In a study published in Nature today1, researchers report a ‘megacluster’ of genes in Streptomyces bacteria that target a key metabolic process in bacteria. Streptomyces is one of the most studied bacterial genera and produces many antibiotic compounds, including those used to produce streptomycin, the first effective antibiotic against tuberculosis.
“They’ve discovered something new in a system so extensively studied — hidden in plain sight,” says Mark Blaskovich, who works on antibiotic development at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. The gene cluster produces five compounds — four antibiotics and a protein — that target different stages of the production of biotin, or vitamin B7, which is essential for bacterial cell growth. “Since evolution has already optimized this combination, we may be able to leverage it to develop novel antibiotic combinations,” Blaskovich says.
It is much more difficult for bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics that attack multiple parts of an essential metabolic pathway, explains Brendan Wren, a microbiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. The latest work could also lead to the discovery of gene clusters that produce antibiotic compounds involved in other metabolic processes.