Helmi Noof Refat
Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Front Microbiol. 2025 Mar 26;16:1568899. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1568899. eCollection 2025.
The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents a significant global health challenge, underscoring the urgent need for novel antimicrobial agents. Actinomycetes, particularly species, are well known for synthesizing bioactive compounds with antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. This review explores the diversity and antimicrobial potential of actinomycetes from Saudi Arabia's unique ecosystems, including terrestrial (soil, rhizosphere), aquatic (marine, freshwater), extreme (deserts, caves, hot springs, mountains, and mangroves), and other unique environments. The adaptation of these microorganisms to harsh environmental conditions has driven the evolution of unique strains with enhanced biosynthetic capacities. Several studies have demonstrated their antimicrobial efficacy against multidrug-resistant pathogens, including methicillin-resistant (MRSA), extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae, , and . However, challenges in actinomycete research persist, including difficulties in culturing rare strains, limited genomic characterization, and high production costs. Recent advancements, such as genome mining, metagenomics, AI-driven bioinformatics, and CRISPR-based gene activation, offer promising avenues for unlocking novel antimicrobial compounds. Additionally, synthetic biology, advanced fermentation technologies, and nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems are enhancing the industrial scalability of actinomycete-derived antibiotics. Beyond antimicrobials, actinomycete-derived compounds show potential applications in oncology, immunotherapy, and agriculture. Alternative therapeutic strategies, including quorum sensing inhibitors, phage therapy, and combination therapies, are being explored to combat AMR. Cutting-edge analytical techniques, such as mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), are essential for structural elucidation and mechanism characterization of new bioactive compounds. To harness Saudi Arabia's microbial biodiversity effectively, interdisciplinary collaborations between microbiologists, biotechnologists, and pharmaceutical industries are crucial. Sustainable bioprospecting and advanced bioprocessing strategies will facilitate the translation of actinomycete-derived bioactive compounds into clinically viable therapeutics. Expanding research efforts into underexplored Saudi ecosystems can lead to groundbreaking discoveries in antibiotic development and beyond.
抗菌药物耐药性（AMR）的日益流行对全球健康构成了重大挑战，凸显了对新型抗菌药物的迫切需求。放线菌，特别是某些种类，以合成具有抗菌、抗真菌和抗病毒特性的生物活性化合物而闻名。本综述探讨了来自沙特阿拉伯独特生态系统的放线菌的多样性和抗菌潜力，这些生态系统包括陆地（土壤、根际）、水生（海洋、淡水）、极端（沙漠、洞穴、温泉、山脉和红树林）以及其他独特环境。这些微生物对恶劣环境条件的适应推动了具有增强生物合成能力的独特菌株的进化。多项研究已证明它们对多种耐药病原体具有抗菌效力，包括耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）、产超广谱β-内酰胺酶（ESBL）的肠杆菌科细菌、[此处原文缺失具体细菌名称]和[此处原文缺失具体细菌名称]。然而，放线菌研究仍存在挑战，包括培养稀有菌株困难、基因组特征描述有限以及生产成本高昂。近期的进展，如基因组挖掘、宏基因组学、人工智能驱动的生物信息学以及基于CRISPR的基因激活，为发现新型抗菌化合物提供了有前景的途径。此外，合成生物学、先进的发酵技术以及基于纳米技术的药物递送系统正在提高放线菌衍生抗生素的工业可扩展性。除了抗菌药物，放线菌衍生的化合物在肿瘤学、免疫疗法和农业领域也显示出潜在应用。正在探索包括群体感应抑制剂、噬菌体疗法和联合疗法在内的替代治疗策略来对抗AMR。前沿分析技术，如质谱、液相色谱和核磁共振光谱（NMR），对于新生物活性化合物的结构解析和作用机制表征至关重要。为了有效利用沙特阿拉伯的微生物多样性，微生物学家、生物技术专家和制药行业之间的跨学科合作至关重要。可持续的生物勘探和先进的生物加工策略将有助于将放线菌衍生的生物活性化合物转化为临床上可行的治疗方法。将研究工作扩展到未充分探索的沙特生态系统可能会在抗生素开发及其他领域带来突破性发现。
