Chapters authored
Streptomyces as a Source of Antimicrobials: Novel Approaches to Activate Cryptic Secondary Metabolite Pathways
Streptomyces is the most important bacterial genus for bioactive compound production. These soil bacteria are characterized by a complex differentiation cycle. Streptomyces is extremely important in biotechnology, producing approximately two thirds of all antibiotics, as well as many compounds of medical and agricultural interest. Drug discovery from streptomycetes became challenging once the most common compounds were discovered, and the system was basically abandoned by industry. Simultaneously, antibiotic resistance is increasing dramatically, and new antibiotics are required. Screening from nature is being resumed (exploring new environments, looking for elicitors, metagenome, etc.). Secondary metabolism is conditioned by differentiation; although the relationship between both has long remained elusive, differentiation as a trigger for antibiotic production remains basically unexplored. Most cultures used in screening campaigns for new bioactive molecules have been performed empirically, and workflow was extremely productive during the so-called golden age of antibiotics; however, currently there is a bottleneck. Streptomyces is still the most important natural source of antibiotics, and it also harbors many cryptic secondary metabolite pathways not expressed under laboratory conditions. In this chapter, we review strategies based on differentiation, one of the keys improving secondary metabolite production and activating cryptic pathways to face the challenges of drug discovery.
Part of the book: Antimicrobials, Antibiotic Resistance, Antibiofilm Strategies and Activity Methods
Mycelium Differentiation and Development of Streptomyces in Liquid Nonsporulating Cultures: Programmed Cell Death, Differentiation, and Lysis Condition Secondary Metabolite Production
Streptomycetes are mycelium-forming sporulating bacteria that produce two thirds of clinically relevant secondary metabolites. Secondary metabolite production is activated at specific developmental stages of Streptomyces life cycle. Despite this, Streptomyces differentiation in liquid nonsporulating cultures (flasks and industrial bioreactors) tends to be underestimated and the most important parameters managed are only indirectly related to differentiation: modifications to the culture media, optimization of productive strains by random or directed mutagenesis, analysis of biophysical parameters, etc. In this chapter, we review the relationship between differentiation and antibiotic production in liquid cultures. Morphological differentiation in liquid cultures is comparable to that occurring during pre-sporulation stages in solid cultures: an initial compartmentalized mycelium suffers a programmed cell death, and remaining viable segments then differentiate to a second multinucleated antibiotic-producing mycelium. Differentiation is one of the keys to interpreting biophysical fermentation parameters and to rationalizing the optimization of secondary metabolite production in liquid cultures.
Part of the book: Growing and Handling of Bacterial Cultures