Discovered from previously “uncultivable” soil bacterium Eleftheria terrae.
Teixobactin was discovered using iChip, a new technology that enabled the bacterium to be cultured for the production of sufficient material for isolation and structural and functional characterization.
SYNTHESIS OF TEIXOBACTIN
Both Giltrap, Andrew M, et al. and Jin K, et al. both found that the activity of the synthetic teixobactin was similar to the naturally found teixobactin.
Overall, both syntheses were extremely complicated chemical pathways, but both produced successful forms of teixobactin, resisting mutants of staph, tuberculosis, MRSA, and several other bacteria.
Normally, antibiotics that can still fight off resistant forms of these bacteria are toxic to mammals, which is why they are not readily used. Teixobactin showed no toxicity against mammalian cells.
Below you can find the synthesis maps from the two articles that synthetically created teixobactin.
PHYSICAL BIOCHEMISTRY OF TEIXOBACTIN
Along with showing no toxicity on mammalian cells, teixobactin did not bind to DNA, and had no effect on labeling of DNA, RNA, or proteins.
Unlike many antibiotics, teixobactin doesn't target protein, rather, it targets a precursor of a pathway that produces peptidoglycan; inhibiting bacteria cell wall synthesis.
According to Ling, Losee L. et. al., cells cannot employ another route to produce peptidoglycan, therefore, cannot find ways to resist teixobactin.
"Resistance could eventually emerge from horizontal transmission of a resistance mechanism from some soil bacterium, and given the highly conserved teixobactin binding motif, this would likely take the form of an antibiotic modifying enzyme. However, although determinants coding for enzymes attacking frequently found antibiotics such as b-lactams or aminoglycosides are common, they are unknown for the rare vancomycin [another antibiotic comparable to teixobactin, without resistance for 30 years]" (Ling, Losee L. et al.)
SYNTHESIS OF TEIXOBACTIN (SYNTHETIC MECHANISM)
Above is synthesis from Giltrap, Andrew M, et al. “Total Synthesis of Teixobactin.” Below is synthesis from Jin K, et al. “Total Synthesis of Teixobactin.”