Moulds antibiotic production

Possible sources of threat are the previously mentioned products obtained using genetically modified organisms (GMO) (Penninks et al. 2001) as well as those made with the use of microorganisms (especially mould), antibiotics (Gay 2001), anabolics, and some food additives which have the... 

The mould isolated by Fleming was Penicillium notatum. He noted that it killed his culture of Staphylococcus aureus. Production of penicillin has been superceded by a better antibiotic-producing mould species, Penicillium chrysogenum. Development of submerged culture techniques has enhanced the cultivation of the mould in large-scale operations using sterile air supply. 

Furthermore, antibiotics produced by fermentation of various moulds or, espeeially, Streptomyces spp. can be employed by medieinal ehemists as starting bloeks in the production of what might be more effective antimierobial eompounds. 

The industrial production of penicillin by Pfizer in 1943 transformed the chemistry of natural products. Microbiology became its field and pharmaceutical research became its leading trend. The main driving force behind the research of the chemistry of natural products was and still remains to be human health care. Since the advent of antibiotics, many sources of natural chemicals, such as plants, fungi and bacteria, have been searched for antibacterials, anticancer products, immuno-suppressors and chemicals that affect the human psyche. This research was so successful that, even today, more than half of all pharmaceuticals are either natural products or derived from, or inspired by them. The market of antibiotics alone was ca. US 30 billion in 2005. The majority of antibiotics is produced by submerged fermentation of filamentous microorganisms such as soil prokaryotic actinomycetes and eukaryotic moulds, ascomycetes. 

The roots of biotechnology are in the classical fermentation industry, making use of micro-organisms like yeasts, bacteria and moulds and which can be seen as one of the oldest industrial activities in the world. Just think of the leavening of bread and the production of a wide variety of fermented foods and beverages and not to forget production of antibiotics in general, like penicillin and enzymes for industrial, pharmaceutical and food applications. 

Bongkrekic acid is a toxic antibiotic formed by Pseudomonas cocovenenans growing on coconut it is named after bongkrek, an Indonesian mould-fermented coconut product that becomes highly toxic when Pseudomonas outgrows the mould. It fixes the carrier protein at the inner face of the membrane, so that ATP cannot be transported out, nor ADP in. 

Industrial applications of fermentation include the production of alcohol and glycerol from yeast, lactic acid, acetone, and butyl alcohol from various bacteria, and citric acid, antibiotics, and vitamins from mould fermentations. 

---