Marine Drugs
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Marine Drugs ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Kenneth Sandoval ◽  
Grace P. McCormack

Actinoporins are proteinaceous toxins known for their ability to bind to and create pores in cellular membranes. This quality has generated interest in their potential use as new tools, such as therapeutic immunotoxins. Isolated historically from sea anemones, genes encoding for similar actinoporin-like proteins have since been found in a small number of other animal phyla. Sequencing and de novo assembly of Irish Haliclona transcriptomes indicated that sponges also possess similar genes. An exhaustive analysis of publicly available sequencing data from other sponges showed that this is a potentially widespread feature of the Porifera. While many sponge proteins possess a sequence similarity of 27.70–59.06% to actinoporins, they show consistency in predicted structure. One gene copy from H. indistincta has significant sequence similarity to sea anemone actinoporins and possesses conserved residues associated with the fundamental roles of sphingomyelin recognition, membrane attachment, oligomerization, and pore formation, indicating that it may be an actinoporin. Phylogenetic analyses indicate frequent gene duplication, no distinct clade for sponge-derived proteins, and a stronger signal towards actinoporins than similar proteins from other phyla. Overall, this study provides evidence that a diverse array of Porifera represents a novel source of actinoporin-like proteins which may have biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Elisabete Lima ◽  
Jorge Medeiros

The incidence of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), increases continuously demanding the urgent development of anti-Alzheimer’s agents. Marine organisms (MO) have to create their own defenses due to the adverse environment where they live and so synthesize several classes of compounds, such as akaloids, to defend themselves. Therefore, the identification of marine natural products with neuroprotective effects is a necessity. Being that AD is not only a genetic but also an environmental complex disease, a treatment for AD remains to discover. As the major clinical indications (CI) of AD are extracellular plaques formed by β-amyloid (Aβ) protein, intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) formed by hyper phosphorylated τ-protein, uncommon inflammatory response and neuron apoptosis and death caused by oxidative stress, alkaloids that may decrease CI, might be used against AD. Most of the alkalolids with those properties are derivatives of the amino acid tryptophan mainly with a planar indole scaffold. Certainly, alkaloids targeting more than one CI, multitarget-directed ligands (MTDL), have the potential to become a lead in AD treatment. Alkaloids to have a maximum of activity against CI, should be planar and contain halogens and amine quaternization.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Xia-Yu Chen ◽  
Qi Zeng ◽  
Yu-Chan Chen ◽  
Wei-Mao Zhong ◽  
Yao Xiang ◽  
...  

Six new α-pyrone meroterpenoid chevalones H–M (1–6), together with six known compounds (7–12), were isolated from the gorgonian coral-derived fungus Aspergillus hiratsukae SCSIO 7S2001 collected from Mischief Reef in the South China Sea. Their structures, including absolute configurations, were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and X-ray diffraction data. Compounds 1–5 and 7 showed different degrees of antibacterial activity with MIC values of 6.25–100 μg/mL. Compound 8 exhibited potent cytotoxicity against SF-268, MCF-7, and A549 cell lines with IC50 values of 12.75, 9.29, and 20.11 μM, respectively.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Joachim J. Hug ◽  
Louise Kjaerulff ◽  
Ronald Garcia ◽  
Rolf Müller

Marine myxobacteria present a virtually unexploited reservoir for the discovery of natural products with diverse biological functions and novel chemical scaffolds. We report here the isolation and structure elucidation of eight new deoxyenhygrolides (1–8) from the marine myxobacterium Plesiocystis pacifica DSM 14875T. The herein described deoxyenhygrolides C–J (1–8) feature a butenolide core with an ethyl residue at C-3 of the γ-lactone in contrast to the previously described derivatives, deoxyenhygrolides A and B, which feature an isobutyl residue at this position. The butenolide core is 2,4-substituted with a benzyl (1, 2 and 7), benzoyl (3 and 4) or benzyl alcohol (5, 6 and 8) moiety in the 2-position and a benzylidene (1–6) or benzylic hemiketal (7 and 8) in the 4-position. The description of these new deoxyenhygrolide derivatives, alongside genomic in silico investigation regarding putative biosynthetic genes, provides some new puzzle pieces on how this natural product class might be formed by marine myxobacteria.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Sun Wook Jeong ◽  
Jung Eun Yang ◽  
Yong Jun Choi

Xanthophylls, a yellow pigment belonging to the carotenoid family, have attracted much attention for industrial applications due to their versatile nature. We report the isolation of a homo xanthophyll pigment-producing marine bacterium, identified as the Erythrobacter sp. SDW2 strain, from coastal seawater. The isolated Erythrobacter sp. SDW2 strain can produce 263 ± 12.9 mg/L (89.7 ± 5.4 mg/g dry cell weight) of yellow xanthophyll pigment from 5 g/L of glucose. Moreover, the xanthophyll pigment produced by the SDW2 strain exhibits remarkable antioxidative activities, confirmed by the DPPH (73.4 ± 1.4%) and ABTS (84.9 ± 0.7%) assays. These results suggest that the yellow xanthophyll pigment-producing Erythrobacter sp. SDW2 strain could be a promising industrial microorganism for producing marine-derived bioactive compounds with potential for foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Vikash Chandra Roy ◽  
Jin-Seok Park ◽  
Truc Cong Ho ◽  
Byung-Soo Chun

