Streptomyces boninensis sp. nov., isolated from soil from a limestone cave in the Ogasawara Islands

Streptomyces: Still the Biggest Producer of New Natural Secondary Metabolites, a Current Perspective

There is a real consensus that new antibiotics are urgently needed and are the best chance for combating antibiotic resistance. The phylum Actinobacteria is one of the main producers of new antibiotics, with a recent paradigm shift whereby rare actinomycetes have been increasingly targeted as a source of new secondary metabolites for the discovery of new antibiotics. However, this review shows that the genus Streptomyces is still the largest current producer of new and innovative secondary metabolites. Between January 2015 and December 2020, a significantly high number of novel Streptomyces spp. have been isolated from different environments, including extreme environments, symbionts, terrestrial soils, sediments and also from marine environments, mainly from marine invertebrates and marine sediments. This review highlights 135 new species of Streptomyces during this 6-year period with 108 new species of Streptomyces from the terrestrial environment and 27 new species from marine sources. A brief summary of the different pre-treatment methods used for the successful isolation of some of the new species of Streptomyces is also discussed, as well as the biological activities of the isolated secondary metabolites. A total of 279 new secondary metabolites have been recorded from 121 species of Streptomyces which exhibit diverse biological activity. The greatest number of new secondary metabolites originated from the terrestrial-sourced Streptomyces spp.

Streptomyces lasalocidi sp. nov. (formerly 'Streptomyces lasaliensis'), an actinomycete isolated from soil which produces the polyether antibiotic lasalocid

Strain ATCC 31180^T was isolated from soil collected in Hyde Park, Massachusetts (USA), and found to produce the polyether antibiotic lasalocid. The name 'Streptomyces lasaliensis' has been in common use since 1974, without a recognized taxonomic description. The most closely related type cultures determined by rRNA gene sequence similarity were Streptomyces longwoodensis DSM 41677^T (100 %) and Streptomyces galbus DSM 40089^T (100 %). OrthoANI values with S. longwoodensis and S. galbus were 95.50 and 94.41 %, respectively. Chemotaxonomic characteristics supported inclusion within the genus Streptomyces. The cell wall peptidoglycan contained ll-diaminopimelic acid, and the major whole-cell sugars were glucose and ribose. Polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylglycerol, one unidentified lipid and one unidentified glycolipid. The major menaquinones detected were MK9(H₄), MK9(H₆) and MK9(H₈). The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C_15 : 0, anteiso-C_17 : 0, iso-C_16 : 0, iso-C_15 : 0 and anteiso-C_17 : 1. Its DNA had a G+C content of 72.6 %. Differentiation of ATCC 31180^T from the closely related species was evident from digital DNA-DNA hybridization values of 61.80 and 56.90 % for S. longwoodensis and S. galbus respectively. Significant differences were seen in the polyphasic phenotypic analyses. ATCC 31180^T produced lasalocid, grew from 10 to 45 °C, pH4-8 and in the presence of 0-10 % NaCl, 0.01 % NaN₃ and 1 % phenol. Melanin was produced; H₂S and indole were not. Nitrate was not reduced. Spore chains were retinaculum-apertum and spore surfaces were smooth. Spore colour, mycelia colour and soluble pigment production were medium-dependent. The proposed name is Streptomyces lasalocidi sp. nov.; the type strain being ATCC 31180^T (=NRRL 3382^T=DSM 46487^T).

Streptomyces soli sp. nov., isolated from birch forest soil

A Gram-staining positive, aerobic, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain LAM7114^T, was isolated from soil sample collected from a birch forest in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The optimal temperature and pH for the growth of strain LAM7114^T were 30 °C and 7.0, respectively. Strain LAM7114^T could grow in the presence of NaCl up to 10% (w/v). Comparative analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that LAM7114^T was closely related to the members of the family genus Streptomyces, with the highest similarity to Streptomyces urticae NEAU-PCY-1^T (98.3%) and Streptomyces fildesensis GW25-5^T (98.2%). The genomic G + C content was 70.0 mol%. The DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain LAM7114^T and S. urticae CCTCC AA 2017015^T, S. fildesensis CGMCC 4.5735^T were 32.5 ± 1.8% and 27.5 ± 2.6%, respectively. The cell wall contained LL-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid in the peptidoglycan. The whole-cell hydrolysates included glucose and mannose. The major fatty acids were anteiso-C_15:0, iso-C_15:0 and iso-C_16:0. The predominant menaquinones were MK-9(H₆), MK-9(H₄) and MK-9(H₈). The main polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, three unidentified aminophospholipids, three unidentified phospholipids, and an unidentified aminolipid. Based on the phenotypic characteristics and genotypic analyses, we propose that strain LAM7114^T represents a novel species in the genus Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces soli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LAM7114^T (= CGMCC 4.7581^T = JCM 32822^T).

