With an international team of scientists, DSMZ researcher Yvonne Mast isolated and investigated a total of 422 actinomycetes strains in Indonesia. Known to be one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, researchers were able to isolate bacteria from three different unique areas. After initial characterisations, nine potent bioactive strains were prioritized for further drug screening approaches. Using a combined genome mining and molecular networking approach, numerous gene clusters were identified that cannot be associated with known natural compounds. These results indicate that the nine strains may be able to produce novel secondary metabolites.
Original publication
Mining Indonesian Microbial Biodiversity for Novel Natural Compounds by a Combined Genome Mining and Molecular Networking Approach. (2021) Handayani I, Saad H, Ratnakomala S, Lisdiyanti P, Kusharyoto W, Krause J, Kulik A, Wohlleben W, Aziz S, Gross H, Gavriilidou A, Ziemert N, Mast Y. Mar. Drugs 2021, 19(6), 316; doi.org/10.3390/md19060316
https://doi.org/10.3390/md19060316