In vivo platform for the development of novel azole-containing microcins

Microcins have significant potential as a new source of antimicrobial compounds: compatible with rapid development (through directed evolution), sustainable (biological production and limited environmental penetration) and with a wide range of activities. However, the perceived complex sequence requirements for modification, processing, export and target penetration have limited the advance of the area. We show here that using a combinatorial additive manufacturing approach (InDel assembly) for microcin library synthesis, a wide diversity of bioactive microcins can be isolated in vivo.