Antibiotic Unlocks Fungi's Ability to Make New Molecules
Hygromycin B stimulates metabolite production in 20 fungal strains.
By Victoria Atkinson, special to C&EN, microbes are a fantastic source of new molecules, many of which are seed compounds for medicinal and agrochemical development.
Genomic analysis has revealed that fungi genomes contain many biosynthetic gene clusters, although under normal conditions around 80% of these clusters are silent.
Natural product chemists must therefore develop methods to awaken these genes and coax fungi into expressing their secondary metabolites (SMs)—typically by putting them under stress.
Microbes are a fantastic source of new molecules, many of which are seed compounds for medicinal and agrochemical development.
Author's summary: Antibiotic unlocks fungi's ability to produce new molecules.