Cyanobacteria represent one of the most common members of the sponge-associated bacterial community and are abundant symbionts of coral reef ecosystems. In this study we used Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and molecular techniques (16S rRNA gene marker) to characterize the spatial distribution of cyanobionts in the widely dispersed marine intertidal sponge Hymeniacidon perlevis along th...

A total of 74 actinomycete isolates were cultivated from two marine sponges, Geodia barretti and Phakellia ventilabrum collected at the same spot at the bottom of the Trondheim fjord (Norway). Phylogenetic analyses of sponge-associated actinomycetes based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences demonstrated the presence of species belonging to the genera Streptomyces, Nocardiopsis, Rhodococcus, Pseudono...

Covering: 2016. Previous review: Nat. Prod. Rep., 2017, 34, 235-294This review covers the literature published in 2016 for marine natural products (MNPs), with 757 citations (643 for the period January to December 2016) referring to compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green, brown and red algae, sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates, echinoderms, mangr...

The use of sponges for marine bioremediation in a farming scenario has been investigated focusing on Chondrilla nucula. We report experiments examining clearance and retention rates of the bacterium Escherichia coli. Despite low values expressed for clearance tests, C. nucula exhibited a marked ability to retain high quantities of bacteria. One square meter patch of this sponge can filter up to...

Background Marine sponges are a rich source of novel biologically active substances such as haemolytic proteins, hemagglutinins and proteins with antimicrobial, antiviral and antifungal activity. Toxic water-soluble polymeric 3alkylpyridinum salts (poly-APS) have been isolated from the marine sponge Reniera sarai. Poly-APS has pore-forming properties expressed in a dose-dependent manner. These ...

Marine sponges harbouring uncultured symbiotic bacteria are important sources of biologically active compounds. Since they would be interesting resources to explore unknown functional genes by means of a metagenomic approach, we constructed a metagenomic library of the Japanese marine sponge Discodermia calyx. The functional screening afforded the two clones producing porphyrins as red pigments...

Marine invertebrates are sources of a diverse array of bioactive metabolites with great potential for development as drugs and research tools. In many cases, microorganisms are known or suspected to be the biosynthetic source of marine invertebrate natural products. The application of molecular microbiology to the study of these relationships will contribute to basic biological knowledge and fa...

During the last 10 years marine organisms have provided a large number of new natural products. Interesting compounds have mainly been derived from macroorganisms such as sponges, ascidians, corals and bryozoans. The number of secondary metabolites from marine microorganisms is smaller, but rapidly increasing. Because of the enormous difficulties involved in harvesting products from marine anim...

In this chapter we discuss a selection of structurally diverse marine-derived small molecules (MDSMs) with potent and/or specific bioactivity and analyze their biomedical applications. The compounds included have been isolated either from marine macroorganisms, including sponges, ascidians (tunicates), bryozoans, and molluscs, or from microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. Our inquiry begi...

In this study, physicochemical properties of 49 compounds extracted from anti-inflammatory sponge species with the aim of ADMET test and Lipinski rule of five have been determined. Fourteen compounds, which showed best results, were subjected to molecular docking studies with IL-17. Among these compounds, Four compounds with low binding energy were obtained. These compounds, namely, frondosins ...