Nature’s Drugs Repositories: Myxobacteria and Actinomycetes as sources of novel antiviral agents against respiratory viruses - Coronavirus, Respiratory Syncytial virus and Influenza virus

Abstract

The respiratory viruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the influenza viruses (IV) and the coronaviruses (CoVs) have contributed remarkably to the global mortality profile, with a member of the coronavirus family, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infecting over 8 million individuals globally. Emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has set the course for research into the discovery and development of antiviral agents against these respiratory viruses. Several sources of antiviral therapy ranging from synthetic compounds, biomolecules and natural agents from plants, animals and humans are currently being considered, explored and tested for effective and efficient health therapy. In this review, we call attention to the discovery, development and deployment of bioactive agents from microbial sources, especially those from the Myxobacteria (MXB) and Actinomycetes (ATC) families. MXB and ATC are classes of bacteria microorganisms that largely specialize in producing bioactive substances. An appreciable variety of bioactive compounds sourced from these interesting microbes have been licensed and shown to demonstrate some remarkable biological activity against bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, tumors, among others. There are yet untapped bioactive metabolites that reside in these microbes that possess potential for antiviral activity against these respiratory viruses. Herein we discuss some of them with the aim to guide fellow researchers into novel routes for discovery and development of antiviral agents against these respiratory viruses.