Applications of Bioactive Compounds from Novel Microbial Taxa

Bioactive compounds produced by novel bacterial taxa have become a subject of interest in various fields, including pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and food industries. In recent years, researchers have isolated bacterial strains belonging to the genera Streptomyces, Micromonospora, Arthrobacter, Brachybacterium, Curtobacterium, Rhodococcus, etc., from diverse environmental samples and identified ranges of bioactive compounds, viz., doxorubicin, cyclosporine, isorenieratene, tetrachlorizine, lymphostin, bleomycin, rapamycin, tetracycline, streptomycin, rifamycin, arthrofactin, brachybacterin, curtobacterin, and nitrile hydratases. These bioactive compounds have been found to have potent antimicrobial, anticancer, and immunomodulatory properties, among others. This chapter summarizes the applications of bioactive compounds from novel bacterial taxa and their potential in drug development, as well as in agriculture and food industries. This chapter also highlights the strategies for isolation of novel bacterial taxa to discover bioactive compounds with potential for medical and commercial applications.