Year: 2019
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Streptomyces are filamentous bacteria known for producing a wide range of bioactive molecules. In addition to being nature’s chemists they have a unique multicellular life-cycle that ends with the sporulation of aerial hyphae. I used this unique Streptomyces development cycle, specifically sporulation, as a screening platform to discover novel biologically active molecules and characterized their mechanisms of action. Min-1 inhibits the growth of a range of Gram-positive bacteria, is active against the cell envelope, and induces a short cell phenotype in Bacillus subtilis. Another molecule, EN-7, inhibits bacterial gyrase and is active against extensively resistant Staphylococcus aureus in addition to other Gram-positive pathogens. In addition to investigating these specific molecules, I developed a high-throughput screen to identify molecules that disrupt the Gram-positive bacterial membrane and found that Streptomyces venezuelae sporulation is highly sensitive to multiple forms of DNA damage.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Scott McAuley
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3151985812