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Gifts of the sea
Citation:
GLASER, J. A. Gifts of the sea. CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY. Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, 13(2):221 - 226, (2011).
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
The great microbiological soup found in the oceans is a remarkable resource for antibiotics and antibacterials. Resident pathogenic microorganisms present a threat to marine organisms. This battle for survival requires potent molecules endowed with antibacterial activity to be stable under harsh conditions of high salt content to aid the embattled marine organisms. Metabolites such as ribosomal and non ribosomal peptides, alkaloids, polyketides, and terpenes exhibit antibacterial activity. The need for antibacterials is enhanced by the occurrence of human bacterial pathogens that are no longer controlled by available antibiotics. Antibacterials inhibit bacterial growth (bacteriostatic). Of the 98 small molecule antibacterials marketed between 1981 and 2005, 74 are attributed to discrete structural motifs found in nature. Nine of the twelve antibacterial classes are formulated on a template derived from nature. The vast sea remains virtually unexplored for antibacterial therapeutics in contrast to the terrestrial environment which has been harvested for the past 50 years. Numbers of taxa in the ocean dwarf the species characteristic a tropical rain forest. Ocean water contains 106 bacteria, and 103 fungal cells per mL. The surfaces of most marine organisms are populated with specific microbes. Candidate antibacterials have been found in some rather obscure places such as a fungus/mold in a marine annelid. Examples of antibacterial terpenes are pseudopterosin P found in association with soft coral, and axisonitrile 3 and manoalide from marine sponges. The structural diversity apparent in these few examples exemplifies the importance of the sea’s microbial diversity to humankind’s need for therapeutic pharmaceuticals.
