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Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Time-Lapse Epifluorescence Microscopy Imaging of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus Heterogeneous Phenotypes
Published on: February 14, 2025
Staphylococcus aureus promoter-lux reporters for drug discovery
Lili R Mesak1, Shuhua Qi, Ivan Villanueva
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Abstract:
We describe a collection of antibiotic-activated Staphylococcus aureus promoter-lux reporter strains that can be used to discriminate among antibiotic classes on the basis of their light production response profile. We screened over 400 culture supernatants from previously uncharacterized actinomycetes from soil for the production of aminocoumarin-type compounds and DNA-damaging agents. Novobiocin production was determined in three isolates of Streptomyces, and streptonigrin, a DNA-damaging agent, together with several other bioactive compounds (oxopropaline D and G), was identified from a novel Kitasatospora isolate. This array provides an effective and specific whole-cell approach to search for classes of antimicrobial compounds in unfractionated culture broths.
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