Hundreds of potential antibiotics in spider and snake venom

They secrete venoms that are potentially extremely dangerous to humans, but not only that. Fortunately, there's a downside: the toxins of spiders, scorpions, snakes, and the like also contain compounds that could be used to synthesize new drugs. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications , a group of scientists from the University of Pennsylvania report having successfully isolated 386 molecules from spider and snake toxins that could potentially become next-generation antibiotics—and therefore valuable allies in the fight against antibiotic resistance. For their work, the scientists used Apex, a deep learning algorithm that analyzed over 40 million molecules contained in the venoms and identified the most promising ones.

A “masterpiece of evolution”

“Venoms are a masterpiece of evolution,” explained César de la Fuente , one of the authors of the study and associate professor of psychiatry, microbiology, bioengineering, and chemical and biomolecular engineering. “Apex allows us to scan an immense chemical space in a few hours and identify peptides (small chains of amino acids, ed.) with exceptional potential to combat the world's most insidious pathogens.” Of the 386 molecules identified by the artificial intelligence, the scientists selected and synthesized 58 in the laboratory: 53 of them proved effective in neutralizing bacteria resistant to current antibiotics (including Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus ) even when administered at doses that did not cause any damage to human red blood cells.

Artificial intelligence and traditional techniques

"By coupling the computational power of artificial intelligence with 'traditional' experimentation," commented Marcelo Torres , another of the study's authors, "we were able to conduct one of the most comprehensive analyses of venom-derived antibiotics." A total of two thousand potential new antibiotics capable of neutralizing or inhibiting bacterial growth were mapped. The team is now working to identify, among all these candidates, those with the greatest potential.