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Prospecting Microbial Strains for Bioremediation and Probiotics Development for Metaorganism Research and Preservation

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Published on: October 31, 2019

Introducing the parvome: bioactive compounds in the microbial world.

Julian Davies¹, Katherine S Ryan

¹Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. jed@mail.ubc.ca

ACS Chemical Biology

|November 15, 2011

Summary

The parvome, comprising microbial small molecules, is vast but poorly understood. Research aims to uncover their functions and biosynthesis for medical applications.

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Area of Science:

Microbiology
Chemical Biology
Metabolomics

Background:

The
parvome
refers to the collective small molecules produced by living organisms.
This review focuses on the vast and largely uncharacterized world of microbial small molecules.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the functions and biosynthesis of microbial small molecules.
To understand the biological roles of the bacterial parvome.
To facilitate the rational exploitation of natural products in medicine.

Main Methods:

Review of natural product discovery research.
Analysis of recent advances in genetic and genomic techniques.
Integration of metabolomic data.

Main Results:

Identification of an enormous collection of unique microbial small molecules.
Acknowledgement of limited understanding regarding their functions and biosynthetic pathways.
Rapidly accruing information on biosynthesis and function.

Conclusions:

A deeper understanding of the bacterial parvome is crucial.
Elucidating the biological roles of natural products enables effective medical applications.
Rational approaches can enhance the use of microbial metabolites in human medicine.