Bioactivity Screening and Gene-Trait Matching across Marine Sponge-Associated Bacteria

Marine sponges harbor diverse microbial communities that represent a significant source of natural products. In the present study, extracts of 21 sponge-associated bacteria were screened for their antimicrobial and anticancer activity, and their genomes were mined for secondary metabolite biosynthet...

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Main Authors: Asimenia Gavriilidou, Thomas Andrew Mackenzie, Pilar Sánchez, José Ruben Tormo, Colin Ingham, Hauke Smidt, Detmer Sipkema
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
Series:Marine Drugs
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/19/2/75
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author Asimenia Gavriilidou
Thomas Andrew Mackenzie
Pilar Sánchez
José Ruben Tormo
Colin Ingham
Hauke Smidt
Detmer Sipkema
author_facet Asimenia Gavriilidou
Thomas Andrew Mackenzie
Pilar Sánchez
José Ruben Tormo
Colin Ingham
Hauke Smidt
Detmer Sipkema
author_sort Asimenia Gavriilidou
collection DOAJ
description Marine sponges harbor diverse microbial communities that represent a significant source of natural products. In the present study, extracts of 21 sponge-associated bacteria were screened for their antimicrobial and anticancer activity, and their genomes were mined for secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Phylogenetic analysis assigned the strains to four major phyla in the sponge microbiome, namely Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes. Bioassays identified one extract with anti-methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (MRSA) activity, and more than 70% of the total extracts had a moderate to high cytotoxicity. The most active extracts were derived from the Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, prominent for producing bioactive substances. The strong bioactivity potential of the aforementioned strains was also evident in the abundance of BGCs, which encoded mainly beta-lactones, bacteriocins, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS), terpenes, and siderophores. Gene-trait matching was performed for the most active strains, aiming at linking their biosynthetic potential with the experimental results. Genetic associations were established for the anti-MRSA and cytotoxic phenotypes based on the similarity of the detected BGCs with BGCs encoding natural products with known bioactivity. Overall, our study highlights the significance of combining in vitro and in silico approaches in the search of novel natural products of pharmaceutical interest.
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spelling doaj.art-5a5de228af174c368c0b12c0eeb0bc0e2023-12-03T15:23:04ZengMDPI AGMarine Drugs1660-33972021-01-011927510.3390/md19020075Bioactivity Screening and Gene-Trait Matching across Marine Sponge-Associated BacteriaAsimenia Gavriilidou0Thomas Andrew Mackenzie1Pilar Sánchez2José Ruben Tormo3Colin Ingham4Hauke Smidt5Detmer Sipkema6Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, The NetherlandsFundación MEDINA, Centro de Excelencia en Investigación de Medicamentos Innovadores en Andalucía, Avda. del Conocimiento 34, 18016 Granada, SpainFundación MEDINA, Centro de Excelencia en Investigación de Medicamentos Innovadores en Andalucía, Avda. del Conocimiento 34, 18016 Granada, SpainFundación MEDINA, Centro de Excelencia en Investigación de Medicamentos Innovadores en Andalucía, Avda. del Conocimiento 34, 18016 Granada, SpainHoekmine BV, 3515 GJ Utrecht, The NetherlandsLaboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, The NetherlandsLaboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 WE Wageningen, The NetherlandsMarine sponges harbor diverse microbial communities that represent a significant source of natural products. In the present study, extracts of 21 sponge-associated bacteria were screened for their antimicrobial and anticancer activity, and their genomes were mined for secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Phylogenetic analysis assigned the strains to four major phyla in the sponge microbiome, namely Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes. Bioassays identified one extract with anti-methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (MRSA) activity, and more than 70% of the total extracts had a moderate to high cytotoxicity. The most active extracts were derived from the Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, prominent for producing bioactive substances. The strong bioactivity potential of the aforementioned strains was also evident in the abundance of BGCs, which encoded mainly beta-lactones, bacteriocins, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS), terpenes, and siderophores. Gene-trait matching was performed for the most active strains, aiming at linking their biosynthetic potential with the experimental results. Genetic associations were established for the anti-MRSA and cytotoxic phenotypes based on the similarity of the detected BGCs with BGCs encoding natural products with known bioactivity. Overall, our study highlights the significance of combining in vitro and in silico approaches in the search of novel natural products of pharmaceutical interest.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/19/2/75sponge-associated bacteriaantibacterialanticancerbiosynthetic gene clustersgene-trait matching
spellingShingle Asimenia Gavriilidou
Thomas Andrew Mackenzie
Pilar Sánchez
José Ruben Tormo
Colin Ingham
Hauke Smidt
Detmer Sipkema
Bioactivity Screening and Gene-Trait Matching across Marine Sponge-Associated Bacteria
Marine Drugs
sponge-associated bacteria
antibacterial
anticancer
biosynthetic gene clusters
gene-trait matching
title Bioactivity Screening and Gene-Trait Matching across Marine Sponge-Associated Bacteria
title_full Bioactivity Screening and Gene-Trait Matching across Marine Sponge-Associated Bacteria
title_fullStr Bioactivity Screening and Gene-Trait Matching across Marine Sponge-Associated Bacteria
title_full_unstemmed Bioactivity Screening and Gene-Trait Matching across Marine Sponge-Associated Bacteria
title_short Bioactivity Screening and Gene-Trait Matching across Marine Sponge-Associated Bacteria
title_sort bioactivity screening and gene trait matching across marine sponge associated bacteria
topic sponge-associated bacteria
antibacterial
anticancer
biosynthetic gene clusters
gene-trait matching
url https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/19/2/75
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