This class of microbes is an underexploited source of new bioactive compounds

Demand for new kinds of antibiotics is surging, as drug-resistant and emerging infections are becoming an increasingly serious global health threat. Researchers are racing to reexamine certain microbes that serve as one of our most successful sources of therapeutics: the actinomycetes.

Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Hawaii discovered a potential candidate for drug development from one such microbe, the soil bacterium known as Lentzea flaviverrucosa. They reported their findings in a study published April 19 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Rare actinomycetes are an underexploited source of new bioactive compounds,” said Joshua Blodgett, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, co-corresponding author of the new study. 

The definition of “rare” is not set in stone, but these actinomycetes tend to be more difficult to find in nature than others, and they may grow more slowly, Blodgett said. For these and other reasons, many rare actinomycetes have not been fully characterized for drug discovery and biotechnology purposes.

Among the rare actinomycetes, this one emerged as a standout, Blodgett said.

“It has unusual biology, encoding for unusual enzymology, driving the production of unexpected chemistry, all harbored within a largely overlooked group of bacteria,” he said.

The microbe produces molecules that are active against certain types of human ovarian cancer, fibrosarcoma, prostate cancer and leukemia cell lines.

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Researcher contact information: Joshua Blodgett