How Microbes Make Drug-like Molecules

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Title How Microbes Make Drug-like Molecules
Creator Schmidt, E.W.
Subject Diffusion of Innovation; Biological Products; Biosynthetic Pathways; Microbiota; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Peptides; Ribosomes; Metagenomics; Metagenome; Anti-HIV Agents; RNA-Binding Proteins; Amino Acid Sequence; Antimicrobial Peptides; Drug Discovery; Knowledge Discovery
Keyword Drug Discovery
Image Caption An anti-HIV peptide obtained by mining the animal microbiome.
Description Many life-saving drugs come from natural sources such as microbes. Learning how host organisms produce these drugs is an area of intense interest because scientists could exploit the pathways to produce more and better drug variants. Schmidt and colleagues have elucidated the mechanisms by which microbes produce one class of drug-like molecules, the Ribosomally-synthesized and Post-translationally modified Peptides (RiPPs). Bioactive RiPPs are produced from a precursor peptide, which is modified by enzymes. The research group identified specific biosynthetic pathways that produce such discrete natural product compounds, which have potential as human therapeutics. These discoveries demonstrate how modern metagenomic methods can elucidate the vast repertoire of natural products that were inaccessible using traditional isolation methods. The insights now influence how other investigators in the natural products field tailor their investigations to discover novel drugs as potential lead therapeutics.
Relation is Part of 2019
Publisher Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah
Date Digital 2020
Date 2019
Type Image
Format image/jpeg
Rights Management Copyright © 2021, University of Utah, All Rights Reserved
Language eng
ARK ark:/87278/s6pg7frf
References 1.) Metabolic model for diversity-generating biosynthesis. Tianero MD, Pierce E, Raghuraman S, Sardar D, McIntosh JA, Heemstra JR, Schonrock Z, Covington BC, Maschek JA, Cox JE, Bachmann BO, Olivera BM, Ruffner DE, Schmidt EW. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2016 Feb;113(7):1772. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26831074/ 2.) Accessing chemical diversity from the uncultivated symbionts of small marine animals. Smith TE, Pond CD, Pierce E, Harmer ZP, Kwan J, Zachariah MM, Harper MK, Wyche TP, Matainaho TK, Bugni TS, Barrows LR, Ireland CM, Schmidt EW. Nat Chem Biol. 2018 Feb;14(2):179. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29291350/ 3.) The biosynthetic diversity of the animal world. Torres JP, Schmidt EW. J Biol Chem. 2019 Nov;294(46):17684. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31604818/
Setname ehsl_50disc
ID 1589396
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6pg7frf