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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.

Sec. Extreme Microbiology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1557511

This article is part of the Research Topic Microbial Survival and Communities in Thawing Permafrost View all articles

Excavation of resources of Streptomyces species in frozen soils of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau based on Rpf A protein of S. coelicolor

Provisionally accepted
Yuxiao Xie Yuxiao Xie 1Jinging Liu Jinging Liu 1Jun Ma Jun Ma 1Nan Shi Nan Shi 1Xiumin Zhang Xiumin Zhang 2*
  • 1 College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei Province, China
  • 2 College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study is aimed at the actual demand for exploring new species resources of Streptomyces, and aims to solve the technical bottleneck of Streptomyces isolation and culture. A new method was established based on the resuscitation function of the RpfA protein from Streptomyces coelicolor CGMCC 4.1658T to isolate unculturable or difficult-to-culture Streptomyces species, and it was applied to explore Streptomyces species resources in special habitats in the frozen soils of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The RpfA protein of S. coelicolor was heterologously expressed and validated for its in vitro activity. The purified RpfA protein was then used to isolate Streptomyces from soil samples in the frozen soils of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, followed by an investigation into the impact of the RpfA protein on the cultivability of Streptomyces species. The results showed that the RpfA protein had a significant promoting effect on the germination of spores of both S. coelicolor itself and other species of the Streptomyces genus, and when a suitable concentration of RpfA protein was added to the culture medium, it could significantly improve the culturability of members of phylum Actinomycetota, especially Streptomyces species. In addition, many new species of the genus Streptomyces and other genera of phylum Actinomycetota were discovered. This study provides a new approach for further exploring Streptomyces species resources in special environments such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and developing new biologically active substances produced by Streptomyces.

    Keywords: Streptomyces coelicolor, Resuscitation-promoting factor, RpfA protein, Frozen soils of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Resources of Streptomyces species

    Received: 09 Jan 2025; Accepted: 21 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Xie, Liu, Ma, Shi and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xiumin Zhang, College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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