# Uncultured bacteria for the discovery of novel antimicrobials

> **NIH NIH P01** · NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $453,409

## Abstract

Project I: Abstract 
The overall goal of the Program project is to develop a discovery platform for antimicrobials 
based on early validation of extracts to resolve the bottleneck in the pipeline and realize the true 
potential of uncultured bacteria as a source of novel drugs. We have used in situ cultivation to 
gain access to uncultured bacteria, and so far discovered 25 new compounds, including 4 in 
development - Novo10, a G-quadruplex binder, in development as an anticancer agent; 
lassomycin, an inhibitor of the essential M. tuberculosis ClpP1P2C1 protease; teixobactin, a 
novel inhibitor of cell wall biosynthesis that binds to both lipid II, precursor of peptidoglycan, and 
lipid III, precursor of teichoic acid, and Novo22, another novel cell wall synthesis inhibitor. While 
these findings are encouraging, most of the effort is spent on laborious chemical dereplication. 
In collaboration with Dr. Karen Nelson at JCVI (Project II), we will use metagenomic analysis to 
select soils with novel species likely to harbor novel chemistry, apply our technologies to isolate 
previously uncultivated microorganisms and use transcriptome analysis of extracts to develop 
rapid biological dereplication. This will indicate the potential of a compound for development and 
will resolve the discovery bottleneck. We will purify the hits and will determine the structure for 
those that pass in vitro and in vivo validation (in collaboration with Dr. Kim Lewis, Project III). 
The result of this project will be an efficient drug discovery platform for exploiting uncultured 
bacteria; and leads for drug development.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9933779
- **Project number:** 5P01AI118687-05
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Amy Lynn Spoering
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $453,409
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9933779

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9933779, Uncultured bacteria for the discovery of novel antimicrobials (5P01AI118687-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9933779. Licensed CC0.

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