Chemical warfare in the sea: The search for antibiotics from Red Sea corals and sponges

2009 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 1113-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dovi Kelman ◽  
Yoel Kashman ◽  
Russell T. Hill ◽  
Eugene Rosenberg ◽  
Yossi Loya
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Chemical Defense ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Soft Corals ◽  
Strong Activity ◽  
Screening Programs

Marine sponges and corals are widely recognized as rich sources of novel bioactive natural products. These organisms are frequently colonized by bacteria. Some of these bacteria can be pathogenic or serve as beneficial symbionts. Therefore, these organisms need to regulate the bacteria they encounter and resist microbial pathogens. One method is by chemical defense. Antimicrobial assays performed with extracts of 23 Red Sea corals and sponges against bacteria isolated from their natural environment revealed considerable variability in antimicrobial activity. Soft corals exhibited appreciable activity; sponges showed variability, and stony corals had little or no activity. Among the soft corals, Xenia macrospiculata exhibited the highest activity. Bioassay-directed fractionation of the extract indicated that the activity was due to a range of compounds, one of which was isolated and identified as the diterpene desoxyhavannahine. Among the sponges, Amphimedon chloros exhibited strong activity. Bioassay-directed fractionation resulted in the isolation of the pyridinium alkaloid antibiotics, the halitoxins and amphitoxins. These compounds showed selective activity against specific bacteria, rather than being broad-spectrum. They were highly active against seawater bacteria, whereas bacteria associated with the sponge were resistant. This selective toxicity may be important in enabling certain bacteria to live in close association with their sponge host while it maintains a chemical defense against microbial pathogenesis. The halitoxin-resistant bacteria were identified by 16S rRNA gene analysis as Alphaproteobacteria, closely related to other Alphaproteobacteria isolated from various marine sponges. The study of microbial communities associated with sponges and corals has important implications for the production of symbiont-derived bioactive compounds and for the use of corals and sponges as source material for microbial diversity in screening programs for natural products.

scholarly journals Pathogenic Viruses Commonly Present in the Oral Cavity and Relevant Antiviral Compounds Derived from Natural Products

Medicines ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Asai ◽  
Hideki Nakashima
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Oral Cavity ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Antiviral Agents ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Screening Programs ◽  
Human Oral Cavity ◽  
Antiviral Compounds

Many viruses, such as human herpesviruses, may be present in the human oral cavity, but most are usually asymptomatic. However, if individuals become immunocompromised by age, illness, or as a side effect of therapy, these dormant viruses can be activated and produce a variety of pathological changes in the oral mucosa. Unfortunately, available treatments for viral infectious diseases are limited, because (1) there are diseases for which no treatment is available; (2) drug-resistant strains of virus may appear; (3) incomplete eradication of virus may lead to recurrence. Rational design strategies are widely used to optimize the potency and selectivity of drug candidates, but discovery of leads for new antiviral agents, especially leads with novel structures, still relies mostly on large-scale screening programs, and many hits are found among natural products, such as extracts of marine sponges, sea algae, plants, and arthropods. Here, we review representative viruses found in the human oral cavity and their effects, together with relevant antiviral compounds derived from natural products. We also highlight some recent emerging pharmaceutical technologies with potential to deliver antivirals more effectively for disease prevention and therapy.

Recent heterocyclic compounds from marine invertebrates: Structure and synthesis

2007 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoel Kashman ◽  
Amira Rudi ◽  
Doron Pappo
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Biological Activity ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Heterocyclic Compounds ◽  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Soft Corals ◽  
Marine Products

A large variety of unique heterocyclic natural marine products, without terrestrial counterparts, have been isolated from marine invertebrates, mainly sponges, ascidians, and soft corals. Many of these compounds display interesting biological activity. In this review, we report our recent studies on nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds ("alkaloids"), as well as some containing sulfur and oxygen, which have been isolated from Red Sea and Indo-Pacific organisms, and discuss progress on the synthesis of these natural products and structural analogs.

