Scientists have produced new, effective and simplified forms of teixobactin -- a new generation antibiotic which defeats multi-drug resistant infections such as MRSA -- as part of a pioneering research effort to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

The team, led by Dr Ishwar Singh at the University of Lincoln, UK, has pinpointed exactly which amino acid in the newly discovered teixobactin antibiotic makes it so successful at killing off harmful MRSA bacteria, which are resistant to many other antibiotics. The research team has adapted this rare molecule so that it can be easily used in the production of new drugs.

The breakthrough comes after the team successfully produced a number of synthetic derivatives of the highly potent teixobactin -- hailed as a 'game-changer' in the fight against antimicrobial resistance -- and becamethe first in the world to document its three-dimensional molecular make-up. These developments represent important steps to understanding how the powerful antibiotic functions and which building blocks are needed for it to work effectively.

Their newest study, which directly targets MRSA bacteria, overcomes a further barrier in the race to combat drug resistant bacteria.

Dr Ishwar Singh, a specialist in novel drug design and development from the University of Lincoln's School of Pharmacy, explained: "The scientific community has found it extremely difficult, time-consuming and expensive to synthetically produce the amino acid, enduracididine, which makes teixobactin so effective at killing a range of pathogens without detectable resistance.

"Teixobactin was first isolated from soil microorganisms (which do not grow under laboratory conditions) -- the natural source of nearly all antibiotics developed since the