Japanese Spanish mackerel (JSM) (Scomberomorus niphonius) is a marine fish species containing health-beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). In the present study, the quality of JSM by-products oils extracted by supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) and organic solvent extraction was compared in terms of physico-chemical properties of the oils. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is one of the important polyunsaturated fatty acids present in SC-CO2-extracted skin and muscle oil 5.81 ± 0.69% and 4.93 ± 0.06%, respectively. The amount of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in SC-CO2-extracted skin and muscle oil was 12.56 ± 0.38% and 15.01 ± 0.28%, respectively. EPA and DHA are considered as important PUFAs for the development of brain function and the prevention of coronary heart diseases. Extracted oils showed considerable antioxidant activity. In the obtained oils, atherogenic index (AI) values varied from 0.72 to 0.93 and thrombogenic index (TI) ranged from 0.75 to 0.92, which is considered an acceptable level. Fatty acid composition, bio potentiality, thermogravimetric, and vitamin D analysis showed that oils extracted from JSM by-products can be a good source of oil for application in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Therefore, the present research revealed the potentiality of green valorisation of S. niphonius by-products as a possible sustainable approach for targeting the era of zero waste.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Dawei Yu ◽  
Jiayao Feng ◽  
Huimin You ◽  
Shipeng Zhou ◽  
Yan Bai ◽  
...  

Chitosan obtained from abundant marine resources has been proven to have a variety of biological activities. However, due to its poor water solubility, chitosan application is limited, and the degradation products of chitosan oligosaccharides are better than chitosan regarding performance. Chitosan oligosaccharides have two kinds of active groups, amino and hydroxyl groups, which can form a variety of derivatives, and the properties of these derivatives can be further improved. In this review, the key structures of chitosan oligosaccharides and recent studies on chitosan oligosaccharide derivatives, including their synthesis methods, are described. Finally, the antimicrobial and antitumor applications of chitosan oligosaccharides and their derivatives are discussed.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Mingpeng Wang ◽  
Lei Chen ◽  
Zhengyu Lou ◽  
Xueting Yuan ◽  
Guiping Pan ◽  
...  

As a low molecular weight alginate, alginate oligosaccharides (AOS) exhibit improved water solubility, better bioavailability, and comprehensive health benefits. In addition, their biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, non-immunogenicity, and gelling capability make them an excellent biomaterial with a dual curative effect when applied in a drug delivery system. In this paper, a novel alginate lyase, Algpt, was cloned and characterized from a marine bacterium, Paenibacillus sp. LJ-23. The purified enzyme was composed of 387 amino acid residues, and had a molecular weight of 42.8 kDa. The optimal pH of Algpt was 7.0 and the optimal temperature was 45 °C. The analysis of the conserved domain and the prediction of the three-dimensional structure indicated that Algpt was a novel alginate lyase. The dominant degradation products of Algpt on alginate were AOS dimer to octamer, depending on the incubation time, which demonstrated that Algpt degraded alginate in an endolytic manner. In addition, Algpt was a salt-independent and thermo-tolerant alginate lyase. Its high stability and wide adaptability endow Algpt with great application potential for the efficient preparation of AOS with different sizes and AOS-based products.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
Elina Didrihsone ◽  
Konstantins Dubencovs ◽  
Mara Grube ◽  
Karlis Shvirksts ◽  
Anastasija Suleiko ◽  
...  

Crypthecodinium cohnii is a marine heterotrophic dinoflagellate that can accumulate high amounts of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and thus has the potential to replace conventional PUFAs production with eco-friendlier technology. So far, C. cohnii cultivation has been mainly carried out with the use of yeast extract (YE) as a nitrogen source. In the present study, alternative carbon and nitrogen sources were studied: the extraction ethanol (EE), remaining after lipid extraction, as a carbon source, and dinoflagellate extract (DE) from recycled algae biomass C. cohnii as a source of carbon, nitrogen, and vitamins. In mediums with glucose and DE, the highest specific biomass growth rate reached a maximum of 1.012 h−1, while the biomass yield from substrate reached 0.601 g·g−1. EE as the carbon source, in comparison to pure ethanol, showed good results in terms of stimulating the biomass growth rate (an 18.5% increase in specific biomass growth rate was observed). DE supplement to the EE-based mediums promoted both the biomass growth (the specific growth rate reached 0.701 h−1) and yield from the substrate (0.234 g·g−1). The FTIR spectroscopy data showed that mediums supplemented with EE or DE promoted the accumulation of PUFAs/docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), when compared to mediums containing glucose and commercial YE.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Elin Julianti ◽  
Ikram Ammar Abrian ◽  
Marlia Singgih Wibowo ◽  
Muhammad Azhari ◽  
Nadya Tsurayya ◽  
...  

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in the world. Chemotheraphy is one of the most common methods used for the pharmacological treatment of this cancer patients. Nevertheless, the adverse effect of chemotherapy is not optimized for improving the quality of life of people who are older, who are the most vulnerable subpopulation. This review presents recent updates regarding secondary metabolites derived from marine fungi and actinobacteria as novel alternatives for cytotoxic agents against colorectal cancer cell lines HCT116, HT29, HCT15, RKO, Caco-2, and SW480. The observed marine-derived fungi were from the species Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Neosartorya sp., Dichotomomyces sp., Paradendryphiella sp., and Westerdykella sp. Additionally, Streptomyces sp. and Nocardiopsis sp. are actinobacteria discussed in this study. Seventy one compounds reviewed in this study were grouped on the basis of their chemical structures. Indole alkaloids and diketopiperazines made up most compounds with higher potencies when compared with other groups. The potency of indole alkaloids and diketopiperazines was most probably due to halogen-based functional groups and sulfide groups, respectively.


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