[Streptomycetes in the Light of the Concept of Multicellularity of Bacteria.]

The review concerns discussion of certain aspects of growth and development of streptomycetes, that have an adaptation meaning for their existence under natural conditions and reflect our perception of them as procaryotes which have a range of qualities typical of multicellular organisms. At present, the concept of multicellularity is the key idea in investigation of growth processes, differentiation and physiology of streptomycetes. Streptomyces olivocinereus is presented as an effective model that gives the unique opportunities for investigation of different aspects of biology of streptomycetes within laboratory environment as well as in natural environment in suli. S.olivocinereus produces luminescent antibiotic geliomycin (resistomycin). In this review we summarized the results of the many years of investigation of growth, differentiation and behavior of this streptomycete. The investigations were undertaken by a group of scientists of the Moscow State University. The results can be employed as arguments for the multicellular nature of streptomycetes.

Secondary Metabolites from Marine Microorganisms. II. Marine Fungi and Their Habitats.

Marine-derived fungi are of great interest as a new promising source of biologically active products such as anticancer compounds, antibiotics, inhibitors of biochemical processes. Since marine organisms inhabit biologically competitive environment with unique conditions, the chemical diversity of the secondary metabolites from marine fungi is considerably high. Recent genomic studies demonstrated that fungi can carry gene clasters encoding production of previously unknown secondary metabolites. Activation of the attenuated or silent genes would be useful either for improving activities of the known compounds or for discovery of new products.

[Streptomycetes Biofilms. I. Occurrence and Formation].

Streptomycetes, soil-dwelling mycelial bacteria, can form biofilms as indigenous components of the environment. The biofilms formed by streptomycetes exist in different ecological niches, in natural, medical, industrial environments. The biofilm-forming streptomycetes affect water quality, human health, associate with deterioration of artworks and historical monuments. The review should be of interest for researchers of the biofilm mode of streptomycetes growth.

[Secondary Metabolites from Marine Microorganisms. I. Secondary Metabolites from Marine Actinomycetes].

Review represents data on new active metabolites isolated from marine actinomycetes published in 2007 to 2014. Marine actinomycetes are an unlimited source of novel secondary metabolites with various biological activities. Among them there are antibiotics, anticancer compounds, inhibitors of biochemical processes.

[On Biofilms of Streptomycetes. II. Use in Biotechnology].

Streptomycetes or mycelial microorganisms are able to form biofilms under the natural, industrial and clinical conditions. The controlled use of biofilms in various industrial processes is much more efficient vs. the cultivation of plankton suspended cells. Optimization of biotechnological processes with the use of streptomycete biofilms is advisable in production of lactic acid and detoxication of the liquor in pyrolysis of plant biomass. Streptomycete biofilms are used in water purification systems. It is recommended to use biofilms for detoxication of wastes and bioremediation of soils contaminated with hard metals. The use of biofilms of streptomycetes producing biologically active substances is of special interest. High yields of.antibiotics and actinomycin D in particular was observed with. cultivation of antibioc-producing streptomycetes as biofilms in bioreactors of unique design.

[Microbial secondary metabolites as potential reserve of pharmaceuticals].

The major characteristics of new bioactive microbial secondary metabolites are summarized in the review. A wide range of new molecular targets are implicated in discovery of new nonantibiotic compounds with some other pharmacological activities (noninfectious diseases). Microorganisms represent fascinating resources due to their production of novel products with broad spectra of bioactivities.

[Action of antibiotics as signalling molecules].

It was thought that antibiotics should be produced by soil microorganisms to inhibit the growth of competitors in natural habitats. Yet it has been shown that antibiotics at subinhibitory concentrations may have a role as signalling molecules providing cell-to-cell communication in bacteria in the environment. Antibiotics modulate gene transcription and regulate gene expression in microbial populations. Subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics may cause a number of phenotypic and genotypic changes in microorganisms. These transcription changes are dependent on the interaction of antibiotics with macromolecular receptors such as ribosome or RNA-polymerase. Antibiotic signalling and quorum-sensing system are important regulatory mechanisms in bacteria. It was demonstrated that antibiotics interfered with quorum-sensing system.

