Biotechnology of Antibiotics and Other Bioactive Microbial Metabolites

Abstract

Llbrarv of Congres• Cataloglng-ln-Publlcatlon DataLanc1n1, G1ancarlo.B1otechnology of ant1b1ot1cs and other b1oact1ve N1crob1al metabo11tes 1 G1ancarlo Lanc1n1 and Rolando Lorenzett1. PrefaceAntibiotics are the most prescribed drugs in human medicine. Almost every one of us will receive an antibiotic at some time in our lives for an infectious disease. As antimicrobial agents, antibiotics are also widely used in agriculture, animal husbandry, and the food industry. Several of the most efficacious antitumor agents are also antibiotics. Other microbial secondary metabolites are becoming more and more important for their pharmacological properties or as pesticide agents. Studies of secondary metabolite biochemistry and genetics are greatly contributing to our understanding of microbial evolution and differentiation. The search for novel secondary metabolites, the development of the producing strains, and the improvement of industrial production involve several disciplines, such as basic and applied microbiology, microbial biochemistry and genetics, and molecular biology.The aim ofthis book is to give up-to-date, concise information on these aspects, which we now refer to as biotechnology. The book has been conceived as a teaching aid for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, but I believe it may also provide useful background on this subject to junior staff members of research and industrial laboratories.The major problem we encountered in writing the book was selecting, from the enormous literature, the most relevant material so as to make the book both informative and readable. Rather than providing long lists of products and tables, more suitable for review articles and treatises, we have chosen to use examples that could help the reader understand the progress made in the different disciplines. The references, v vi PREFACE listed at the end of each chapter, should help the reader who needs additional information.My co-author, Rolando Lorenzetti, and I wish to express our thanks to our colleagues who reviewed the different chapters, and in particular to Dr. William Higgins, who provided useful criticisms and comments, and to Ms. Karen Hutchinson Parlett, who patiently revised the English style.

Resistance to Glycopeptide Antibiotics in the Teicoplanin Producer Is Mediated by van Gene Homologue Expression Directing the Synthesis of a Modified Cell Wall Peptidoglycan

“…After 15 days at 28°C, the fraction of cells which survived in the presence of the respective antibiotic concentrations in the flask and which were thus able to grow on a plate was determined. Antibiotic concentrations that resulted in a percentage of survivors less than 0.1 were considered bactericidal (27).…”

Paenibacillus koreensis sp. nov., a new species that produces an iturin-like antifungal compound.

“…Some members of the genus, including Paenibacillus polymyxa and Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus, are known to produce antibacterial compounds such as polymyxin, octopytin and baciphelacin (Slepecky & Hemphill, 1991). However, no antifungal compound has been reported to be produced by Paenibacillus species so far, although iturins, cyclic peptide antifungals, are produced by several isolates of Bacillus subtilis (Lancini & Lorenzetti, 1993). In addition to the production of antibiotics, several species of Paenibacillus are also known to excrete a wide variety of enzymes that degrade natural biopolymers, such as chondroitin, curdlan and chitin (Claus & Berkeley, 1986 ;Kanzawa et al, 1995 ;Nakamura, 1987).…”

Enhanced Recovery and Identification of a Tryptamine-Related Antibiotic Produced by <i>Intrasporangium</i> N8 from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

“…The polar nature of the active substance was confirmed when the petroleum ether extract failed to show any biological activity against E. coli. This preliminary result was an important step in this investigation as the majority of antibiotics are polar [14].…”