Animal Microbiomes as a Source of Novel Antibiotic-Producing Strains

Abstract

Natural compounds continue to serve as the most fruitful source of new antimicrobials. Analysis of bacterial genomes have revealed that the biosynthetic potential of antibiotic producers by far exceeds the number of already discovered structures. However, due to the repeated discovery of known substances, it has become necessary to change both approaches to the search for antibiotics and the sources of producer strains. The pressure of natural selection and the diversity of interactions in symbiotic communities make animal microbiomes promising sources of novel substances. Here, microorganisms associated with various animals were examined in terms of their antimicrobial agents. The application of alternative cultivation techniques, ultrahigh-throughput screening, and genomic analysis facilitated the investigation of compounds produced by unique representatives of the animal microbiota. We believe that new strategies of antipathogen defense will be discovered by precisely studying cell-cell and host-microbe interactions in microbiomes in the wild.

Keywords: animal microbiota; antibiotics; probiotics; secondary metabolites; wild microbiomes.

Figure 1

Animals are considered as sources of unique communities of associated microorganisms that exhibit antagonistic activity against pathogenic strains. Sources of microorganisms considered in the review are marine invertebrates, terrestrial invertebrates, fish, amphibians and reptiles, birds, and mammals.