Enhancement of Streptomyces thinghirensis WAE1 for production of bioactive metabolites under different optimization strategies

Isolation of novel bioactive metabolites from Streptomyces strains is a promising source for drug discovery. However, conventional screening approaches have limitations in identifying new leads due to redundant discoveries. Optimization of culture conditions is important but traditionally optimized one factor at a time, failing to consider interactions. This study addressed these gaps by enhancing metabolite production from Streptomyces thinghirensis WAE1 through statistical optimization. Various chemical and physical factors impacting metabolite production were identified. Response surface methodology with a central composite design was applied to optimize significant factors like carbon source, nitrogen source, inoculum size, pH, temperature and incubation period. This optimized production against Streptococcus pneumoniae, increasing antibacterial activity by 74.92%. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed 19 bioactive compounds, including 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 inhibiting cell wall development. This highlights S. thinghirensis WAE1's potential as a bioresource and emphasizes studying metabolite production from novel Streptomyces strains to discover new antibacterial drugs.