Harnessing microbial systems as bio-factories for the production of medically significant agents presents a thriving avenue in pharmaceutical research. From manufacturing natural products, including potent secondary metabolites, to the sophisticated engineering of recombinant proteins, microbial production's contributions are manifold (Katz and Baltz, 2016). A salient trend is the rapid evolution of synthetic and molecular biology tools, which substantially enhance our capacity to manipulate microbial metabolism (Keasling, 2012; Ko et al., 2020). Furthermore, refinements in bioprocessing strategies have significantly improved the overall yield of microbial products, emphasizing the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of microbial production (Garcia-Ochoa and Gomez, 2009; Sharma et al., 2020). These advancements, in tandem with predictive technologies such as machine learning for optimal microbial strain selection and fermentation condition prediction, showcase this field's innovative trajectory.
Despite substantial progress, challenges remain, including post-modification, expression systems, and product complexity. Nevertheless, the ever-evolving realm of microbial engineering and biotechnology continues to offer promising solutions. As we embark on exploring medicinally significant agents derived from microbial sources in this Research Topic, we applaud the progress made thus far and eagerly anticipate future innovations in microbial production (Cui et al., 2020; McAdam et al., 2020; Srinivasan and Smolke, 2020; Tabatabaei et al., 2020; Guzior and Quinn, 2021; Kumar et al., 2022; Serra et al., 2023; Tariq et al., 2023). This Research Topic aims to provide crucial insights on two fronts: broadening the spectrum of essential biopharmaceutical applications and exploring effective solutions for improved production performance. Each of these areas underscores the potential that microbial production holds. Through this Research Topic, we aim to illustrate the advancements in enhancing microbial performance and inspire further innovations in microbial engineering.
The industrial manufacture of penicillin (Scriabine, 1999), a life-saving antibiotic first produced on a large scale during World War II, serves as a compelling example of microbial production. This biotechnological milestone paved the way for developing more advanced antibiotics. Similarly, research on amphiphilic aminoglycosides has demonstrated how chemical modifications can enhance antibiotics' effectiveness and broaden their applications, introducing our theme of performance enhancement (Takemoto et al.).
Broadening the spectrum of essential biopharmaceutical applications necessitates the exploration of new sources. We turn our gaze to the Arctic, where research on marine actinobacteria has unearthed new bioactive metabolites (Schneider et al.). This study demonstrates how untapped ecosystems can lead to the discovery of novel medicinal compounds, thereby expanding our theme of performance enhancement. Additionally, another review paper that focused on endophytes and marine microorganisms has unveiled potential glycosidase inhibitors, exemplifying the extensive range of medicinal compounds derivable from microbial sources (Wang et al.).
Optimization of the process occurs at various levels and stages. On the enzyme and protein level, the study of marine microbial carboxylesterase, E93, stands out (Li et al.). This enzyme can hydrolyze substrates challenging for human carboxylesterase, highlighting the advantages of microbial enzymes in medicinal applications and highlighting performance enhancement. Moreover, an investigation on Resuscitation-promoting factor B (RpfB) from Rhodococcus sp. has demonstrated the potential to boost microbial biological activity, with an increase of 18% in cell resuscitation, through condition optimization (Gong et al.).
Delving into the molecular level, two studies illustrate the potential of gene manipulation in augmenting microbial productivity. The reengineering of 7-dehydrocholesterol biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae has achieved the highest titer reported to date (Wei et al.). Similarly, manipulating nutrient sources in Cordyceps mushroom cultivation influenced gene expression and transcriptional levels, resulting in a 34-fold increase in cordycepin production (Turk et al.).
The strategies employed in microbial production to enhance performance and productivity vary widely. Each example shared in this Research Topic outlines the myriad ways that microbial production can be optimized to produce medically significant agents. It becomes clear that the microbial world's microscopic components hold immense potential. The examples serve as both an inspiration and a guiding star, importance the success achieved and the path forward for future endeavors in the microbial production of medicinally important agents. With continual research and advancements, we can further unravel this potential to meet and overcome the medical challenges that lie ahead.
