Review Paper:
Chemical elicitors
and their impact on secondary metabolite production in Streptomyces
Madhuri Mukindrao Moon and John Godwin Christopher
Res. J. Biotech.; Vol. 20(7); 246-256;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/207rjbt2460256; (2025)
Abstract
Streptomyces are typically known for their varieties of secondary metabolites, many
of which hold significant pharmaceuticals. However, a major share of their biosynthetic
capacity remains hidden because secondary metabolite-biosynthetic gene clusters
are often silent under standard cultivation conditions. To switch on these cryptic
genes, there is a need for such signaling molecules as physiological or environmental
stress. These numerous signals, signal transduction proteins and transcription factors
form an elaborate regulatory network. This triggers various responses, chief among
them being the activation of secondary metabolism.
In this review, we present evidence of how chemical elicitors can induce the expression
of such cryptic genes. These cryptic genes can be activated with a better understanding
of the genome sequencing, leading to novel drug discovery. Elicitors increase the
synthesis of secondary metabolite compounds by signal transduction mechanisms and
impact the growth and other cellular activities in Streptomyces such as carbohydrate
and lipid metabolism protein production and gene activity. This underlined the importance
of elicitor approaches and signaling-based strategies in developing and advancing
secondary metabolite research and development.
