Abstract
The Actinomycetales order is one of great genetic and functional diversity, including diversity in the production of secondary metabolites which have uses in medical, environmental rehabilitation, and industrial applications. Secondary metabolites produced by actinomycete species are an abundant source of antibiotics, antitumor agents, anthelmintics, and antifungals. These actinomycete-derived medicines are in circulation as current treatments, but actinomycetes are also being explored as potential sources of new compounds to combat multidrug resistance in pathogenic bacteria. Actinomycetes as a potential to solve environmental concerns is another area of recent investigation, particularly their utility in the bioremediation of pesticides, toxic metals, radioactive wastes, and biofouling. Other applications include biofuels, detergents, and food preservatives/additives. Exploring other unique properties of actinomycetes will allow for a deeper understanding of this interesting taxonomic group. Combined with genetic engineering, microbial experimental evolution, and other enhancement techniques, it is reasonable to assume that the use of marine actinomycetes will continue to increase. Novel products will begin to be developed for diverse applied research purposes, including zymology and enology. This paper outlines the current knowledge of actinomycete usage in applied research, focusing on marine isolates and providing direction for future research.
Highlights
Actinomycetes have been utilized as sources of secondary metabolites that function as antibiotics, antifungals, anthelmintics, and antitumor agents [2]
While current chemotherapeutics mostly originate from terrestrial actinomycetes, marine species are producers of secondary metabolites and are a promising source of new treatments [48,71]
As more actinomycete plasmids are discovered and analyzed, it is expected that new loci not present in actinomycete chromosomes will be identified as new sources of antibiotics and other drug treatments [67,68]
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The need for novel adaptations suggests that marine actinomycetes possess unique metabolic and genetic characteristics that are a promising subject for future research This biological potential is especially important given that actinomycetes have been exploited for decades as a source of bioactive compounds, especially antibiotics. Even closely related strains possess unique biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) [50,51], groups of genes in proximity to each other on the chromosome that encode secondary metabolites [52] The existence of these BGCs in close marine relatives suggests the continued investigation of metabolic potential will lead to the discovery of additional natural products that are important, useful, and valuable. The myriad functional capacities of actinomycetes may reflect their vast repertoire of secondary metabolic pathways, a survival advantage that granted them significant importance in the search for novel bioactive compounds
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