[Microbial antibiotic resistance: resistome, its volume, diversity and development].

The known conceptions of resistome as a complex of all the antibiotic resistance genes in the genomes of all the microorganisms, pathogenic and nonpathogenic ones, in nature are considered. The data on the origin, evolution and distribution of antibiotic resistance genes and possible approaches to the resistance distribution control are presented.

[Biologically active nonribosomal peptides. III. Mechanism of biosynthesis of nonribosomal peptides].

The third part of the review is concerned with investigation of nonribosomal peptides.

[Biologically active nonribosomal peptides. I. Nonribosamal polypeptide antibiotics].

The data on novel polypeptide antibiotics described within the last 10-15 years, as well as new researches on the known antibiotics with respect to their mechanisms of action and microbial resistance are presented.

[Impact of exogenous glycine on actinomycin D resistance of Staphylococcus aureus strain adapted to the antibiotic].

The impact of glycine, added to the cultivation medium, on resistance of Staphylococcus aureus strains to actinomycin D and gramicidin S was studied. The antibiotic resistant strains were isolated after cultivation of the susceptible S. aureus strain 209P on media with increasing concentrations of actinomycin or gramicidin. When the strains were grown on the glycine-containing medium. i. e. under the conditions providing replacement of D-alanine by glycine in the C-end dipeptides of peptidoglycanes, the resistance of the staphylococci to actinomycin markedly decreased. However, in the resistant cells, characterized by significant thickening of the cell walls, the peptidoglycane quantity per a biomass unit did not lower, that was evident of preservation of the wall thickness. At the same time, with addition of glycine to the medium there was observed increased ability of the cells to bind actinomycin. When the gramicidin-adapted strains were grown on the glycine-containing medium, their resistance to the antibiotic did not change. The modification of the peptidoglycane C-end dipeptides probably lowered the protective role of the thicker walls of the cells on their contact with actinomycin but not gramicidin.

[Cell wall components in Staphylococcus aureus with double resistance to gramicidin S and actinomycin D].

Cell walls of Staphylococcus aureus R9/80 resistant to gramicidin S and actinomycin D were investigated. The strain was isolated after passages of a previously isolated strain of S. aureus with resistance to gramicidin and definite changes in the cell walls, a medium with increasing concentrations of actinomycin being used for the passages. The data on the study of the cell walls of the strain with the double resistance were compared with the results of the investigation of the cell walls of the strain susceptible to gramicidin, the gramicidin resistant strain (initial for strain R9/80) and the actinomycin adapted strain that also showed changes in the cell walls. The cell walls of the resistant strains had no significant changes in the peptidoglycane and glucosamine levels, as well as in the peptidoglycane amino acid composition. Teichoic acids of all the strains had different levels of substitution of ribite by D-alanine (a factor influencing the negative charge of teichoic acids and the wall at large). It was noted that all the strains resistant to the tested antibiotics had lower levels of teichoic acids in the cell walls. The resistant cells showed some increase of the lipid component in the walls: from 1.6% in the susceptible strain to 2.1-2.9% in the resistant cells. The main trend of the changes in the resistance development was revealed to be the thickening of the cell wall and its consolidation. The development of resistance to gramicidin, actinomycin and to both the antibiotics provoked respectively a 2.4-, 4- and 5.4-fold increase of the content of the main cell component. i.e. peptidoglycane in the cell biomass. The barrier role of the cell walls in the resistant strains and their ability to bind the antibiotic is discussed.

[Investigation of cell wall components in actinomycin D resistant Staphylococcus aureus]. / Izuchenie komponentov kletochnoi stenki Staphylococcus aureus, ustoichivogo k aktinomitsinu D.

