In-vitro antibacterial and antibiofilm activities and in-silico analysis of a potent cyclic peptide from a novel Streptomyces sp. strain RG-5 against antibiotic-resistant and biofilm-forming pathogenic bacteria

The proliferation of multidrug-resistant and biofilm-forming pathogenic bacteria poses a serious threat to public health. The limited effectiveness of current antibiotics motivates the search for new antibacterial compounds. In this study, a novel strain, RG-5, was isolated from desert soil. This strain exhibited potent antibacterial and antibiofilm properties against multidrug-resistant and biofilm-forming pathogenic bacteria. Through phenotypical characterizations, 16S rRNA gene sequence and phylogenetic analysis, the strain was identified as Streptomyces pratensis with 99.8% similarity. The active compound, RG5-1, was extracted, purified by reverse phase silica column HPLC, identified by ESI-MS spectrometry, and confirmed by ¹H and ¹³C NMR analysis as 2,5-Piperazinedione, 3,6-bis(2-methylpropyl), belonging to cyclic peptides. This compound showed interesting minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 04 to 15 µg/mL and minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations (MBICs 50%) of ½ MIC against the tested bacteria. Its molecular mechanism of action was elucidated through a molecular docking study against five drug-protein targets. The results demonstrated that the compound RG5-1 has a strong affinity and interaction patterns with glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase at − 6.0 kcal/mol compared to reference inhibitor (− 5.4 kcal/mol), medium with penicillin-binding protein 1a (− 6.1 kcal/mol), and LasR regulator protein of quorum sensing (− 5.4 kcal/mol), confirming its antibacterial and antibiofilm activities. The compound exhibited minimal toxicity and favorable physicochemical and pharmacological properties. This is the first report that describes its production from Streptomyces, its activities against biofilm-forming and multidrug-resistant bacteria, and its mechanism of action. These findings indicate that 2,5-piperazinedione, 3,6-bis(2-methylpropyl) has the potential to be a promising lead compound in the treatment of antibiotic-resistant and biofilm-forming pathogens.

Graphical Abstract