The Pangenome of Gram-Negative Environmental Bacteria Hides a Promising Biotechnological Potential.

Secondary metabolites (SMs) from environmental bacteria offer viable solutions for various health and environmental challenges. Researchers are employing advanced bioinformatic tools to investigate less-explored microorganisms and unearth novel bioactive compounds. In this research area, our understanding of SMs from environmental Gram-negative bacteria lags behind that of its Gram-positive counterparts.

Nitrogen source as a modulator of the metabolic activity of Pedobacter lusitanus NL19: a transcriptomic approach.

Secondary metabolites (SMs) are compounds with relevant biological activities. Their production under laboratory conditions, especially in broth, is still challenging. An example is the pedopeptins, which are nonribosomal peptides active against some bacteria listed by the WHO for which new antibiotics are urgently needed.

The Unexplored Wealth of Microbial Secondary Metabolites: the Sphingobacteriaceae Case Study.

Research on secondary metabolites (SMs) has been mostly focused on Gram-positive bacteria, especially Actinobacteria. The association of genomics with robust bioinformatics tools revealed the neglected potential of Gram-negative bacteria as promising sources of new SMs. The family Sphingobacteriaceae belongs to the phylum Bacteroidetes having representatives in practically all environments including humans, rhizosphere, soils, wastewaters, among others.

Peptone from casein, an antagonist of nonribosomal peptide synthesis: a case study of pedopeptins produced by Pedobacter lusitanus NL19.

Novel natural products are urgently needed to address the worldwide incidence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Extreme environments are a major source of novel compounds with unusual chemical structures. Pedobacter lusitanus NL19 is a new bacterial species that was isolated from one such environment and which produces compounds with potent activity against relevant microorganisms in the clinical, food, veterinary and aquaculture areas.

Environmental superbugs: The case study of Pedobacter spp.

The environment is one of the main reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) but multidrug resistant (MDR) environmental isolates are barely characterised. As suggested by the name, Pedobacter species have been predominantly isolated from soils, but are also recovered from water (including drinking water), chilled food, fish, compost, sludge, glaciers and other extreme environments. The susceptibility phenotype of Pedobacter lusitanus NL19 (isolated from a deactivated uranium mine), its closely related species and the genus type strain were investigated.