Abstract
Deserts, as an unexplored extreme ecosystem, are known to harbor diverse actinobacteria with biotechnological potential. Both multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens and environmental issues have sharply raised the emerging demand for functional actinobacteria. From 2000 to 2021, 129 new species have been continuously reported from 35 deserts worldwide. The two largest numbers are of the members of the genera Streptomyces and Geodermatophilus, followed by other functional extremophilic strains such as alkaliphiles, halotolerant species, thermophiles, and psychrotolerant species. Improved isolation strategies for the recovery of culturable and unculturable desert actinobacteria are crucial for the exploration of their diversity and offer a better understanding of their survival mechanisms under extreme environmental stresses. The main bioprospecting processes involve isolation of target actinobacteria on selective media and incubation and selection of representatives from isolation plates for further investigations. Bioactive compounds obtained from desert actinobacteria are being continuously explored for their biotechnological potential, especially in medicine. To date, there are more than 50 novel compounds discovered from these gifted actinobacteria with potential antimicrobial activities, including anti-MDR pathogens and anti-inflammatory, antivirus, antifungal, antiallergic, antibacterial, antitumor, and cytotoxic activities. A range of plant growth-promoting abilities of the desert actinobacteria inspired great interest in their agricultural potential. In addition, several degradative, oxidative, and other functional enzymes from desert strains can be applied in the industry and the environment. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of desert environments as a remarkable source of diverse actinobacteria while such rich diversity offers an underexplored resource for biotechnological exploitations.
Highlights
A serious global health problem caused by pathogenic microorganisms is threatening human lives and welfare at an alarming speed
secondary metabolites (SMs) are attractive for drug discovery programs, in general, owing to their properties such as biochemical specificity, metabolic selectivity, structural diversity, and the potential to pass through eukaryotic outer membranes to block the production of cellular macromolecules and target enzymes (Baltz, 2008)
Biocontrol Potential Streptomyces mutabilis IA1 from Saharan soil exhibited biocontrol property to decrease severity (79.6%) and reduce occurrence (64.7%) of fungal infection caused by F. culmorum evaluated from 10 days young wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings in a phytotronic growth chamber (Toumatia et al, 2016)
Summary
A serious global health problem caused by pathogenic microorganisms is threatening human lives and welfare at an alarming speed. As the second-largest non-polar and sand-shifting desert in the world, the Taklamakan Desert experiences an extremely cold temperature (−32◦C) in winter and an extremely low average annual rainfall ranging from 10 to 38 mm (Rittner et al, 2016) Such severe environmental circumstances have attracted the attention of researchers for exploration of novel actinobacteria with exceptional tolerance in desert environments. The Karakum Desert, in particular, was the isolation source of the most diverse (six genera) and numerous (11 new species) novel actinobacteria in Central and South Asia It is one of the largest deserts in the world and the hottest desert in Central Asia (Ghassemi and Garzanti, 2019). Promicromonospora panici Auraticoccus cholistanensis Desertihabitans aurantiacus Desertihabitans brevis Streptomyces aburaviensis Streptomyces aridus Streptomyces asenjonii Streptomyces altiplanensis Streptomyces atacamensis Streptomyces cahuitamycinicus Streptomyces desertarenae Streptomyces deserti Streptomyces dengpaensis Streptomyces bullii Streptomyces fukangensis Streptomyces fragilis Streptomyces leeuwenhoekii *Streptomyces netropsis Streptomyces sannurensis Streptomyces taklimakanensis Desertiactinospora gelatinilytica Nonomuraea deserti Nonomuraea diastatica Nonomuraea longispora Nonomuraea mesophila Nonomuraea terrae Streptosporangium algeriense Streptosporangium becharense Actinomadura deserti Actinomadura namibiensis Blastococcus atacamensis Blastococcus deserti
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