Neuroprotective Activities of Marine Natural Products from Marine Sponges

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 360-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mousa Alghazwi ◽  
Yen Qi Kan ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Wei Ping Gai ◽  
Xiao-Xin Yan
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Marine Natural Products ◽  
Marine Sponges

Current Status on Natural Products with Antitumor Activity from Brazilian Marine Sponges

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 235-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Luiz Conte da Frota Junior ◽  
Renata Biegelmeyer da Silva ◽  
Beatriz Mothes ◽  
Amelia Teresinha Henriques ◽  
Jose Claudio Fonseca Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Antitumor Activity ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Current Status

Discovery of cytotoxic natural products from Red Sea sponges: Structure and synthesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 220 ◽  
pp. 113491
Author(s):  
Safia Khan ◽  
Ammar A. Al-Fadhli ◽  
Supriya Tilvi
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Red Sea

scholarly journals Genome Reduction and Secondary Metabolism of the Marine Sponge-Associated Cyanobacterium Leptothoe

Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 298
Author(s):  
Despoina Konstantinou ◽  
Rafael V. Popin ◽  
David P. Fewer ◽  
Kaarina Sivonen ◽  
Spyros Gkelis
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Genomic Analysis ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Genome Reduction ◽  
Extracellular Polysaccharides ◽  
Comparative Genomic ◽  
Symbiotic Relationships ◽  
Genes Encoding

Sponges form symbiotic relationships with diverse and abundant microbial communities. Cyanobacteria are among the most important members of the microbial communities that are associated with sponges. Here, we performed a genus-wide comparative genomic analysis of the newly described marine benthic cyanobacterial genus Leptothoe (Synechococcales). We obtained draft genomes from Le. kymatousa TAU-MAC 1615 and Le. spongobia TAU-MAC 1115, isolated from marine sponges. We identified five additional Leptothoe genomes, host-associated or free-living, using a phylogenomic approach, and the comparison of all genomes showed that the sponge-associated strains display features of a symbiotic lifestyle. Le. kymatousa and Le. spongobia have undergone genome reduction; they harbored considerably fewer genes encoding for (i) cofactors, vitamins, prosthetic groups, pigments, proteins, and amino acid biosynthesis; (ii) DNA repair; (iii) antioxidant enzymes; and (iv) biosynthesis of capsular and extracellular polysaccharides. They have also lost several genes related to chemotaxis and motility. Eukaryotic-like proteins, such as ankyrin repeats, playing important roles in sponge-symbiont interactions, were identified in sponge-associated Leptothoe genomes. The sponge-associated Leptothoe stains harbored biosynthetic gene clusters encoding novel natural products despite genome reduction. Comparisons of the biosynthetic capacities of Leptothoe with chemically rich cyanobacteria revealed that Leptothoe is another promising marine cyanobacterium for the biosynthesis of novel natural products.

scholarly journals Comparison of a Short Linear Antimicrobial Peptide with Its Disulfide-Cyclized and Cyclotide-Grafted Variants against Clinically Relevant Pathogens

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1249
Author(s):  
Johannes Koehbach ◽  
Jurnorain Gani ◽  
Kai Hilpert ◽  
David J Craik
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptide ◽  
Human Serum ◽  
World Health ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Moderate Activity ◽  
Antimicrobial Compounds ◽  
Strong Activity ◽  
Linear Peptide ◽  
Linear Version

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the development of resistance against antibiotics by microbes is one of the most pressing health concerns. The situation will intensify since only a few pharmacological companies are currently developing novel antimicrobial compounds. Discovery and development of novel antimicrobial compounds with new modes of action are urgently needed. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are known to be able to kill multidrug-resistant bacteria and, therefore, of interest to be developed into antimicrobial drugs. Proteolytic stability and toxicities of these peptides are challenges to overcome, and one strategy frequently used to address stability is cyclization. Here we introduced a disulfide-bond to cyclize a potent and nontoxic 9mer peptide and, in addition, as a proof-of-concept study, grafted this peptide into loop 6 of the cyclotide MCoTI-II. This is the first time an antimicrobial peptide has been successfully grafted onto the cyclotide scaffold. The disulfide-cyclized and grafted cyclotide showed moderate activity in broth and strong activity in 1/5 broth against clinically relevant resistant pathogens. The linear peptide showed superior activity in both conditions. The half-life time in 100% human serum was determined, for the linear peptide, to be 13 min, for the simple disulfide-cyclized peptide, 9 min, and, for the grafted cyclotide 7 h 15 min. The addition of 10% human serum led to a loss of antimicrobial activity for the different organisms, ranging from 1 to >8-fold for the cyclotide. For the disulfide-cyclized version and the linear version, activity also dropped to different degrees, 2 to 18-fold, and 1 to 30-fold respectively. Despite the massive difference in stability, the linear peptide still showed superior antimicrobial activity. The cyclotide and the disulfide-cyclized version demonstrated a slower bactericidal effect than the linear version. All three peptides were stable at high and low pH, and had very low hemolytic and cytotoxic activity.

