The rumen microbiome: an underexplored resource for novel antimicrobial discovery

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Electronic versions

Documents

DOI

  • Linda B. Oyama
    Aberystwyth University
  • Susan E. Girdwood
    Aberystwyth University
  • Alan R. Cookson
    Aberystwyth University
  • Narcis Fernanadez-Fuentes
    Aberystwyth University
  • Florence Prive
    Aberystwyth University
  • Hannah E. Vallin
    Aberystwyth University
  • Toby J. Wilkinson
    Aberystwyth University
  • Peter Golyshin
  • Olga Golyshina
  • Ralf Mikut
    Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
  • Kai Hilpert
    St George's University of London
  • Jennifer Richards
    University Hospital of Wales
  • Mandy Wootton
    University Hospital of Wales
  • Joan E. Edwards
    Wageningen University
  • Marc Maresca
    Aix-Marseille Universite
  • Josette Perrier
    Aix-Marseille Universite
  • Fionnuala T. Lundy
    Queen's University, Belfast
  • Yu Luo
    Queen's University, Belfast
  • Mei Zhou
    Queen's University, Belfast
  • Matthias Hess
    UC Davis, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
  • Hilario C. Mantovani
    Universidade Federal de Viçosa
  • Christopher J. Creevey
    Aberystwyth University
  • Sharon A. Huws
    Queen's University, Belfast
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising drug candidates to target multi-drug resistant bacteria. The rumen microbiome presents an underexplored resource for the discovery of novel microbial enzymes and metabolites, including AMPs. Using functional screening and computational approaches, we identified 181 potentially novel AMPs from a rumen bacterial metagenome. Here, we show that three of the selected AMPs (Lynronne-1, Lynronne-2 and Lynronne-3) were effective against numerous bacterial pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). No decrease in MRSA susceptibility was observed after 25 days of sub-lethal exposure to these AMPs. The AMPs bound preferentially to bacterial membrane lipids and induced membrane permeability leading to cytoplasmic leakage. Topical administration of Lynronne-1 (10% w/v) to a mouse model of MRSA wound infection elicited a significant reduction in bacterial counts, which was comparable to treatment with 2% mupirocin ointment. Our findings indicate that the rumen microbiome may provide viable alternative antimicrobials for future therapeutic application.
Original languageEnglish
Article number33
JournalNPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes
Volume3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2017

Total downloads

No data available
View graph of relations