Bioactive Compounds from Nocardia: Biosynthesis and Production

Abstract

The infection caused by drug-resistant pathogens, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, are major causes of mortality in the world. Diverse bioactive molecules isolated from microbial or plant sources are used for the ailment of such infections or disease conditions. Since a few years, a group of microorganisms named “rare actinomycetes” are more frequently unveiled as excellent sources of bioactive molecules. Nocardia spp. are important members of “rare actinobacteria” and characterized as the prominent microbial source for the isolation of diverse bioactive molecules with pharmaceutical values. Nocardia spp. are catalase positive, aerobic, and nonmotile Gram-positive filamentous bacteria. They contain high guanine plus cytosine (G+C) content in their genome. Nocardia have been studied for a long time, primarily for strain characterization and taxonomic classification of new isolates. Most species are reported as unusual causes of diverse clinical diseases in both humans and animals. Hence, most species are clinical isolates, whereas only few species have been isolated from common natural habitats, such as soil and water.