Marine natural products have attracted the attention of biologists and chemists on the world over for the last five decades. The ocean is considered to be a source of potential drugs. Covering around 70% of the planet surface, the oceans possess a huge potential for the new discovery1. The marine environment exhibits an important biodiversity represented by 34 of the 36 phyla of all globe, with...

Marine sponges are ubiquitous colonizers of shallow, clear-water environments in the oceans (1, 2). Sponges have emerged as significant mediators of biogeochemical fluxes in coastal zones by virtue of respiring organic matter and facilitating both the consumption and release of nutrients (3, 4). Sponges gain their nutrition through filtering out plankton and organic detritus and through uptake ...

Bacillus atrophaeus C89, isolated from the marine sponge Dysidea avara, is a potential producer of bioactive compounds, such as neobacillamide A and bacillamide C. Here, we present a 4.2-Mb assembly of its genome. The nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) make it possible to produce the bioactive compounds.

New bisindole alkaloids, hyrtinadines C (1) and D (2), have been isolated from an Okinawan marine sponge Hyrtios sp. The structures of hyrtinadines C (1) and D (2) were elucidated based on analyses of the spectral data. Hyrtinadines C (1) and D (2) were the relatively rare alkaloids possessing a 3,4-fused azepinoindole skeleton. Hyrtinadines C (1) and D (2) showed antimicrobial activity.

Koshikamide A2 (2) was isolated as a cytotoxic metabolite from a marine sponge of Theonella sp. Its structure was elucidated to be a linear undecapeptide by spectroscopic and chemical methods, together with enzymatic conversion to known koshikamide A1 (1). The new peptide moderately inhibited the growth of P388 murine leukemia cells.

Lembehsterols A (1) and B (2), two novel sulfated sterols, were isolated from the marine sponge Petrosia strongylata. Both sterols showed inhibitory activity against thymidine phosphorylase, which is an enzyme related to angiogenesis in solid tumors. The structures of these sulfated sterols were established on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence.

The newly developed assay system using recombinant Leishmania amazonensis expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (La/egfp) has been applied to the screening of Japanese marine sponges for antileishmanial activity. Bioassay-guided fractionation of an active sponge Neopetrosia sp. afforded an active compound which was identified as renieramycin A by spectroscopic analysis. It inhibited La/...

Two new 20,24-bishomo-25-norscalaranes, compounds 1 and 2, and two new and two known 20,24-bishomoscalaranes, compounds 3-6, have been isolated from the Indonesian marine sponge Carteriospongia foliascens. The structures of 1-6 were determined by spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 1 and 3-6 inhibit RCE-protease activity.

Here, we describe the draft genome sequence of Microbacterium sp. strain Alg239_V18, an actinobacterium retrieved from the marine sponge Spongia sp. Genome annotation revealed a vast gene repertoire involved in antibiotic and heavy metal-resistance, and a versatile carbohydrate assimilation metabolism with potential for chitin utilization.

Metabolites from marine fungi have hogged the limelight in drug discovery because of their promise as therapeutic agents. A number of metabolites related to marine fungi have been discovered from various sources which are known to possess a range of activities as antibacterial, antiviral and anticancer agents. Although, over a thousand marine fungi based metabolites have already been reported, ...