Streptomyces – the Smell of Life

That is yet to be tested, but Streptomyces are certainly fit for more purposes than poetic walks after the rain. They are the most important source of antibiotics [3].

What is an antibiotic? By definition, it is a substance produced by one organism that is capable of inhibiting the growth or destroying other organisms  – a direct translation from Greek would be ‘anti-life.’ In nature, this yields Streptomyces a competitive advantage. Astonishingly, they are responsible for nearly two-thirds of natural antibiotics [4].

For instance, Streptomyces griseus produces Streptomycin, the first antibiotic against tuberculosis, and a drug of choice against the agent of Plague Yersinia pestis, along with 28 other pathogenic bacteria species [5].  Streptomyces avermitilis helps keep parasites in check with its potent avermectins, and Chloramphenicol – a drug effective against 92 pathogens, is produced by Streptomyces venezuelae.

Image of Streptomyces glaucescens. Courtesy of Tobias Kieser, John Innes Centre

Although these species are not considered important agents of infection, it is worth noting that not all Streptomyces bacteria are humanity’s friends. Two rebels, Streptomyces somaliensis and Streptomyces sudanensis go against the grain by infecting people’s feet with actinomycotic mycetoma.

First described as ‘Madura foot’ in 1842, the disease is thought to date back to the Byzantine period and typically presents as cutaneous and subcutaneous tissue swelling, thickening, or painless nodule involving feet 80% of the time [6].

Mycetoma global distribution map, GIDEON. Dark blue color indicates recent reports of autochthonous cases.

Although bacterial mycetoma is endemic throughout the tropical world, S. somaliensis and S. sudanensis are only found in Eastern Africa, as the names indicate. In other parts of the world, S.albus has been known to occasionally rear its head [7] in skin infections, although such occurrences are very rare. 

And here’s the most fascinating fact – a distant ‘cousin’ of these pathogens, Streptomyces cattleya is an effective carbapenem used to treat Streptomyces spp. infections. A family feud in all its glory!

Streptomyces are about 450 million years old. Despite being a genus of bacteria, they are misleadingly suffixed with ‘-myces’, which stands for ‘fungi’ in Greek. This is because the first known example of the species contained branching filaments [8], a characteristic common to fungi.

Other actinobacteria, such as Mycobacteria and Actinomyces, bear similar morphological features and thus carry a badge of mushroom in their names. Mycoplasmata – elusive gram-unidentifiable bacteria called ‘fungus form’, were named so by A. B. Frank in 1889. He thought ‘the “infection threads” of the organism were hyphae, and he knew of no hyphal-forming bacteria’ [9].

GIDEON is one of the most well-known and comprehensive global databases for infectious diseases. Data is refreshed daily, and the GIDEON API allows medical professionals and researchers access to a continuous stream of data. Whether your research involves quantifying data, learning about specific microbes, or testing out differential diagnosis tools– GIDEON has you covered with a program that has met standards for accessibility excellence.

You can also review our eBooks on Alkhurma, Botulism, Cryptococcus, and more. Or check out our global status updates on countries like Algeria, Canada, Iceland, and more!

[1] H. Campbell, “Geosmin: Why We Like The Smell Of Air After A Storm“, American Council on Science and Health, 2018. [Online][Accessed: 11- Sep- 2020].

[2] I. BEAR and R. THOMAS, “Nature of Argillaceous Odour”, Nature, vol. 201, no. 4923, pp. 993-995, 1964. Available: 10.1038/201993a0 [Accessed 11 September 2020].

[3] K. Chater, “Streptomyces”, Brenner’s Encyclopedia of Genetics, pp. 565-567, 2013. Available: 10.1016/b978-0-12-374984-0.01483-2 [Accessed 11 September 2020].

[4] A. Hasani, A. Kariminik, and K. Issazadeh, “Streptomycetes: Characteristics and Their Antimicrobial Activities“, International Journal of Advanced Biological and Biomedical Research, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 63-75, 2014 [Accessed 11 September 2020].

[5] “Streptomycin“, App.gideononline.com, 2020. [Online][Accessed: 11- Sep- 2020].

[6] V. Lichon and A. Khachemoune, “Mycetoma”, American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 315-321, 2006. Available: 10.2165/00128071-200607050-00005 [Accessed 11 September 2020].

[7] M. Martin, A. Manteca, M. Castillo, F. Vazquez, and F. Mendez, “Streptomyces Albus Isolated from a Human Actinomycetoma and Characterized by Molecular Techniques”, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, vol. 42, no. 12, pp. 5957-5960, 2004. Available: 10.1128/jcm.42.12.5957-5960.2004 [Accessed 11 September 2020].

[8] K. Chater, “Streptomycesinside-out: a new perspective on the bacteria that provide us with antibiotics”, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 361, no. 1469, pp. 761-768, 2006. Available: 10.1098/rstb.2005.1758 [Accessed 12 September 2020].

[9] C. Krass and M. Gardner, “Etymology of the term Mycoplasma“, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of SYSTEMATIC BACTERIOLOGY, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 62-64, 1973. [Accessed 12 September 2020].