Anna Salleh
ABC
Proteins secreted by frog skin could one day help in the design of new antibiotics to fight superbugs, say researchers.
A few species of frogs are known to secrete peptides that protect against a broad range of unwanted bacteria.
The proteins are maculatin, from the green-eyed tree frog, and aurein, from the growling grass frog and the green and golden bellfrog.
Each protein has a unique way of killing bacteria by breaking their membranes, says Le Brun.
In research led by Professor Frances Separovic of the University of Melbourne, he and other colleagues used a device at the OPAL research reactor in Sydney to take a close-up look at the way in which maculatin and aurein do this.
They point out that no frogs were harmed in the research.
Instead, the research team used synthetic membranes and synthetic versions of the frog skin peptides. They used one membrane that mimicked a bacterial membrane, and another that mimicked a red blood cell membrane.
They wanted to look at the impact of the peptides on red cell membranes to ensure that they only damage bacterial cells and leave the animal cells untouched.
Using a device called a neutrons reflectometer the researchers studied exactly how and where the peptides bind to membranes.
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