New approach drives bacteria to produce potential antibiotic, antiparasitic compounds

(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau) Researchers have developed a method to spur the production of new antibiotic or antiparasitic compounds hiding in the genomes of actinobacteria, which are the source of the drugs actinomycin and streptomycin and are known to harbor other untapped chemical riches. The scientists report their findings in the journal eLife.