Isolation, plant growth-promoting traits, antagonistic effects on clinical and plant pathogenic organisms and identification of actinomycetes from olive rhizosphere

Soil actinomycetes are a highly common group of bacteria and frequently studied as having secondary metabolites in the potential of producing the most preferred antagonistic content. Considering the continuous variation in soil structure, there is a potential for encountering different organisms. Almost all of antibiotic contents are produced by these bacteria and their importance increase. In this study, eleven different actinomycetes strain were isolated from the rhizosphere of olive trees investigated for their plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits including ammonia production, indole-3-acetic acid production, phosphate solubilization, and siderophore production with antagonistic activities against a set of pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. All actinomycetes were identified according to 16S rRNA regions were recognized in four different Streptomyces species but according to fatty acid analysis, there would be at least six different organisms. The potential for antagonistic and plant growth-promoting traits of olive tree rhizosphere actinomycetes were a promising tool for agricultural applications and clinical antibiotic resistance. Differentiation of organisms with the antagonism of pathogenic activities and PGP features could be a definitive method for future studies.

Micromonospora zhangzhouensis sp. nov., a Novel Actinobacterium Isolated from Mangrove Soil, Exerts a Cytotoxic Activity in vitro

A new bacterial strain, designated HM134^T, was isolated from a sample of soil collected from a Chinese mangrove Avicennia marina forest. Assessed by a polyphasic approach, the taxonomy of strain HM134^T was found to be associated with a range of phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic properties consistent with the genus Micromonospora. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16s rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain HM134^T formed a distinct lineage with the most closely related species, including M. rifamycinica AM105^T, M. wenchangensis CCTCC AA 2012002^T and M. mangrovi 2803GPT1-18^T. The ANI values between strain HM134^T and the reference strains ranged from 82.6% to 95.2%, which was below the standard criteria for classifying strains as the same species (96.5%). Strain HM134^T and related species shared in silico dDDH similarities values below the recommended 70% cut-off for the delineation of species (range from 25.7–62.6%). The DNA G+C content of strain HM134^T was 73.2 mol%. Analysis of phylogenetic, genomic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics revealed that strain HM134^T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Micromonospora, for which the name M. zhangzhouensis sp. nov. is proposed. The extract of strain HM134^T was demonstrated to exhibit cytotoxic activity against the human cancer cell lines HepG2, HCT-116 and A549. Active substance presented in the fermentation broth of strain HM134^T was isolated by bioassay-guided analysis and purified afterwards. A new derivative of diterpenoid was identified through electrospray ionizing mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The compound showed different cytotoxic activities against cancer cells, with the highest cytotoxicity against HCT-116, corresponding to IC₅₀ value of 38.4 μg/mL.

