Studies on bioactive natural products involved in the growth and morphological differentiation of microorganisms

Abstract

Actinomycetes produce a number of useful secondary metabolites with antibiotic, insecticidal and herbicidal activities. Actinomycetes are prokaryotes, but the morphology of their mycelia is similar to that of fungi. Our research into the regulators of aerial mycelium-differentiation and spore germination and the surrounding research is discussed.

Microparticles globally reprogram Streptomyces albus toward accelerated morphogenesis, streamlined carbon core metabolism, and enhanced production of the antituberculosis polyketide pamamycin

“…Remarkably, the addition of talc selectively triggered the formation of larger variants (Figure 3a), that is, Pam 635, Pam 649, and Pam 663. Due to the fact that the different derivatives apparently differ in biological activity (Lefèvre et al, 2004; Natsume, 2016), a microparticle‐based process might help to selectively enrich heavier pamamycin variants in the total product spectrum with potentially other activities.…”

Cryptic Chemical Communication: Secondary Metabolic Responses Revealed by Microbial Co‐culture

“…Specifically,d uring the period 1981-2017, 31.3 %( 407/1301) of newly approved small molecule drugs were either unmodified natural products or their derivatives. [4] At present,t here are several opinionsa bout the roles of SMs in producing organisms, including that SMs may serve as competitive weapons,s ymbiotic agents betweenm icrobes and other organisms, [5] hormones, [6] agents form orphological differentiation, [7] and metal ion transporting agents. For example, SMs are rarely produced in natural environments at concentrationst hat can achieve effective antibiotic titers.…”

“…According to the theory of chemical ecology, limited genetic resources and living materials are unlikely to be “wasted” in the production of SMs, and the organisms will be able to gain a survival advantage commensurate with these costs . At present, there are several opinions about the roles of SMs in producing organisms, including that SMs may serve as competitive weapons, symbiotic agents between microbes and other organisms, hormones, agents for morphological differentiation, and metal ion transporting agents . One of the current considerations is to regard SMs as communication and signaling molecules for intra/inter‐species chemical communication at sub‐inhibitory concentrations .…”