Bacterium Streptomyces erythreus

As noted in the Chapter 6 A Deeper Look, more than half of all new drug candidates come either directly or indirectly from natural products. Morphine from the opium poppy, prostaglandin El from sheep prostate glands, erythromycin A from a Streptomyces erythreus bacterium cultured from a Philippine soil sample, and benzylpenicillin from the mold Penicillium notatum are examples. The immunosuppressive agent rapamycin, whose structure is shown on the previous page, was first isolated from a Streptomyces hygroscopicus bacterium found in a soil sample from Easter Island (Rapa Nui), located 2200 miles off the coast of Chile. 

---