Scientists have discovered a special bacterium called Streptomyces formicae that lives with ants in African acacia trees and produces powerful antibiotics. This bacterium naturally makes compounds called formicamycins that can kill dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA, as well as antifungal compounds. Researchers are using advanced gene-editing techniques to unlock more hidden antimicrobial compounds from this bacterium’s genome, which could lead to discovering new medicines to treat infections.