Natural product discovery in soil actinomycetes

unlocking their potential within an ecological context

authored by

Jana K. Schniete, Lorena T. Fernández-Martínez

Abstract

Natural products (NPs) produced by bacteria, particularly soil actinomycetes, often possess diverse bioactivities and play a crucial role in human health, agriculture, and biotechnology. Soil actinomycete genomes contain a vast number of predicted biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) yet to be exploited. Understanding the factors governing NP production in an ecological context and activating cryptic and silent BGCs in soil actinomycetes will provide researchers with a wealth of molecules with potential novel applications. Here, we highlight recent advances in NP discovery strategies employing ecology-inspired approaches and discuss the importance of understanding the environmental signals responsible for activation of NP production, particularly in a soil microbial community context, as well as the challenges that remain.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Microbiology

External Organisation(s)

University of Glasgow

Type

Review article

Journal

Current opinion in microbiology

Volume

79

No. of pages

7

ISSN

1369-5274

Publication date

06.2024

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Microbiology, Microbiology (medical), Infectious Diseases

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2024.102487 (Access: Open)