bacterial products, but since fungal and wholly synthetic products don't solve the resistance problem, I don't believe plant products will either.

De Novo
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