Going to extremes: progress in exploring new environments for novel antibiotics

The discovery of penicillin and streptomycin was crucial for infection control, leading to the development of antibiotics. However, problems with replication led to a shift to combinatorial chemistry for new antimicrobials. Recent approaches, like artificial intelligence, suggest chemical synthesis as a promising option. To combat antimicrobial resistance, it’s important to identify novel antibiotic-producing organisms from extreme environments, regulate extremotolerant bacterial physiologies, and use combinatorial approaches to enhance antibiotic efficacy and reduce AMR development.