The Extremophilic Actinobacteria: From Microbes to Medicine
Martha Lok-Yung Hui,
Loh Teng-Hern Tan,
Vengadesh Letchumanan,
Ya-Wen He,
Chee-Mun Fang,
Kok-Gan Chan,
Jodi Woan-Fei Law,
Learn-Han Lee
Affiliations
Martha Lok-Yung Hui
Novel Bacteria and Drug Discovery Research Group (NBDD), Microbiome and Bioresource Research Strength (MBRS), Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
Loh Teng-Hern Tan
Novel Bacteria and Drug Discovery Research Group (NBDD), Microbiome and Bioresource Research Strength (MBRS), Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
Vengadesh Letchumanan
Novel Bacteria and Drug Discovery Research Group (NBDD), Microbiome and Bioresource Research Strength (MBRS), Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
Ya-Wen He
State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
Chee-Mun Fang
Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Selangor 43500, Malaysia
Kok-Gan Chan
Division of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Jodi Woan-Fei Law
Novel Bacteria and Drug Discovery Research Group (NBDD), Microbiome and Bioresource Research Strength (MBRS), Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
Learn-Han Lee
Novel Bacteria and Drug Discovery Research Group (NBDD), Microbiome and Bioresource Research Strength (MBRS), Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia
Actinobacteria constitute prolific sources of novel and vital bioactive metabolites for pharmaceutical utilization. In recent years, research has focused on exploring actinobacteria that thrive in extreme conditions to unearth their beneficial bioactive compounds for natural product drug discovery. Natural products have a significant role in resolving public health issues such as antibiotic resistance and cancer. The breakthrough of new technologies has overcome the difficulties in sampling and culturing extremophiles, leading to the outpouring of more studies on actinobacteria from extreme environments. This review focuses on the diversity and bioactive potentials/medically relevant biomolecules of extremophilic actinobacteria found from various unique and extreme niches. Actinobacteria possess an excellent capability to produce various enzymes and secondary metabolites to combat harsh conditions. In particular, a few strains have displayed substantial antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), shedding light on the development of MRSA-sensitive antibiotics. Several strains exhibited other prominent bioactivities such as antifungal, anti-HIV, anticancer, and anti-inflammation. By providing an overview of the recently found extremophilic actinobacteria and their important metabolites, we hope to enhance the understanding of their potential for the medical world.
