Harnessing Rare Actinomycete Interactions and Intrinsic Antimicrobial Resistance Enables Discovery of an Unusual Metabolic Inhibitor.

Bacterial natural products have historically been a deep source of new medicines, but their slowed discovery in recent decades has put a premium on developing strategies that enhance the likelihood of capturing novel compounds. Here, we used a straightforward approach that capitalizes on the interactive ecology of "rare" actinomycetes. Specifically, we screened for interactions that triggered the production of antimicrobials that inhibited the growth of a bacterial strain with exceptionally diverse natural antimicrobial resistance.

Molecules to Ecosystems: Actinomycete Natural Products .

Actinomycetes, filamentous actinobacteria found in numerous ecosystems around the globe, produce a wide range of clinically useful natural products (NP). In natural environments, actinomycetes live in dynamic communities where environmental cues and ecological interactions likely influence NP biosynthesis. Our current understating of these cues, and the ecological roles of NP, is in its infancy.

Novel heterologous bacterial system reveals enhanced susceptibility to DNA damage mediated by yqgF, a nearly ubiquitous and often essential gene.

Despite its presence in most bacteria, yqgF remains one of only 13 essential genes of unknown function in Escherichia coli. Predictions of YqgF function often derive from sequence similarity to RuvC, the canonical Holliday junction resolvase. To clarify its role, we deleted yqgF from a bacterium where it is not essential, Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1.