Statements
Author contributions
JZe: Writing—original draft. JZh: Writing—review and editing. XQ: Writing—review and editing. OF: Writing—review and editing.
Conflict of interest
JZe was employed by Thermo Fisher Scientific.
The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
References
1
Cui Y. Miao K. Niyaphorn S. Qu X. (2020). Production of gamma-aminobutyric acid from lactic acid bacteria: a systematic review. Int. J. Mol. Sci.21, 995. 10.3390/ijms21030995
2
Garcia-Ochoa F. Gomez E. (2009). Bioreactor scale-up and oxygen transfer rate in microbial processes: an overview. Biotechnol. Adv.27, 153–176. 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2008.10.006
3
Guzior D. V. Quinn R. A. (2021). Review: microbial transformations of human bile acids. Microbiome9, 140. 10.1186/s40168-021-01101-1
4
Katz L. Baltz R. H. (2016). Natural product discovery: past, present, and future. J. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol.43, 155–176. 10.1007/s10295-015-1723-5
5
Keasling J. D. (2012). Synthetic biology and the development of tools for metabolic engineering. Metab. Eng.14, 189–195. 10.1016/j.ymben.2012.01.004
6
Ko Y. S. Kim J. W. Lee J. A. Han T. Kim G. B. Park J. E. et al . (2020). Tools and strategies of systems metabolic engineering for the development of microbial cell factories for chemical production. Chem. Soc. Rev.49, 4615–4636. 10.1039/d0cs00155d
7
Kumar K. Singh E. Shrivastava S. (2022). Microbial xylitol production. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol.106, 971–979. 10.1007/s00253-022-11793-6
8
McAdam B. Fournet M. B. McDonald P. Mojicevic M. (2020). Production of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and factors impacting its chemical and mechanical characteristics. Polymers12, 2908. 10.3390/polym12122908
9
Scriabine A. (1999). Discovery and development of major drugs currently in use, in Pharmaceutical Innovation: Revolutionizing Human Health (Philadelphia, PA: Chemical Heritage Press), 148–270.
10
Serra M. Casas A. Toubarro D. Barros A. N. Teixeira J. A. (2023). Microbial hyaluronic acid production: a review. Molecules28, 2084. 10.3390/molecules28052084
11
Sharma R. Garg P. Kumar P. Bhatia S. K. Kulshrestha S. (2020). Microbial fermentation and its role in quality improvement of fermented foods. Fermentation6, 106. 10.3390/fermentation6040106
12
Srinivasan P. Smolke C. D. (2020). Biosynthesis of medicinal tropane alkaloids in yeast. Nature585, 614–619. 10.1038/s41586-020-2650-9
13
Tabatabaei M. Aghbashlo M. Valijanian E. Kazemi Shariat Panahi H. Nizami A. S. Ghanavati H. et al . (2020). A comprehensive review on recent biological innovations to improve biogas production, Part 1: upstream strategies. Renew. Energy146, 1204–1220. 10.1016/j.renene.2019.07.037
14
Tariq H. Asif S. Andleeb A. Hano C. Abbasi B. H. (2023). Flavonoid production: current trends in plant metabolic engineering and de novo microbial production. Metabolites13, 124. 10.3390/metabo13010124
Summary
Keywords
microbial, fermentation, synthetic biology, medicinal agents, bioprocessing
Citation
Zeng J, Zhan J, Qiao X and Fidan O (2023) Editorial: Microbial production of medicinally important agents. Front. Microbiol. 14:1274087. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1274087
Received
07 August 2023
Accepted
04 September 2023
Published
20 September 2023
Volume
14 - 2023
Edited and reviewed by
Eric Altermann, Massey University, New Zealand
Updates
Copyright
© 2023 Zeng, Zhan, Qiao and Fidan.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Jia Zeng jia.zeng714@gmail.com
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.