Abstract:
Antibiotic synthesis by bacterial cultures is one of the most exploited biological pathways of the microbial world, and for good reason. All antibiotics that are currently used in modern medicine have their origins as by-products of bacterial secondary metabolism. Today, technology has allowed advances in areas of antibiotic research and development that have led to alterations and the production of semi-synthetic derivatives of antibiotics first isolated from bacterial cultures. The important of these antibiotic products cannot be understated in the treatment of infectious diseases, and as multidrug resistance rises in emerging pathogens, the continued discovery and isolation of new antibiotics from bacteria is ever important. This is why it is important to understand and analyze the mechanisms and optimal conditions that induce antibiotic production by various bacterial species. More specifically, the mechanism by which Streptomyces griseus is coaxed into producing the antibiotics streptomycin and cycloheximide, actual research methods aimed at optimizing antibiotic production by S. griseus, and future research induction of secondary metabolism are analyzed.
