Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jun 22:12:655620.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.655620. eCollection 2021.

Tapping Into Actinobacterial Genomes for Natural Product Discovery

Tanim Arpit Singh  1   2 , Ajit Kumar Passari  3 , Anjana Jajoo  2 , Sheetal Bhasin  1 , Vijai Kumar Gupta  4 , Abeer Hashem  5   6 , Abdulaziz A Alqarawi  7 , Elsayed Fathi Abd Allah  7
Affiliations
Review

Tapping Into Actinobacterial Genomes for Natural Product Discovery

Tanim Arpit Singh et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

The presence of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) makes actinobacteria well-known producers of diverse metabolites. These ubiquitous microbes are extensively exploited for their ability to synthesize diverse secondary metabolites. The extent of their ability to synthesize various molecules is yet to be evaluated. Current advancements in genome sequencing, metabolomics, and bioinformatics have provided a plethora of information about the mechanism of synthesis of these bioactive molecules. Accessing the biosynthetic gene cluster responsible for the production of metabolites has always been a challenging assignment. The genomic approach developments have opened a new gateway for examining and manipulating novel antibiotic gene clusters. These advancements have now developed a better understanding of actinobacterial physiology and their genetic regulation for the prolific production of natural products. These new approaches provide a unique opportunity to discover novel bioactive compounds that might replenish antibiotics' exhausted stock and counter the microbes' resistance crisis.

Keywords: actinobacteria; antibiotics; biosynthetic gene cluster; genomics; secondary metabolites.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Overview of steps involved in discovery of novel NPs from actinobacteria.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Albarano L., Esposito R., Ruocco N., Costantini M. (2020). Genome mining as new challenge in natural products discovery. Mar. Drugs 18:199. 10.3390/md18040199 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Amarasinghe S. L., Su S., Dong X., Zappia L., Ritchie M. E., Gouil Q. (2020). Opportunities and challenges in long-read sequencing data analysis. Genome Biol. 21:30. 10.1186/s13059-020-1935-5 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Asolkar R. N., Kirkland T. N., Jensen P. R., Fenical W. (2010). Arenimycin, an antibiotic effective against rifampin-and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from the marine actinomycete Salinispora arenicola. J. Antibiot. 63 37–39. 10.1038/ja.2009.114 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Axenov-Gibanov D., Voytsekhovskaya I. V., Tokovenko B. T., Protasov E. S., Gamaiunov S. V., Rabets Y. V., et al. (2016). Actinobacteria isolated from an underground lake moonmilk speleothem from the biggest conglomeratic karstic cave in Siberia as sources of novel biologically active compounds. PLoS One 11:e0149216. 10.1371/journal.pone.0149216 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baral B., Akhgari A., Metsa-Ketela M. (2018). Activation of microbial secondary metabolite pathways: avenues and challenges. Synth. Syst. Biotechnol. 3 163–178. 10.1016/j.synbio.2018.09.001 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources