The microbiome-shaping roles of bacteriocins

The microbiomes on human body surfaces affect health in multiple ways. They include not only commensal or mutualistic bacteria but also potentially pathogenic bacteria, which can enter sterile tissues to cause invasive infection. Many commensal bacteria produce small antibacterial molecules termed b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature reviews. Microbiology Vol. 19; no. 11; pp. 726 - 739
Main Authors: Heilbronner, Simon, Krismer, Bernhard, Brötz-Oesterhelt, Heike, Peschel, Andreas
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.11.2021
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects:
631/326/2565
692/699/255/1318
Antibacterial agents
Antibiotics
Antiinfectives and antibacterials
Antimicrobial peptides
Bacteria
Bacteria - metabolism
Bacteriocins
Bacteriocins - chemistry
Bacteriocins - metabolism
Bacteriocins - pharmacology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Competitive advantage
Drug development
Fitness
Gene clusters
Health aspects
Host-bacteria relationships
Identification and classification
Infectious Diseases
Life Sciences
Medical Microbiology
Microbiological research
Microbiological synthesis
Microbiology
Microbiomes
Microbiota
Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms)
Parasitology
Physiological aspects
Review Article
Strains (organisms)
Virology
Germany
ISSN:1740-1526, 1740-1534, 1740-1534
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The microbiomes on human body surfaces affect health in multiple ways. They include not only commensal or mutualistic bacteria but also potentially pathogenic bacteria, which can enter sterile tissues to cause invasive infection. Many commensal bacteria produce small antibacterial molecules termed bacteriocins that have the capacity to eliminate specific colonizing pathogens; as such, bacteriocins have attracted increased attention as potential microbiome-editing tools. Metagenome-based and activity-based screening approaches have strongly expanded our knowledge of the abundance and diversity of bacteriocin biosynthetic gene clusters and the properties of a continuously growing list of bacteriocin classes. The dynamic acquisition, diversification or loss of bacteriocin genes can shape the fitness of a bacterial strain that is in competition with bacteriocin-susceptible bacteria. However, a bacteriocin can only provide a competitive advantage if its fitness benefit exceeds the metabolic cost of production, if it spares crucial mutualistic partner strains and if major competitors cannot develop resistance. In contrast to most currently available antibiotics, many bacteriocins have only narrow activity ranges and could be attractive agents for precision therapy and prevention of infections. A common scientific strategy involving multiple disciplines is needed to uncover the immense potential of microbiome-shaping bacteriocins. Small antibacterial molecules termed bacteriocins can influence microbiome composition by providing an advantage to bacteriocin producers over bacteriocin-sensitive strains. In this Review, Peschel and colleagues provide an overview of the types of bacteriocins, their costs and benefits, and how they may provide new avenues for antibacterial drug development.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
ObjectType-Review-3
content type line 23
ISSN:1740-1526
1740-1534
1740-1534
DOI:10.1038/s41579-021-00569-w