Mode of Action and Mechanisms of Resistance to the Unusual Polyglycosylated Thiopeptide Antibiotic Persiathiacin A.

Persiathiacin A is a novel thiopeptide antibiotic produced by species UTMC 2448. It has potent activity against methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and . Thiopeptides, including persiathiacin A, exhibit antibacterial activity by inhibiting protein synthesis.

Hibiscus acid and hydroxycitric acid dimethyl esters from Hibiscus flowers induce production of dithiolopyrrolone antibiotics by Streptomyces Strain MBN2-2.

Plants and microbes are closely associated with each other in their ecological niches. Much has been studied about plant-microbe interactions, but little is known about the effect of phytochemicals on microbes at the molecular level. To access the products of cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters in bacteria, we incorporated an organic extract of hibiscus flowers into the culture media of different Actinobacteria isolated from plant rhizospheres.

Discovery of Demurilactone A: A Specific Growth Inhibitor of L-Form .

Metabolic profiling of the extracts from a library of actinobacteria led to the identification of a novel polyketide, demurilactone A, produced by strain DEM21308. The structure of the compound was assigned based on a detailed investigation of 1D/2D NMR spectra and HR-MS. Whole genome DNA sequencing, followed by bioinformatics analysis and insertional mutagenesis, identified type I polyketide synthases encoded by the gene cluster to direct the biosynthesis of this polyene macrolide.