Exploring the antimicrobial potential of Myxobacteria

Myxobacteria, with their intricate life cycles and potent antimicrobial properties, are showing great promise as alternatives to traditional antibiotics. This study focuses on their potential as therapeutic agents by isolating them from soil, characterisation, antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility. As antibiotic resistance increases, myxobacteria provide a promising solution with their diverse antimicrobial compounds and predatory behaviour, which can inhibit bacterial growth and biofilm formation.

This study isolated and characterized myxobacteria from soil samples in South Wales, identifying 18 Myxococcus and 14 Corallococcus strains through 16S rRNA sequencing. These strains exhibited potent antimicrobial activity by preying on pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Citrobacter freundii, demonstrating their predatory potential. Further evaluation of their predatory activities on prey biofilms by performing biofilm inhibition and biofilm disruption assays confirmed the ability of myxobacterial isolates to prevent biofilm formation and disruption of formed biofilms. These isolates were also shown to effectively reduce bioburden in a mixed-species biofilm using an in vitro continuous wound-flow model, amplifying their activity against bacterial biofilms.

A novel strain, Corallococcus senghenyddensis, was also discovered and exhibited notable antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Candida glabrata.
In vivo biocompatibility testing showed that the myxobacterial isolates displayed low in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity and minimal inflammatory responses, indicating their potential for safe therapeutics.

MyxoPortal, a specialized genomic database, was also developed to support myxobacterial genomics. This resource revealed the underexplored antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in myxobacteria, with in silico analyses identifying several antibiofilm and antibacterial AMPs. Notable peptides like Coral_AMP411 and Myxo_mac104 showed significant efficacy against E. coli and S. aureus biofilms.

In conclusion, myxobacteria have essential characteristics for alternative therapies, including potent antimicrobial activity, safety, and promising genomic features. Further research should prioritize clinical trials to evaluate myxobacteria-based treatments for chronic infections and wound care.