Japanese Researchers Reverse-Engineer Volcano-Found Antibiotics for Infection Treatment

Japanese researchers have reverse-engineered antibiotics found in a Cameroon volcano. These antibiotics, discovered in 1974, come from the bacterium Streptomyces arenae.

The compounds, β- and γ-naphthocyclinone, were difficult to synthesize in useful quantities due to their complexity. Researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo successfully used a method called retrosynthetic analysis. This method breaks down a target molecule into simpler components.

They started with β-naphthocyclinone and identified simpler molecular units for construction. A key molecule in the process was bicyclo[3.2.1]octadienone. The researchers carefully positioned and bonded these pieces without altering their functions.

The researchers compared the 3D structures of their synthesized compounds with those from nature using circular dichroism spectra. Their results showed identical structures, confirming the successful synthesis.

They synthesized β-naphthocyclinone with a yield of 70% and γ-naphthocyclinone with a yield of 87%. These compounds can be produced on a larger scale in the lab, eliminating the need to return to the volcano.

Further research is underway to synthesize other similar compounds. The study is published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.