Abstract
A recent article1 described two novel monocyclic β-lactam antibiotics produced by bacteria. In the past few years, we have screened bacteria isolated from numerous ecosystems and habitats for their ability to produce β-lactam antibiotics, using a strain of Bacillus licheniformis which is specific for molecules containing a β-lactam and which is sensitive down to 100 ng ml−1. From over one million bacterial isolates screened, we have now identified seven related molecules containing β-lactams produced by a range of bacterial species. For this new family of monocyclic β-lactams we suggest the class name ‘monobactam’. Bacteria which produce β-lactams are, in reality, relatively common in nature.
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Sykes, R., Cimarusti, C., Bonner, D. et al. Monocyclic β-lactam antibiotics produced by bacteria. Nature 291, 489–491 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/291489a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/291489a0
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