Combating Antimicrobial Resistance in the Post-Genomic Era: Rapid Antibiotic Discovery

Yuehan Yang; Mara Grace C Kessler; Maria Raquel Marchán-Rivadeneira; Yong Han

doi:10.3390/molecules28104183

Combating Antimicrobial Resistance in the Post-Genomic Era: Rapid Antibiotic Discovery

Molecules. 2023 May 19;28(10):4183. doi: 10.3390/molecules28104183.

Authors

Yuehan Yang^{1

2}, Mara Grace C Kessler^{2

3}, Maria Raquel Marchán-Rivadeneira^{1

2

4

5}, Yong Han^{1

2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Translational Biomedical Sciences Program, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
² Edison Biotechnology Institute, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
³ Honors Tutorial College, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
⁴ Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
⁵ Center for Research on Health in Latinamerica (CISeAL)-Biological Science Department, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), Quito 170143, Ecuador.
⁶ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.

Abstract

Constantly evolving drug-resistant "superbugs" have caused an urgent demand for novel antimicrobial agents. Natural products and their analogs have been a prolific source of antimicrobial agents, even though a high rediscovery rate and less targeted research has made the field challenging in the pre-genomic era. With recent advancements in technology, natural product research is gaining new life. Genome mining has allowed for more targeted excavation of biosynthetic potential from natural sources that was previously overlooked. Researchers use bioinformatic algorithms to rapidly identify and predict antimicrobial candidates by studying the genome before even entering the lab. In addition, synthetic biology and advanced analytical instruments enable the accelerated identification of novel antibiotics with distinct structures. Here, we reviewed the literature for noteworthy examples of novel antimicrobial agents discovered through various methodologies, highlighting the candidates with potent effectiveness against antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.

Keywords: antibiotics; antimicrobial resistance; biosynthesis gene clusters; genome mining; natural products.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents* / chemistry
Anti-Bacterial Agents* / pharmacology
Anti-Bacterial Agents* / therapeutic use
Biological Products* / chemistry
Biological Products* / pharmacology
Biological Products* / therapeutic use
Computational Biology
Drug Resistance, Bacterial
Genome, Bacterial
Genomics

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Biological Products

Grants and funding

This work is supported by the Konneker Research Fund, Edison Biotechnology Institute, the Translational Biomedical Sciences program at Ohio University, and John J. Kopchick Research Fellowship Award to Yuehan Yang.