title: Antibiotics from predatory bacteria.
abstract: Bacteria, which prey on other microorganisms, are commonly found in the environment. While some of these organisms act as solitary hunters, others band together in large consortia before they attack their prey. Anecdotal reports suggest that bacteria practicing such a wolfpack strategy utilize antibiotics as predatory weapons. Consistent with this hypothesis, genome sequencing revealed that these micropredators possess impressive capacities for natural product biosynthesis. Here, we will present the results from recent chemical investigations of this bacterial group, compare the biosynthetic potential with that of non-predatory bacteria and discuss the link between predation and secondary metabolism.
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstr. 11, 07745 Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Korp
authors.affiliation: Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida (CERZOS) -CONICET- Carrindanga Km 11, Bahía Blanca 8000, Argentina.
authors.forename: María S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Vela Gurovic
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans-Knöll-Institute, Beutenbergstr. 11, 07745 Jena, Germany; Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering, Technical Biology, Technical University Dortmund, Emil-Figge-Strasse 66, 44227 Dortmund, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nett
keywords: Herpetosiphon; antibiotics; genome mining; myxobacteria; predation