Microorganisms as Alternative Sources of New Natural Products

Abstract

Microbial natural products have become important over the last decades due to the ability of bacteria and fungi to subsist in different habitats such as marine and extreme environments. Microorganisms are able to synthesize new compounds with diverse therapeutic activity equal to or better than the activity of compounds already known, thus being promising for the treatment of different diseases such as cancer or the solution to health problems such as antibiotic resistance. The production of microbial natural compounds can be improved by modifying culture media, growing conditions, amplifying gene expression or by co-cultivation techniques, which are the major challenges in the industrial production of such compounds.