Development of low environmental load type antibacterial agent and disinfectant using carp blood-derived glycoprotein

Abstract

Infectious diseases need preventatives and treatments. Today, the main way to deal with bacterial infections is through the application of antimicrobials. During the mid-20th century this was successful. However, with increased use, there has been a huge increase in the resistance to the most common antimicrobials. At the same time, there has been a decrease in the number of novel antimicrobials that have been discovered or developed. In recent years, studies have looked to innovative ways to deal with the growing challenges of resistance to antimicrobials. One method has been to look closely at other organisms from across the tree of life to uncover different devices that nature has deployed to tackle disease. This approach is often useful as it can also isolate very specific, narrow-spectrum antimicrobials. Whilst these can only target few species, or sometimes only one, they have a reduced impact on the environment downstream. Researchers at the Faculty of Bioresources at Mie University Graduate School, Japan, are scouring one of Japan’s most famous products for novel antimicrobials, being fish. Led by Professor Takahiko Aoki, the group has been investigating the blood of carp for sources of a new compounds that could tackle diseases in humans.