Impact of Paenibacillus elgii supernatant on screening bacterial strains with potential for biotechnological applications

The biotechnological industry faces a crucial demand for novel bioactive compounds, particularly antimicrobial agents, to address the rising challenge of bacterial resistance to current available antibiotics. Traditional strategies for cultivating naturally occurring microorganisms often limit the discovery of novel antimicrobial producers. This study presents a protocol for targeted selection of bacterial strains using the supernatant of Paenibacillus elgii, which produces abundant signal molecules and antimicrobial peptides. Soil samples were inoculated in these enriched culture media to selectively cultivate bacteria resistant to the supernatant, indicating their potential to produce similar compounds. The bacterial strains isolated through this method were assessed for their antibacterial activity. In addition, the functional annotation of the genome of one of these strains revealed several gene clusters of biotechnological interest. This study highlights the effectiveness of using this approach for selective cultivation of microorganisms with potential for biotechnological applications.