Antimicrobials and Anticancers of Bacterial Origins

Infectious diseases kill over 17 million people a year according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Today, the most common infections are caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria, a public health burden with a tremendous social and economic impact worldwide. It is estimated that antimicrobial resistant bacterial infections alone could cause 10 million deaths a year by 2050. Cancer is another leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide; cancer was responsible for 8.8 million deaths in 2015. Like antibiotics, the resistance to cancer chemotherapies has been widely observed. Therefore, one of the greatest challenges in treating infections and cancers is the resistance to the treatments and the lack of new antimicrobial or anticancer drugs.

Antimicrobial and anticancer drugs can be obtained from bacteria, and some drugs like actinomycin D and bleomycin may have dual antimicrobial and anticancer properties. The goal of this Research Topic is to bring together the latest advances in the development, properties, and mechanistic studies of antimicrobial and anticancer substances originated from bacteria. Methods of extraction and purification of such bacterial substances are also welcome.

This Research Topic encourages original research articles, method articles, protocols, and reviews in the field of antimicrobial and anticancer substances obtained from bacteria.