Research on New Antimicrobial Agents 2.0

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Antimicrobial Agents and Resistance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 2613

Special Issue Editor

BioActive Research Group, Faculty of Biology, University Alexandru Ioan Cuza of Iasi, Iasi, Romania
Interests: new antimicrobials; microbial metabolites; microbial interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Antimicrobial resistance is considered one of the greatest threats that has faced humanity in its entire existence. Declared by the WHO as a top global public health menace, antimicrobial resistance is also a serious social and economic problem. The emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens, especially of multidrug-resistant bacteria (also known as “superbugs”), was facilitated by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials. Consequently, the possibility of treating infectious diseases with currently used antibiotics is being seriously questioned. Moreover, the number of new antibiotics that have come into therapeutical use has decreased significantly in recent years. Therefore, finding new effective antimicrobials with which to fight antimicrobial resistance is a top priority of the modern scientific world.

This Special Issue will focus on the most recent research in the discovery of new antimicrobial agents and strategies used to treat infectious diseases caused by antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. We invite authors to publish their latest original findings in this Microorganisms Special Issue entitled “Research on New Antimicrobial Agents 2.0”.

Dr. Marius Stefan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antimicrobial activity
  • infectious diseases
  • antibiotic resistance
  • antimicrobial peptides
  • antimicrobial flavonoids
  • nanoparticles
  • molecular docking
  • structure-activity relationship (SAR)
  • antimicrobial therapy
  • cytotoxicity
  • synergy

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2782 KiB  
Article
Screening and Identification of a Streptomyces Strain with Quorum-Sensing Inhibitory Activity and Effect of the Crude Extracts on Virulence Factors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
by Zhidong Zhang, Yang Sun, Yuanyang Yi, Xiaoyu Bai, Liying Zhu, Jing Zhu, Meiying Gu, Yanlei Zhu and Ling Jiang
Microorganisms 2023, 11(8), 2079; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11082079 - 13 Aug 2023
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Abstract
Quorum-sensing (QS) is involved in numerous physiological processes in bacteria, such as biofilm formation, sporulation, and virulence formation. Therefore, the search for new quorum-sensing inhibitors (QSI) is a promising strategy that opens up a new perspective for controlling QS-mediated bacterial pathogens. To explore [...] Read more.
Quorum-sensing (QS) is involved in numerous physiological processes in bacteria, such as biofilm formation, sporulation, and virulence formation. Therefore, the search for new quorum-sensing inhibitors (QSI) is a promising strategy that opens up a new perspective for controlling QS-mediated bacterial pathogens. To explore new QSIs, a strain named Streptomyces sp. D67 with QS inhibitory activity was isolated from the soil of the arid zone around the Kumutag Desert in Xinjiang. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that strain D67 shared the highest similarity with Streptomyces ardesiacus NBRC 15402T (98.39%), which indicated it represented a potential novel species in the Streptomyces genus. The fermentation crude extracts of strain D67 can effectively reduce the violacein production produced by Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and the swarming and swimming abilities of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It also has significant inhibitory activity on the production of virulence factors such as biofilm, pyocyanin, and rhamnolipids of P. aeruginosa in a significant concentration-dependent manner, but not on protease activity. A total of 618 compounds were identified from the fermentation crude extracts of strain D67 by LC-MS, and 19 compounds with significant QS inhibitory activity were observed. Overall, the strain with QS inhibitory activity was screened from Kumutag Desert in Xinjiang for the first time, which provided a basis for further research and development of new QSI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on New Antimicrobial Agents 2.0)
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17 pages, 3320 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Three Complexes of Iodine with Amino Acids on Gene Expression of Model Antibiotic Resistant Microorganisms Escherichia coli ATCC BAA-196 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC BAA-39
by Sabina T. Kenesheva, Setshaba Taukobong, Sergey V. Shilov, Tatyana V. Kuznetsova, Ardak B. Jumagaziyeva, Tatyana A. Karpenyuk, Oleg N. Reva and Aleksandr I. Ilin
Microorganisms 2023, 11(7), 1705; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071705 - 29 Jun 2023
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Abstract
1. Background: Iodine is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial disinfectant for topical application. Recent studies have shown promising results on the applicability of an iodine-containing complex, FS-1, against antibiotic-resistant pathogens. It was hypothesized that the antimicrobial activity of iodine-containing complexes may be modulated by the [...] Read more.
1. Background: Iodine is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial disinfectant for topical application. Recent studies have shown promising results on the applicability of an iodine-containing complex, FS-1, against antibiotic-resistant pathogens. It was hypothesized that the antimicrobial activity of iodine-containing complexes may be modulated by the organic moiety of the complex, i.e., amino acids. 2. Methods: Gene regulation and metabolic alterations were studied in two model multidrug-resistant microorganisms, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC BAA-39, and Escherichia coli ATCC BAA-196, treated with three complexes containing iodine and three different amino acids: glycine, L-alanine, and L-isoleucine. The bacterial cultures were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of the complexes in the lagging and logarithmic growth phases. Gene regulation was studied by total RNA sequencing and differential gene expression analysis. 3. Results: The central metabolism of the treated bacteria was affected. An analysis of the regulation of genes involved in stress responses suggested the disruption of cell wall integrity, DNA damage, and oxidative stress in the treated bacteria. 4. Conclusions: Previous studies showed that the application of iodine-containing complexes, such as FS-1, serves as a supplement to common antibiotics and can be a promising way to combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Current results shed light on possible mechanisms of this action by disrupting the cell wall barriers and imposing oxidative stress. It was also found that the effect of the complexes on metabolic pathways varied in the tested microorganisms depending on the organic moiety of the complexes and the growth phase when the complexes had been applied. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on New Antimicrobial Agents 2.0)
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