Streptomyces mayonensis - OVPRI Website

From volcano to pharmacy

Bacterium from Mt. Mayon shows promise against serious infections, cancer

A team of Filipino scientists has discovered Streptomyces mayonensis, a new species of bacteria found in the volcanic soils of Mt. Mayon. In lab testing conducted by Kristel Mae P. Oliveros (UP Los Baños), Gerald M. Aguilar (UP Los Baños), Albert Remus R. Rosana (UP Los Baños; Department of Science and Technology), Rina B. Opulencia (UP Los Baños), and Asuncion K. Raymundo (UP Los Baños; National Academy of Science and Technology), the strain showed activity against several dangerous pathogens, including drug-resistant staph infections, Salmonella, drug-resistant pneumonia, and fungal infections. It also demonstrated potential in slowing the growth of human colorectal cancer cells.

The strain belongs to a genus responsible for roughly 80 percent of the world’s antibiotics.

The discovery comes amid what the World Health Organization has called a “global innovation crisis.” In its June 2024 report, WHO warned that there is an urgent need to develop new, innovative cures for serious diseases and substitutes for existing ones that have become ineffective due to antimicrobial resistance. If left unaddressed, this dilemma bears most heavily on low- and middle-income countries like the Philippines.

The research was first published in the Philippine Journal of Science. Last year, whole-genome sequencing and biochemical analysis confirmed it as a new and genetically distinct species—a prerequisite before any compound it produces can enter the formal drug-development pipeline.

Reference cultures have since been deposited in international collections in Japan and Germany, securing the discovery within the global scientific record under a Filipino name.

What’s next?

By resolving the strain’s scientific identity, the study clears the way for S. mayonensis to enter the formal pharmaceutical and biotechnological development pipeline, turning a previously bioactive but unclassified microbe into a documented candidate for further drug discovery.

The findings also enrich the global understanding of Streptomyces diversity, and the strain’s genetic toolkit for surviving environmental stress offers compelling evidence that volcanic ecosystems are productive, and perhaps largely untapped, areas for novel microbial compounds.

Oliveros et al.’s (2025) is proof that scientific capacity exists at home. With continued investment in research and bioprospecting infrastructure, the country’s natural resources stand ready to contribute to the world’s search for new medicines.

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