Bioprospecting and genomics of actinobacteria isolated from the Marchica lagoon (ActinOmics)

Description

The massive and excessive use of antibiotics in medicine has led to the emergence and spread of multi-resistant pathogens, rendering treatment with the usual antibiotics ineffective. Added to this phenomenon of antibiotic resistance is the emergence of new infectious diseases, often zoonotic, in humans. Hence the interest in finding new bioactive compounds.

Actinobacteria are among the most important secondary metabolite-producing microorganisms. Members of the order Actinomycetales, in particular the genus Streptomyces, have been the main source of therapeutic agents. Currently, there is growing interest in the isolation and screening of actinobacteria from different habitats, particularly marine ecosystems.

The Marchica lagoon (Nador, Morocco) is an unexplored environment harboring high microbiological biodiversity. Bioprospecting this habitat for new bioactive compounds requires a combination of classical strategies based on bacterial isolation and modern approaches based on genome sequencing and exploration to identify genes or gene clusters coding for the synthesis of bioactive metabolites.

The ActinOmics project, proposed as part of the cooperation program between Switzerland and Morocco, is an original proposal and an innovative attempt to study the biotechnological potential of a unique ecosystem: the Marchica lagoon. The isolation of new indigenous strains will enable the discovery of new natural compounds, and the possible development of products with therapeutic applications. The project will also provide the first results on the microbial biodiversity of this unexplored habitat, following in-depth genomic analysis of selected actinobacterial strains.