Streptomycin

Streptomycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that inhibits bacterial protein synthesis by binding the 30S ribosomal subunit. It has been used against tuberculosis, plague, and other bacterial infections.

Aminoglycosides: A class of antibiotics that disrupt bacterial protein synthesis by binding the 30S ribosomal subunit. Streptomycin is an early member of this antibiotic family.
Tuberculosis: An infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, usually affecting the lungs. Streptomycin was the first effective antibiotic used against tuberculosis.
Selman Waksman: A microbiologist who led research on soil microorganisms and received the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Waksman directed the research program that identified streptomycin.
Isoniazid: An antibiotic used primarily to treat tuberculosis by inhibiting mycolic acid synthesis. Unlike streptomycin, it targets mycobacterial cell-wall construction.
30S ribosomal subunit: The smaller subunit of bacterial ribosomes, responsible for decoding messenger RNA during protein synthesis. Streptomycin binds this subunit and disrupts accurate translation.
Plague: A severe infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Streptomycin remains an option for treating plague.
Albert Schatz: An American microbiologist who isolated streptomycin in 1943 while working in Selman Waksman's laboratory. Schatz performed the laboratory work that yielded the antibiotic.
Rifampicin: An antibiotic that inhibits bacterial DNA-dependent RNA polymerase and is central to tuberculosis treatment. It attacks transcription rather than the ribosome targeted by streptomycin.
Protein synthesis inhibitor: A substance that reduces or halts the production of proteins in cells. Streptomycin treats infection by disrupting bacterial protein production.
Antituberculosis drugs: Medicines used alone or in combination to treat tuberculosis infection and disease. Streptomycin is one drug in the history and treatment of tuberculosis.

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