The Isolation of a Novel Streptomyces sp. CJ13 from a Traditional Irish Folk Medicine Alkaline Grassland Soil that Inhibits Multiresistant Pathogens and Yeasts

Abstract

The World Health Organization recently stated that new sources of antibiotics are urgently required to stem the global spread of antibiotic resistance, especially in multiresistant Gram-negative bacteria. Although it was thought that many of the original sources of antibiotics were exhausted, innovative research has revealed promising new sources of antibiotic discovery in traditional medicine associated with Streptomyces. In this work we investigated the potential of a specific limestone grassland soil, associated with Irish folk medicine, as a new source of antimicrobial discovery. Using selective enrichment and isolation techniques on a limestone grassland soil sample obtained from Boho, West Fermanagh, we isolated Streptomyces sp. CJ13. This bacterium inhibited the growth of a broad range of pathogens in vitro including Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA 43300) and Gram negative multiresistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA01), as well as the anaerobic bacteria Propionibacterium acnes and the yeast Starmerella bombicola. Genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed Streptomyces sp. CJ13 to be closely related to an unclassified Streptomyces sp. MJM1172, Streptomyces sp. Mg1 and two species known as Streptomyces sp. ICC1 and ICC4 from a karst region in British Columbia. The closest type species to Streptomyces sp. CJ13 was Streptomyces lavendulae subspecies lavendulae. Analysis of Streptomyces sp. CJ13 whole genome sequence using the secondary metabolite prediction tool antiSMASH revealed similarities to several antibiotic gene synthesis clusters including salinichelin, mediomycin A, weishanmycin, combamide, heat stable antifungal factor and SAL-2242. These results demonstrate the potential of this alkaline grassland soil as a new resource for the discovery of a broad range of antimicrobial compounds including those effective against multiresistant Gram negative bacteria.

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“…At the same time, numerous species related to the genus Streptomyces have shown antifungal properties due to the production of antibiotics [ 59 ]. A Streptomyces strain was even described to inhibit the growth of Starmerella bombicola [ 60 ], providing support for the interaction found in our case study.…”

Streptomyces rugosispiralis sp. nov., a Novel Actinobacterium Isolated from Peat Swamp Forest Soil That Produces Ansamycin Derivatives and Nocardamines

“…Previous studies have highlighted the presence of novel Streptomyces in various ecological niches, including soil environments. For instance, Streptomyces have been isolated from diverse soil types worldwide, including agricultural, forest, and grassland soils [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Although actinomycetes have been isolated from soil for a century, novel species are still being reported from this type of habitat [ 4 ], including peat swamp forest soils.…”

Streptomyces Isolates from the Soil of an Ancient Irish Cure Site, Capable of Inhibiting Multi-Resistant Bacteria and Yeasts

“…3c). These new isolates were added to the data set of [5,13]. The full phylogeny is available from the authors on request.…”

“…The principal reasons for this are the advancing age of the population, the sharp decline in the use of traditional medicine, and of course, the reliability of modern medicines. However, in a reversal of fortune, researchers are now looking towards traditional medicines as a potential source of new pharmaceutical compounds [1][2][3][4][5].This necessity is partly due to a reduction in the supply of new antibiotics caused by years of under-investment [6,7]. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO), in their Global Pathogen Priority (GPP) catalogue, identified a group of multiresistant pathogens, including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multi resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as priority targets for the research and development of new antibiotics [8].…”