A variety of actinomycetes isolated from a Himalayan soil sample. Genome sequencing. Actinomycetes

The phylum Actinobacteria includes many morphologically complex mycelium-forming bacteria that are of great importance for biotechnology due to their ability to produce a large array of natural products, including antibiotics, anticancer agents and immunosuppressants. The rapid spread of multiple drug resistant pathogens and the discovery that whole genomes of filamentous actinomycetes are rich in biosynthetic gene clusters accounts for the renewed research focus on these organisms. As understanding of the genetics of filamentous actinomycetes increases a large number of biosynthetic gene clusters are being unveiled, offering new options for genome mining-based drug discovery. Sequencing and analyzing actinomycetes genomes from extreme environments such as Himalaya will give precious insights in understanding evolution of these peculiar organisms and is likely to reveal novel gene clusters for natural products.