Which bacterium was used to discover streptomycin, the first effective antibiotic against tuberculosis?

Streptomyces griseus was used to discover streptomycin, the first effective antibiotic against tuberculosis.

Researchers at Rutgers University isolated streptomycin from the soil bacterium then known as Streptomyces griseus. Albert Schatz performed the key laboratory work in 1943 under the supervision of Selman Waksman, whose research program systematically searched soil microbes for antimicrobial compounds.

Streptomycin became a major treatment for tuberculosis and other bacterial infections. Waksman received the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of streptomycin, while later historical accounts have emphasized Schatz’s essential contribution to the experimental discovery.

The drug is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that interferes with bacterial protein synthesis by acting on ribosomes. Resistance can develop, so streptomycin is not generally used alone for modern tuberculosis treatment. Streptomyces species have also yielded many other antibiotics.