UIC Researchers Identify Antibiotic with Potential to Combat Drug-resistant Bacteria

Posted on September 01, 2026
At left, a sponge-like structure with colored highlights to show manikomycin and RNA binding sites. At right, a 3d diagram showing the molecular structure.
Visualizations of how manikomycin binds in bacterial ribosomes and of manikomycin’s molecular structure. (Photo: UIC College of Pharmacy)

The soil bacterium Streptomyces rimosus, which produces the common antibiotic oxytetracycline, has been shown by UIC researchers to produce another antibiotic that may help in the fight against drug-resistant superbugs. Dubbed manikomycin by the research team led by Drs. Dmitrii Travin and Alexander Mankin, both faculty in the UIC Retzky College of Pharmacy, the antibiotic works differently than other antibiotics, which could make it effective against bacteria that have developed drug resistance. They also found that the molecule enters bacteria via multiple pathways, which would make it harder for resistance to develop.