Natural products from microbes associated with insects

Abstract

SummaryHere we review discoveries of secondary metabolites from microbes associated with insects. We mainly focus on natural products, where the ecological role has been at least partially elucidated, and/or the pharmaceutical properties evaluated, and on compounds with unique structural features. We demonstrate that the exploration of specific microbial–host interactions, in combination with multidisciplinary dereplication processes, has emerged as a successful strategy to identify novel chemical entities and to shed light on the ecology and evolution of defensive associations.

Gc-MS Analysis of Bioactive Compounds and Antimicrobial Activity of Cryptococcus Rajasthanensis Ky627764 Isolated From Bombyx Mori Gut Microflora.

“…), provides protection from biotic and abiotic stress (by providing protection from invader pathogens) and can also aid in chemical communication (Gibson and Christensen, 2010). This insect-microbe association directs the research onto a wide range of novel chemical moieties that can be obtained from the microorganism isolated from the insect gut that can be used in human therapy (Beemelmanns et al, 2016;Brachmann and Bode, 2013). The research on the secondary metabolites produced by the gut microflora can be justified in 2 ways: 1) to identify the natural products produced by the microflora that can be beneficial to humans and 2) to identify the known as well as novel microorganisms involved in production of these natural compounds so as to exploit these microbes as they may produce these secondary metabolites to combat pathogenic microbes (Soria-Mercado et al, 2012).…”

Insect Vectors of Disease: Untapped Reservoirs for New Antimicrobials?

“…Why are organisms with such a number of SM gene clusters consistently maintained while others are lost? Perhaps this is entirely a coincidence, however, coupled with the important role of SM in other symbioses (Beemelmanns et al, 2016), this point is worth further investigation.…”

“…However, not all bacteria are affected and prior to the recovery reported by Eichler and Schaub (2002), pyrosequencing of the R. prolixus gut compartments demonstrates a decrease in the Enterococcaceae and Mycobacteriaceae populations but an increase in Burkholderiaceae members and no change in the Nocardiaceae or Enterobacteriaceae in Trypanosoma rangeli infected insects, resulting in a net increase of SM producing bacterial families (Vieira et al, 2015). The role of SM in this process is as yet unknown, however, there are many SM playing roles in defense against various competitors in similar interactions in the environment (Beemelmanns et al, 2016). …”

“…Candidates for involvement in these processes are secondary metabolites (SMs), which are generally considered to be non-essential to survival. However, these natural products, often produced by either non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) or polyketide synthases (PKSs), have a well described role in supporting symbioses between vertebrates and either bacteria or fungi (Beemelmanns et al, 2016). NRPSs and PKSs are large protein complexes, which produce small compounds that often have medically relevant biological activities.…”

The Influence of Brazilian Biodiversity on Searching for Human Use Pharmaceuticals

“…The first paper described the overall process 61 whilst the second was a discussion of that paper confirming that this was "fungal farming" and not a fortuitous occurance. 62 In the insect-microbe axis, the very recent review by Beemelmanns et al 63 shows the variety of metabolites produced in these symbioses. This paper should be read in conjunction with two others that show how the Panamanian frogs which had experienced a lethal fungal infection, have now overcome the infection via commensal microbes.…”