Bacillus spp. are probiotics and can secrete a variety of natural antimicrobiol active substances, of which
lipopeptides are an important class. Up to now, about 90
lipopeptides have been identified, and most of them are cyclic
lipopeptides. surfactin, iturin,
fengycin, bacillomycin and
polymyxins are widely studied, and the first three have huge potential for application due to their properties of
surfactants and anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-
tumor and anti-inflammatory functions. In this paper, the research progress in the structure, function, synthesis regulation, separation, purification and production of surfactin, iturin and
fengycin was reviewed. Synthetic biology is a vital means to increase the yield of
lipopeptides, and in the future,
lipopeptides can be used in crop cultivation, animal farming, food, medicine and petroleum industries as well as environmental protection. Future research should be strengthened on the discovery of new
lipopeptides, synthesis of high-activity
lipopeptides, economical production of
lipopeptides on a large scale and their safety evaluation.