From rare soil microbe, a new antibiotic candidate

Drug-resistant and emerging infections are becoming an increasingly serious global health threat, as demand for new antibiotics is surging. The actinomycetes are one of the most successful sources of therapy.

Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Hawaii discovered a potential candidate for drug development from a soil bacterium. They reported their findings in a study that was published the week of April 11.

Joshua Blodgett, assistant professor of biology in Arts and Sciences, is a co-corresponding author of the new study.

Actinomycetes produce components that are used in many drugs. Many common actinomycetes have been analyzed by pharmaceutical companies to see what they can produce. Actinomycetes make up two-thirds of the antibiotics used in hospitals and clinics.

Some of the rare actinomycetes have been cataloged but not extensively studied.

The definition of rare is not set in stone, but actinomycetes are more difficult to find in nature than others. Many rare actinomycetes have not been fully characterized for drug discovery.

Blodgett said Lentzea flaviverrucosa emerged as a star among the rare actinomycetes.

He said that it has unusual biology, driving the production of unexpected chemistry, all harbored within a largely overlooked group ofbacteria.

The actinomycete produced by Blodgett and his team is active against several types of cancer.

When the scientists went looking for rare actinomycetes with a genetic hallmark, they spotted Lentzea flaviverrucosa. Blodgett said that these molecules have an unusual building block that is a flag for drug-like activities.

The researchers found a few other surprises as they dug deeper.

It looked as if one region of the genome might be able to make two different molecules. Blodgett said that it is a little strange that that is a gene cluster. It looked like there was too much chemistry predicted.

The clues proved to be correct. Blodgett and his team were able to show that actinomycete actually produces two different bioactive molecules from a single set of genes.

There are very few superclusters in biology. This kind of superclusters are formed when two different molecules are welded together in a chemical reaction.

Blodgett said that nature is welding two different things together.

More information: Discovery of unusual dimeric piperazyl cyclopeptides encoded by a DSM 44664 biosynthetic supercluster, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2117941119. Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Citation: From rare soil microbe, a new antibiotic candidate (2022, April 11) retrieved 11 April 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-04-rare-soil-microbe-antibiotic-candidate.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.