Researchers at McMaster University discovered a gene megacluster in Streptomyces bacteria that produces four antibiotic molecules working together…
The researchers call it a megacluster: a large stretch of DNA that codes for four molecules acting in concert to derail one essential metabolic pathway.
Most antibiotics are a single bioactive molecule, and some can be defeated by a single mutation.
The backdrop here is grim.
In the immediate term, expect this to stay a science-and-industry story rather than a clinical one.
Read the complete breakdown, fixes and what happens next.