Properties, Biosynthesis and Application of Antimicrobial Compounds

Dear Colleagues,

When in their natural habitat, microorganisms synthesize a large number of compounds that allow them to regulate the number of both the producer strains themselves and other representatives of microbial communities. Antimicrobial agents include antibiotics, proteolytic enzymes complexes, compounds that disrupt the sense of quorum in the microbial population, and a variety of other examples. The ability of microbial strains to synthesize antimicrobial agents is widely deployed in biotechnology to obtain antibiotics, combat phytopathogens and restore the health of biocenoses.

The list of microorganisms capable of synthesizing antimicrobial agents is steadily increasing. The most promising in terms of the synthesis of antimicrobial agents are fungi, actinomycetes, bacilli, and lysobacters. One of the topical research topics in the development of technologies for obtaining antimicrobial agents of microbial origin is the intensification of the biosynthesis of antibiotics and the awakening of silent genes. The latter is very important for streptomycetes. In spite of the fact that these bacteria contain a huge number of genes for the biosynthesis of antibiotics, many of these genes are not expressed under normal conditions. Moreover, only original approaches, for example, the co-cultivation of producer strains with other microorganisms, make it possible to activate silent genes. It seems likely that research will enable both the obtention of new and effective strains for the production of antibiotic compounds and the development of effective technologies for the production of antimicrobial agents, as well as methods for their use to reduce the chemical load on the environment.

Topics of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

• types of microorganisms synthesizing antimicrobial agents;
• description of new antimicrobial agents of microorganisms;
• isolation, characterization and use of antimicrobial agents;
• antibiotic biosynthetic pathways;
• features of the cultivation of microbial strains for the synthesis of new substances;
• bioinformatic analysis as a tool for the search for new antimicrobials.

Dr. Inna P. Solyanikova
Dr. Tatiana Abashina
Guest Editors

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• antimicrobial compounds of microorganisms
• whole genome sequencing
• secondary metabolites
• antimicrobial activity
• biosynthesis
• application