“Keanumycins” Are Newly Discovered Fungus-Killing Bacterial Compounds Named After Keanu Reeves

Scientists chose the name because it can reportedly “kill so efficiently,” just like how “[Reeves], too, is extremely deadly in his roles.”

Credit: Getty Images
Credit: Getty Images

Scientists in Germany named a new bacterial compound after Keanu Reeves because it can reportedly “kill so efficiently,” just like how “[Reeves], too, is extremely deadly in his roles.”

“Keanumycins” are fungicides (fungus-killing compounds) discovered by researchers at the the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology in Jena, Germany. Produced by soil bacteria, the fungicides were found to protect both humans and plants from fungal infection, meaning they “could have applications in the agriculture and health care industries,” per HuffPost.

“The keanumycins create holes in the surface of the pathogen and it ‘bleeds’ to death,” said Sebastian Götze, a Leibniz Institute scientist and the study’s lead author, via The New York Times. “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.”

Reeves himself was asked for his reaction to the fungal tribute during a recent promotional Reddit AMA ahead of the release of his new film, “John Wick: Chapter 4.”

“They should’ve called it John Wick,” Reeves joked. “But that’s pretty cool…and surreal for me. But thanks, scientist people! Good luck, and thank you for helping us.”

According to experts, it is imperative to develop newer and more effective fungicides, like keanumycins, because fungi have developed resistance to many of the substances that have historically been used to curb them. “Over time, many pathogenic organisms — including fungi — have evolved resistance to the chemicals we use to battle them,” said Matthew Nelsen, a research scientist based in Chicago, via NYT. “Consequently, we need to find a new way to outsmart or one-up them.”