Symbiotic Microbes from Marine Invertebrates: Driving a New Era of Natural Product Drug Discovery

Invertebrates account for more than 89% of all extant organisms in the marine environment, represented by over 174,600 species (recorded to date). Such diversity is mirrored in (or more likely increased by) the microbial symbionts associated with this group and in the marine natural products (or MNP...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alix Blockley, David R. Elliott, Adam P. Roberts, Michael Sweet
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2017-10-01
Series:Diversity
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/9/4/49
_version_ 1828115605485518848
author Alix Blockley
David R. Elliott
Adam P. Roberts
Michael Sweet
author_facet Alix Blockley
David R. Elliott
Adam P. Roberts
Michael Sweet
author_sort Alix Blockley
collection DOAJ
description Invertebrates account for more than 89% of all extant organisms in the marine environment, represented by over 174,600 species (recorded to date). Such diversity is mirrored in (or more likely increased by) the microbial symbionts associated with this group and in the marine natural products (or MNPs) that they produce. Since the early 1950s over 20,000 MNPs have been discovered, including compounds produced by symbiotic bacteria, and the chemical diversity of compounds produced from marine sources has led to them being referred to as "blue gold" in the search for new drugs. For example, 80% of novel antibiotics stemming from the marine environment have come from Actinomycetes, many of which can be found associated with marine sponges, and compounds with anti-tumorigenic and anti-diabetic potential have also been isolated from marine symbionts. In fact, it has been estimated that marine sources formed the basis of over 50% of FDA-approved drugs between 1981 and 2002. In this review, we explore the diversity of marine microbial symbionts by examining their use as the producers of novel pharmaceutical actives, together with a discussion of the opportunities and constraints offered by “blue gold” drug discovery.
first_indexed 2024-04-11T12:43:07Z
format Article
id doaj.art-6dd245d59c5045028258c7bcf0812c71
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1424-2818
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-11T12:43:07Z
publishDate 2017-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Diversity
spelling doaj.art-6dd245d59c5045028258c7bcf0812c712022-12-22T04:23:26ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182017-10-01944910.3390/d9040049d9040049Symbiotic Microbes from Marine Invertebrates: Driving a New Era of Natural Product Drug DiscoveryAlix Blockley0David R. Elliott1Adam P. Roberts2Michael Sweet3Aquatic Research Facility, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1GB, UKAquatic Research Facility, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1GB, UKDepartment of Parasitology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, UKAquatic Research Facility, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1GB, UKInvertebrates account for more than 89% of all extant organisms in the marine environment, represented by over 174,600 species (recorded to date). Such diversity is mirrored in (or more likely increased by) the microbial symbionts associated with this group and in the marine natural products (or MNPs) that they produce. Since the early 1950s over 20,000 MNPs have been discovered, including compounds produced by symbiotic bacteria, and the chemical diversity of compounds produced from marine sources has led to them being referred to as "blue gold" in the search for new drugs. For example, 80% of novel antibiotics stemming from the marine environment have come from Actinomycetes, many of which can be found associated with marine sponges, and compounds with anti-tumorigenic and anti-diabetic potential have also been isolated from marine symbionts. In fact, it has been estimated that marine sources formed the basis of over 50% of FDA-approved drugs between 1981 and 2002. In this review, we explore the diversity of marine microbial symbionts by examining their use as the producers of novel pharmaceutical actives, together with a discussion of the opportunities and constraints offered by “blue gold” drug discovery.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/9/4/49marine natural productsmicrobial symbiontsmarine invertebratespharmaceuticals“blue gold”
spellingShingle Alix Blockley
David R. Elliott
Adam P. Roberts
Michael Sweet
Symbiotic Microbes from Marine Invertebrates: Driving a New Era of Natural Product Drug Discovery
Diversity
marine natural products
microbial symbionts
marine invertebrates
pharmaceuticals
“blue gold”
title Symbiotic Microbes from Marine Invertebrates: Driving a New Era of Natural Product Drug Discovery
title_full Symbiotic Microbes from Marine Invertebrates: Driving a New Era of Natural Product Drug Discovery
title_fullStr Symbiotic Microbes from Marine Invertebrates: Driving a New Era of Natural Product Drug Discovery
title_full_unstemmed Symbiotic Microbes from Marine Invertebrates: Driving a New Era of Natural Product Drug Discovery
title_short Symbiotic Microbes from Marine Invertebrates: Driving a New Era of Natural Product Drug Discovery
title_sort symbiotic microbes from marine invertebrates driving a new era of natural product drug discovery
topic marine natural products
microbial symbionts
marine invertebrates
pharmaceuticals
“blue gold”
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/9/4/49
work_keys_str_mv AT alixblockley symbioticmicrobesfrommarineinvertebratesdrivinganeweraofnaturalproductdrugdiscovery
AT davidrelliott symbioticmicrobesfrommarineinvertebratesdrivinganeweraofnaturalproductdrugdiscovery
AT adamproberts symbioticmicrobesfrommarineinvertebratesdrivinganeweraofnaturalproductdrugdiscovery
AT michaelsweet symbioticmicrobesfrommarineinvertebratesdrivinganeweraofnaturalproductdrugdiscovery