Improving the attrition rate of Lanthipeptide discovery for commercial applications

Lanthipeptides are a class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides. Lanthipeptides with antimicrobial activity are referred to as lantibiotics. Lantibiotics are generally active against Gram-positive bacteria. However, some modifications have expanded their activity toward Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, additional functions aside from antibacterial activities have been reported for lanthipeptides. Areas covered: This review provides a synopsis of current anthipeptide research for potential therapeutics. The review highlights the current tools used for identifying lanthipeptides from genomic sequencing data. It also describes the current approaches that have been used to overcome the limitations in the purification and isolation of lanthipeptides. The status of lanthipeptides in terms of potential applications and approaches that are currently being done to promote the development of lanthipeptides as novel therapeutics are also discussed. Expert opinion: Significant improvements have been made to promote the discovery of new lanthipeptides, while, simultaneously, tools have been developed to promote their production and isolation. Lanthipeptides are showing significant promise for treating bacterial infections, as well as for new applications as anticancer and antiviral agents, or as a novel treatment for pain management. At the current rate of lanthipeptide discovery and isolation of the products, it is likely several new applications will be discovered.