Unconventional approaches for the induction of microbial natural products

Bathini Thissera, Sylvia Soldatou, Lassaad Belbahri, Rainer Ebel, Marcel Jaspars, Mostafa E Rateb*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Expansion of the microbial drug discovery pipeline has been impeded by a limited and skewed appreciation of the microbial world and its full chemical capabilities and by an inability to induce silent biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Typically, these silent genes are not expressed under standard laboratory conditions, instead requiring particular interventions to activate them. Genetic, physical, and chemical strategies have been employed to trigger these BGCs, and some have resulted in the induction of novel secondary metabolites. This review encompasses a wide range of literature and emphasises selected successful induction of microbial secondary metabolites examples through unconventional approaches such as quorum sensing, epigenetic modulation, and ribosome engineering. Whenever applicable, we will also discuss their mechanisms and optimisations to improve the microbial drug discovery process.
Original languageEnglish
Article numberlxaf014
JournalJournal of Applied Microbiology
Volume136
Issue number1
Early online date10 Jan 2025
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 10 Jan 2025

Keywords

  • induction of microbial natural products
  • quorum sensing
  • epigenetic modulation
  • ribosome engineering

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