Streptomyces triticagri sp. nov. and Streptomyces triticirhizae sp. nov., two novel Actinobacteria isolated from the rhizosphere soil of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Two novel Actinobacteria, designated strains NEAU-YY421^T and NEAU-YY642^T, were isolated from the rhizosphere soil of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) collected from Zhumadian, Henan Province, PR China and characterized using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains NEAU-YY421^T and NEAU-YY642^T belonged to the genus Streptomyces and strain NEAU-YY421^T was most closely related to Streptomyces fumanus CGMCC 4.1732^T (97.9 % sequence similarity) and Streptomyces naganishii DSM 40282^T (97.8 %), and that of strain NEAU-YY642^T to Streptomyces zhaozhouensis LZS-5^T (98.0 %) and Streptomyces sedi YIM 65188^T (97.5 %). The cell walls of the two strains contained ll-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid and the whole-cell hydrolysates were glucose and ribose. Multilocus sequence analysis using the concatenated sequences of the atp D, gyr B, rec A, rpo B and trp B genes showed that the two strains formed separate branches in the genus Streptomyces. Moreover, a combination of DNA-DNA hybridization results and cultural and physiological properties indicated that the two strains can be distinguished from their closest phylogenetic relatives. Therefore, strains NEAU-YY421^T and NEAU-YY642^T belong to two novel species in the genus Streptomyces, for which the names Streptomyces triticagri sp. nov. (NEAU-YY421^T=CGMCC 4.7476^T=DSM 106775^T) and Streptomyces triticirhizae sp. nov. (NEAU-YY642^T=CCTCC AA 2018092^T=DSM 107172^T) are proposed, respectively.

Actinobacterial community in Shuanghe Cave using culture-dependent and -independent approaches

Karst caves, considering to be the "arks" of biodiversity, often contain high levels of endemism. In the present study, the actinobacterial community in Shuanghe Cave, the longest cave in Asia, was analyzed for the first-time using culture-dependent and -independent (16S rRNA amplicon sequencing) approaches. The amplicon sequencing analysis revealed a broad taxonomic diversity in Shuanghe Cave, including 19 phyla (predominantly Actinobacteria) and 264 different genera. While the culture-dependent method got the unrepresentative but supplemental result, a total of 239 actinomycetes were isolated and were identified to seven genera based on culture features and 16S rRNA tests. Among the three habitats (soil, rock soil, and bat guano), the dominant phyla did not differ significantly, while the dominant genus community varied among different habitats, and the richness in soil and rock soil samples was higher than that in bat guano. Furthermore, 16 isolate strains showed antimicrobial activity, especially, the strain S142 (Streptomyces badius) and S761 (Actinoplanes friuliensis) exhibited the most promising activity against various pathogens. Overall, this work showed the abundant bacterial diversity and the antimicrobial potential of the isolates from the Shuanghe Cave.

Comparative Genomic Insights into Secondary Metabolism Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Distributions of Marine Streptomyces

Bacterial secondary metabolites have huge application potential in multiple industries. Biosynthesis of bacterial secondary metabolites are commonly encoded in a set of genes that are organized in the secondary metabolism biosynthetic gene clusters (SMBGCs). The development of genome sequencing technology facilitates mining bacterial SMBGCs. Marine Streptomyces is a valuable resource of bacterial secondary metabolites. In this study, 87 marine Streptomyces genomes were obtained and carried out into comparative genomic analysis, which revealed their high genetic diversity due to pan-genomes owning 123,302 orthologous clusters. Phylogenomic analysis indicated that the majority of Marine Streptomyces were classified into three clades named Clade I, II, and III, containing 23, 38, and 22 strains, respectively. Genomic annotations revealed that SMBGCs in the genomes of marine Streptomyces ranged from 16 to 84. Statistical analysis pointed out that phylotypes and ecotypes were both associated with SMBGCs distribution patterns. The Clade I and marine sediment-derived Streptomyces harbored more specific SMBGCs, which consisted of several common ones; whereas the Clade II and marine invertebrate-derived Streptomyces have more SMBGCs, acting as more plentiful resources for mining secondary metabolites. This study is beneficial for broadening our knowledge about SMBGC distribution patterns in marine Streptomyces and developing their secondary metabolites in the future.

Cave Actinobacteria as Producers of Bioactive Metabolites

Recently, there is an urgent need for new drugs due to the emergence of drug resistant pathogenic microorganisms and new infectious diseases. Members of phylum Actinobacteria are promising source of bioactive compounds notably antibiotics. The search for such new compounds has shifted to extreme or underexplored environments to increase the possibility of discovery. Cave ecosystems have attracted interest of the research community because of their unique characteristics and the microbiome residing inside including actinobacteria. At the time of writing, 47 species in 30 genera of actinobacteria were reported from cave and cave related habitats. Novel and promising bioactive compounds have been isolated and characterized. This mini-review focuses on the diversity of cultivable actinobacteria in cave and cave-related environments, and their bioactive metabolites from 1999 to 2018.