A new bacteria compound has proven so effective and deadly towards fungi that it has been named Keanumycin, after Keanu Reeves.
The beloved Hollywood actor is known for his portrayal of hitman John Wick, and the bacteria is named after the actor because they are as adept at killing fungi as Wick is at taking out the bad guys.
The discovery of Keanumycin was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in January this year.
The study found that the newly discovered microorganisms can effectively and efficiently kill different fungi harmful to plants and humans.
Paleobiotechnology professor Dr Pierre Stallforth, one of the study’s researchers, told The New York Times that the bacteria are named after Reeves because he is known for roles where he is “extremely efficient in ‘inactivating’ his enemies”.
He said the Keanumycins have shown that they do the same with fungi.
Co-author of the study Dr Sebastian Götz highlighted that this is a timely find, as there is an ongoing “crisis of anti-infectives”.
Over time, more fungi have become resistant to existing anti-fungal treatments for humans due to their frequent use in farming industries, according to a report by CNN.
Despite this, Dr Götz revealed that Keanumycins can kill many types of fungi that affect both humans and plants. It does so by creating “holes” in the surface of the fungi, causing it to “bleed” to death.
“Like Keanu Reeves in his many roles as a proficient killer, the newly discovered molecules can also very efficiently, at low concentrations, kill different human fungal pathogens by riddling them with holes,” he added.
In a Reddit Ask-Me-Anything by filmmakers Lionsgate, Keanu Reeves addressed a fan who asked him how he felt about Keanumycins.
Reeves said it was “cool and surreal” to be the namesake of the microbe, but noted that it might be more apt to name it after John Wick. After all, it is the character who is deadly, not him.
Source: Reddit
While the name of the new bacteria is indeed head-turning, we hope that further research will establish it as a viable treatment option that will benefit crops and humans in the long term.
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Featured image adapted from Lionsgate via People.com.
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