University of Oregon researchers revive 160-million-year-old proteins

Biologists at the University of Oregon have successfully reconstructed prehistoric proteins dating back approximately 160 million years. These ancient molecules, which originate from the ancestors of placental mammals, possess natural antimicrobial properties that could aid in the development of new treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections.

The research focused on the immune protein lactoferrin, which functions by sequestering iron to starve bacteria and utilizing an embedded peptide called lactoferricin to rupture pathogen cell walls. By using ancestral sequence reconstruction, the team identified extinct peptides that, in laboratory tests, demonstrated higher potency against certain drug-resistant bacteria than some modern versions.

As global antibiotic resistance intensifies, researchers hope that resurrecting or engineering these enhanced antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) will provide a new therapeutic arsenal to supplement or replace existing antibiotics that are no longer effective.