Lay summary
The ‘superbug’ Staphylococcus aureus causes a wide range of infections. Studies show that current first line treatments are becoming ineffective, as S. aureus becomes resistant to current antibiotics. Key to managing this crisis is the discovery of new antibiotics. To replenish our banks of antibiotics, the biodiscovery of natural products in the form of fungi secondary metabolites is an attractive approach that has resulted in several interesting antibacterial compounds including many of the antibiotics used in the clinic today. More recently, studies have shown fungi grown in the presence of other fungi or bacteria have shown enhanced production of new bioactive natural products to combat the harsh environment they’re exposed to. We propose to explore this effect on native New Zealand fungi, which have largely been unexplored, with the intention of discovering the next antibiotic. Ultimately these results could provide a tool to halt the spread of antibiotic resistance.