Cell walls in 2 strains of Staphylococcus aureus 209P, i.e. actinomycin D susceptible and resistant ones were comparatively investigated. The resistant cells contained much more wall material per a unit of the biomass weight vs the susceptible strain cells, that conformed to thickening of the resistant cell walls detected by electron microscopy and a sharp increase of their electron density. Investigation of peptidoglycans and teichoic acids did not reveal any significant alterations in the structure of the wall components in the actinomycin D resistant cells. Only some increase of glucosamine in the peptidoglycan fraction of the resistant cells vs the susceptible ones was observed. It was shown that preparations of the resistant cell walls and peptidoglycan isolated from the resistant cells were able to bind somewhat lower quantities of actinomycin D vs the analogous preparations of the susceptible cells. The significant decrease of the antibiotic binding by live cells of the resistant strain probably slightly depended on the structure characteristics of the main wall components. The barrier properties of the walls in resistant staphylococci are most likely defined by the wall thickening and consolidation while adapting to actinomycin D.

[Cell wall components of gramicidin S resistant Staphylococcus aureus]. / Izuchenie komponentov kletochnoi stenki Staphylococcus aureus, ustoichivogo k gramitsidinu S.

Comparative study of two staphylococcus aureus 209P strains--resistant and susceptible to gramicidin S demonstrated that peptidoglycanes of two strains differ by ratio glycine/serine at peptide bridges. Besides peptidoglycanes significantly differ by amidation of alfa-carboxyles of glutamic acid in muropeptide. This peptidoglycane modification of resistant cells along with enhanced content of etherized D-alanine in teichoic acid provides lower negative charge of cell wall components. It may influence the cell wall ability to react with positively charged gramicidin molecules. It was shown that isolated cell walls and peptidoglycane of resistant cells binds significantly less gramicidin than cell walls and peptodoglyce of susceptable cells. Simultaneous determination of gramicidin binding by intact S. aureus cells and their killing revealed that lower ability of resistant cells to bind gramicidin is significant but not critical factor of gramicidin resistance.

[The study of Staphylococcus aureus strain resistant to actinomycin D]. / Izuchenie shtamma Staphylococcus aureus, ustoichivogo k aktinomitsinu D.

Staphylococcus aureus strains, resistant to actinomycin D (AMD) and to gramicidin S (GS) were selected by S. aureus 209P passing on the media containing the above mentioned drugs. Strain R80 resistant to AMD and strain R9 resistant to GS and AMD and described before didn't perform enzyme inactivation of AMD. Cells of both strains had diminished ability to bind exogenous AMD. Electron microscopy investigation revealed that cells of R80 strain had thickened cell walls and they are characterized by more electron density then cells of R9 strain and of parent strain. Adaption to AMD and GS influenced also on functions of some staphylococcal surface proteins--the activity of endogenous coagulase (clumping factor) was found only in R9 strain. Exogenous coagulase was present in all the strains, but development of resistant to AMD and GS diminished this enzyme activity. It is concluded that development of resistance to AMD and GS causes substantial changes in staphylococcal cell wall, but the type of these changes differ.

[The capacity of the mycelia of Streptomyces chrysomallus variants to bind exogenous actinomycin D and the synthesis by these variants of macrotetralides]. / Sposobnost' mitseliia varinatov Streptomyces chrysomallus sviazyvat' ékzogennyi aktinomitsin D i sintez étimi variantami makrotetrolidov.

Streptomyces chrysomallus is known as an organism producing macrotetrolides (MTL) and actinomycin C. The dynamics of the MTL biosynthesis by some variants of S. chrysomallus in the process of their growth in liquid media was studied. In parallel the ability of the culture mycelium (washed or suspended in physiological solution) to bind exogenous actinomycin D (AMD) was estimated. An inverse correlation between the dynamics of MTL biosynthesis and the rate of the AMD binding by the washed mycelium during the whole period of the culture development was observed: a decrease in the culture ability to bind AMD corresponded to active biosynthesis of MTL and an increase in the culture ability to bind AMD corresponded to lower biosynthesis of MTL. It was suggested that the active biosynthesis of MTL correlated not only with a decrease in the ability of the suspended mycelium to bind AMD but also with a decrease in binding of actinomycin synthesized and excreted to the medium by the culture. A decrease in the reflux of the synthesized antibiotic to the cells was likely one of the components of the system of the S. chrysomallus insensitivity to its own antibiotic.