Scientists Discover New Antibiotic in Tropical Forests

Scientists have discovered an antibiotic produced by a soil bacterium from a Mexican tropical forest that may help lead to a ‘plant probiotic,’ more robust plants and other antibiotics. The new antibiotic, known as phazolicin, prevents harmful bacteria from getting into the root systems of bean plants.

Phazolicin

• The bacterium that produces phazolicin, is an unidentified species of Rhizobium.
• It was found in tropical forests in Los Tuxtlas, Mexico, in the soil and roots of wild beans called Phaseolus vulgaris, hence the antibiotic’s name: phazolicin.
• Like other Rhizobia, the phazolicin-producing microbe forms nodules on bean plant roots and provides plants ....