4 research outputs found
Identification of a new antimicrobial, desertomycin H, utilizing a modified crowded plate technique
The antibiotic-resistant bacteria-associated infections are a major global healthcare threat. New classes of antimicrobial compounds are urgently needed as the frequency of infections caused by multidrug-resistant microbes continues to rise. Recent metagenomic data have demonstrated that there is still biosynthetic potential encoded in but transcriptionally silent in cultivatable bacterial genomes. However, the culture conditions required to identify and express silent biosynthetic gene clusters that yield natural products with antimicrobial activity are largely unknown. Here, we describe a new antibiotic discovery scheme, dubbed the modified crowded plate technique (mCPT), that utilizes complex microbial interactions to elicit antimicrobial production from otherwise silent biosynthetic gene clusters. Using the mCPT as part of the antibiotic crowdsourcing educational program Tiny EarthTM, we isolated over 1400 antibiotic-producing microbes, including 62 showing activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens. The natural product extracts generated from six microbial isolates showed potent activity against vancomycin-intermediate resistant Staphylococcus aureus. We utilized a targeted approach that coupled mass spectrometry data with bioactivity, yielding a new macrolactone class of metabolite, desertomycin H. In this study, we successfully demonstrate a concept that significantly increased our ability to quickly and efficiently identify microbes capable of the silent antibiotic production
Neurobiologically Inspired Control of Engineered Flapping Flight
This article presents a new control approach and a dynamic model for
engineered flapping flight with many interacting degrees of freedom. This paper
explores the applications of neurobiologically inspired control systems in the
form of Central Pattern Generators (CPG) to control flapping flight dynamics. A
rigorous mathematical and control theoretic framework to design complex three
dimensional wing motions is presented based on phase synchronization of
nonlinear oscillators. In particular, we show the flapping flying dynamics
without a tail or traditional aerodynamic control surfaces can be effectively
controlled by a reduced set of CPG parameters that generate phase-synchronized
or symmetry-breaking oscillatory motions of two main wings. Furthermore, by
using Hopf bifurcation, we show that tailless aircraft alternating between
flapping and gliding can be effectively stabilized by smooth wing motions
driven by the CPG network. Results of numerical simulation with a full six
degree-of-freedom flight dynamic model validate the effectiveness of the
proposed neurobiologically inspired control approach.Comment: This paper has been withdrawn by the authors. new improved results
with 6DOF flight control of tailless flapping-wing aircraft. Journal of
Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, vol.33 no.2 (440-453), 201