ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the biology of antibiotic-producing microorganisms. It describes methods for the genetic improvement of organisms leading to the development of strains that produce large quantities of known antibiotics. The chapter explores methods for altering the genetic structure of antibiotic-producing microorganisms in a controlled, but half-random, fashion to facilitate the biological synthesis of new, improved antibiotics. It outlines strategies for the specific alteration of antibiotic synthesis pathways to create new, slightly modified, strains capable of the biological production of known antibiotics currently manufactured by semisynthetic chemical methods. Genes coding for enzymes could be cloned into antibiotic-producing organisms to attempt to add one or two steps to existing biosynthetic pathways. In addition to the manipulation of microorganisms by mutation-rational selection methods to improve antibiotic productivity, genetic recombination techniques can be applied in a directed manner to create desirable genetic alterations in microorganisms that may then synthesize novel hybrid antibiotics.
