Small molecule natural products in human nasal/oral microbiota.

Colin Charles Barber,Wenjun Zhang

doi:10.1093/jimb/kuab010

Colin Charles Barber, Wenjun Zhang

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1093/jimb/kuab010

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Abstract

Small molecule natural products are a chemically diverse class of biomolecules that fulfill myriad biological functions, including autoregulation, communication with microbial neighbors and the host, interference competition, nutrient acquisition, and resistance to oxidative stress. Human commensal bacteria are increasingly recognized as a potential source of new natural products, which may provide insight into the molecular ecology of many different human body sites as well as novel scaffolds for therapeutic development. Here, we review the scientific literature on natural products derived from residents of the human nasal/oral cavity, discuss their discovery, biosynthesis, and ecological roles, and identify key questions in the study of these compounds.

Highlights

Small molecule natural products are metabolites that often mediate critical biological and ecological functions, but without direct participation in metabolic processes essential for host growth and reproduction
Natural products research has historically been biased toward ‘gifted’ producers like soilborne Actinobacteria and filamentous fungi, the microbiota of the human body is increasingly recognized as a source of potentially useful, bioactive secondary metabolites (Donia & Fischbach, 2015; Mousa et al, 2017; Milshteyn et al, 2018; Aleti et al, 2019; Hu & Zhang, 2020)
We restrict our taxonomic focus to strains identified in the Human Oral Microbiome Database, which lists over 600 bacterial species found in the human nasal/oral cavity (Chen et al, 2010; Dewhirst et al, 2010), and microbial species known to inhabit the nasal/oral cavity

Summary

Introduction

Small molecule natural products are metabolites that often mediate critical biological and ecological functions, but without direct participation in metabolic processes essential for host growth and reproduction. We discuss the genomic origins, biosynthesis, and biological functions of each small molecule natural product and identify unanswered questions relevant to oral biology. The mutanobactin family of non-ribosomal lipopeptides, produced by Streptococcus mutans, is one of the best-studied compound families arising from the human oral microbiota.

Results

Conclusion