Adaptive laboratory evolution triggers pathogen-dependent broad-spectrum antimicrobial potency in Streptomyces

Abstract

In the present study, adaptive laboratory evolution was used to stimulate antibiotic production in a weak antibiotic-producing Streptomyces strain JB140. The seven different competition experiments utilized three serial passages (three cycles of adaptation-selection of 15 days each) of a weak antibiotic-producing Streptomyces strain (wild-type) against one (biculture) or two (triculture) or three (quadriculture) target pathogens. This resulted in the evolution of a weak antibiotic-producing strain into the seven unique mutant phenotypes that acquired the ability to constitutively exhibit increased antimicrobial activity against bacterial pathogens. The mutant not only effectively inhibited the growth of the tested pathogens but also observed to produce antimicrobial against multidrug-resistant (MDR) E. coli. Intriguingly, the highest antimicrobial activity was registered with the Streptomyces mutants that were adaptively evolved against the three pathogens (quadriculture competition). In contrast to the adaptively evolved mutants, a weak antimicrobial activity was detected in the un-evolved, wild-type Streptomyces. To get molecular evidence of evolution, RAPD profiles of the wild-type Streptomyces and its evolved mutants were compared that revealed significant polymorphism among them. These results demonstrated that competition-based adaptive laboratory evolution method can constitute a platform for evolutionary engineering to select improved phenotypes (mutants) with increased production of antibiotics against targeted pathogens.