Teixobactin was discovered using a new method of culturing bacteria in soil, which allowed researchers to grow a previously unculturable bacterium now named Eleftheria terrae, which produces the antibiotic.

In January 2015, a collaboration of four institutes in the US and Germany together with two pharmaceutical companies, reported that they had isolated and characterized a new antibiotic, killing "without detectable resistance.

"[1][2][3][4][5] Teixobactin was discovered by screening previously unculturable bacteria present in a sample of soil from "a grassy field in Maine,"[5] using the isolation chip (iChip).

[7] Tests for antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus highlighted a previously undescribed bacterium which was named Eleftheria terrae.

In addition to inhibiting cell wall synthesis, teixobactin's capacity to form large supramolecular fibrils upon lipid II binding compromises the integrity of the bacterial membrane, contributing to the killing mechanism.

[12] The incorporation of D- and L- amino acids enables allocating teixobactin's hydrophobic residues onto the bacterial membrane surface.

The binding of teixobactin to lipid precursors inhibits the production of the peptidoglycan layer, leading to lysis of vulnerable bacteria.

[1] Teixobactin was reported to be potent in vitro against all gram-positive bacteria tested, including Staphylococcus aureus and difficult-to-treat enterococci, with Clostridioides difficile and Bacillus anthracis being exceptionally vulnerable.