Biotech Updates

Frankia Produces Natural Products

August 12, 2011

Soil-dwelling, nitrogen-fixing bacteria of the genus Frankia have the potential to produce many natural products, including antibiotics, herbicides, pigments, anticancer agents, and other useful products. This finding was published in Significant Natural Product Biosynthetic Potential of Actinorhizal Symbionts of the Genus Frankia, as Revealed by Comparative Genomic and Proteomic Analyses in  the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

"We were able to use cutting-edge techniques to identify unexpected compounds in this organism, Frankia," University of New Hampshire professor Louis Tisa said. The research team found genetic structures in Frankia that are similar to those in valuable natural product categories that produce natural antibiotics used as drugs.

See the University of  New Hampshire press release at http://www.unh.edu/news/