difficile

The researchers are currently working on modifying the system to help combat Clostridioides difficile, commonly referred to as C. diff, a bacterium that can cause diarrhea and colitis, among other symptoms.

The drug, called lolamicin, also warded off secondary infections with Clostridioides difficile, a common and dangerous hospital-associated bacterial infection, and was effective against more than 130 multidrug-resistant bacterial strains in cell culture.

FMT has a 90% cure rate for C. difficile infection.

"We found reduced vancomycin susceptibility in C. difficile was associated with lower 30-day sustained clinical response and lower 14-day initial cure rates in the studied patient cohort," said Gonzales-Luna.

Intriguingly, the researchers found that the modular structure of the tail and the initial steps of Mcf1 intoxication are highly similar to toxins from Clostridioides difficile, a human pathogen responsible for more than 120,000 hospitalizations in Europe annually.