Abstract
Multidrug-resistant bacteria present a significant public health challenge; such pathogens exhibit reduced susceptibility to conventional antibiotics, limiting current treatment options. Cationic non-ribosomal peptides (CNRPs) such as brevicidine and polymyxins have emerged as promising candidates to block Gram-negative bacteria. To investigate the capability of bacteria to biosynthesize CNRPs, and specifically polymyxins, over 11,000 bacterial genomes were mined in silico. Paenibacillus polymyxa was identified as having a robust biosynthetic capacity, based on multiple polymyxin gene clusters. P. polymyxa biosynthetic competence was confirmed by metabolite characterization via HPLC purification and MALDI TOF/TOF analysis. When grown in a selected medium, the metabolite yield was 4 mg/L with a 20-fold specific activity increase. Polymyxin B (PMB) was assayed with select nosocomial pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Acinetobacter baumaii, which exhibited minimum inhibitory concentrations of 4, 1, and 1 µg/mL, respectively.