‘Keanu Reeves’ molecules could protect plants and humans from ‘bad guys’: Study

Keanumycins, a new group of molecules named after movie star Keanu Reeves, could work as effective antimicrobial agents that protect both humans and crops.

The Pseudomonas bacteria, which creates keanumycins or "Keanu Reeves" molecules, is toxic to amoeba. (Image credit: Harikumar Suma/Leibniz-HKI)

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

A group of molecules developed by bacteria of genus Pseudomonas has proven to have such a strong antimicrobial effect that researchers have named them keanumycins after Keanu Reeves because they are extremely effective at killing (microbes), just like some of the Hollywood icon’s characters.

“We have been working with pseudomonads for some time and know that many of these bacterial species are very toxic to amoebae, which feed on bacteria. The lipopeptides kill so efficiently that we named them after Keanu Reeves because he, too, is extremely deadly in his roles,” said Sebastian Götze, first author of research on the molecules published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

According to Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI), the researchers proved that the substance is effective against both plant fungal diseases and human-pathogenic fungi. The group of molecules works effectively against the planet pest Botrytis cinerea, which triggers grey mould rot in crops, causing massive harvest losses every year. It also affects fungi that are dangerous to humans, like Candida albicans and has been proven to be harmless to plant and human cells.

Also read | New ‘artificial skin’ is more sensitive than human skin in some ways

According to Leibniz-KNI, this could mean that keanumycins can be an environment-friendly alternative to chemical pesticides. They could also offer an alternative in the fight against resistant fungi. According to Gotze, many fungi that affect humans are now resistant to antimycotics because they are used in large quantities in agriculture.

The researchers believe that the antimycotic properties of keanumycin could possibly be used by humans as well. Tests conducted so far reveal that the products are not highly toxic for human cells and that they are effective against fungi in low concentrations. This could make keanumycins a good candidate for the pharmaceutical development of new antimycotics.