scholarly journals Natural Products from Tongan Marine Organisms

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (15) ◽  
pp. 4534
Author(s):  
Taitusi Taufa ◽  
Ramesh Subramani ◽  
Peter Northcote ◽  
Robert Keyzers
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Marine Sponges ◽  
Marine Organisms ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Geographic Variability ◽  
South Pacific Ocean ◽  
New Novel ◽  
Rich Diversity

The islands of the South Pacific Ocean have been in the limelight for natural product biodiscovery, due to their unique and pristine tropical waters and environment. The Kingdom of Tonga is an archipelago in the central Indo-Pacific Ocean, consisting of 176 islands, 36 of which are inhabited, flourishing with a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Many unique natural products with interesting bioactivities have been reported from Indo-Pacific marine sponges and other invertebrate phyla; however, there have not been any reviews published to date specifically regarding natural products from Tongan marine organisms. This review covers both known and new/novel Marine Natural Products (MNPs) and their biological activities reported from organisms collected within Tongan territorial waters up to December 2020, and includes 109 MNPs in total, the majority from the phylum Porifera. The significant biological activity of these metabolites was dominated by cytotoxicity and, by reviewing these natural products, it is apparent that the bulk of the new and interesting biologically active compounds were from organisms collected from one particular island, emphasizing the geographic variability in the chemistry between these organisms collected at different locations.

scholarly journals Extremely Acidophilic Protists from Acid Mine Drainage Host Rickettsiales-Lineage Endosymbionts That Have Intervening Sequences in Their 16S rRNA Genes

2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 5512-5518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett J. Baker ◽  
Philip Hugenholtz ◽  
Scott C. Dawson ◽  
Jillian F. Banfield
Keyword(s):  
Acid Mine Drainage ◽  
16S Rrna ◽  
16S Rrna Gene ◽  
Mine Drainage ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Variable Region ◽  
16S Rrna Genes ◽  
Rrna Genes ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Acid Mine

ABSTRACT During a molecular phylogenetic survey of extremely acidic (pH < 1), metal-rich acid mine drainage habitats in the Richmond Mine at Iron Mountain, Calif., we detected 16S rRNA gene sequences of a novel bacterial group belonging to the order Rickettsiales in the Alphaproteobacteria. The closest known relatives of this group (92% 16S rRNA gene sequence identity) are endosymbionts of the protist Acanthamoeba. Oligonucleotide 16S rRNA probes were designed and used to observe members of this group within acidophilic protists. To improve visualization of eukaryotic populations in the acid mine drainage samples, broad-specificity probes for eukaryotes were redesigned and combined to highlight this component of the acid mine drainage community. Approximately 4% of protists in the acid mine drainage samples contained endosymbionts. Measurements of internal pH of the protists showed that their cytosol is close to neutral, indicating that the endosymbionts may be neutrophilic. The endosymbionts had a conserved 273-nucleotide intervening sequence (IVS) in variable region V1 of their 16S rRNA genes. The IVS does not match any sequence in current databases, but the predicted secondary structure forms well-defined stem loops. IVSs are uncommon in rRNA genes and appear to be confined to bacteria living in close association with eukaryotes. Based on the phylogenetic novelty of the endosymbiont sequences and initial culture-independent characterization, we propose the name “Candidatus Captivus acidiprotistae.” To our knowledge, this is the first report of an endosymbiotic relationship in an extremely acidic habitat.

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