Profiling Prokaryotic Communities and Aaptamines of Sponge Aaptos suberitoides from Tulamben, Bali

Sponges (Porifera) harbor a diversity of microorganisms that contribute largely to the production a vast array of bioactive compounds. The microorganisms associated with sponge have an important impact on the chemical diversity of the natural products. Herein, our study focuses on an Aaptos suberitoides commonly found in Indonesia. The objective of this study was to investigate the profile of prokaryotic community and the presence of aaptamine metabolites in sponge Aaptos suberitoides. Sponges were collected from two site locations (Liberty Wreck and Drop Off) in Tulamben, Bali. The sponges were identified by barcoding DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. The profile of prokaryotic composition was investigated by amplifying the 16S rRNA gene using primers 515f and 806r to target the V4 region. The metabolites were analyzed using LC-MS, and dereplication was done to identify the aaptamines and its derivates. The barcoding DNA of the sponges confirmed the identity of samples as Aaptos suberitoides. The prokaryotic communities of samples A. suberitoides were enriched and dominated by taxa Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, and Acidobacteria. The chemical analysis showed that all sponges produce aaptamine and isoaaptamine except A. suberitoides S2421 produce analog of aaptamines. This is the first report on the profile of prokaryotic community and the aaptamine of tropical marine sponges, A. suberitoides, from Tulamben, Bali.

Natural products as antivibrio agents: insight into the chemistry and biological activity

Vibriosis causes serious problems and economic loss in aquaculture and human health. Investigating natural products as antivibrio agents has gained more attention to combat vibriosis. The present review highlights the chemical diversity of antivibrio isolated from bacteria, fungi, plants, and marine organisms. Based on the study covering the literature from 1985-2021, the chemical diversity ranges from alkaloids, terpenoids, polyketides, sterols, and peptides. The mechanisms of action are included inhibiting growth, interfering with biofilm formation, and disrupting of quorum sensing. Relevant summaries focusing on the source organisms and the associated bioactivity of different chemical classes are also provided. Further research on in vivo studies, toxicity, and clinical is required for the application in aquaculture and human health.

Rhodophyta as Potential Sources of Photoprotectants, Antiphotoaging Compounds, and Hydrogels for Cosmeceutical Application

Seaweeds are macroscopic, multicellular, eukaryotic and photosynthetic organisms, and are a source of chemical diversity with powerful biological activities for diversified industrial applications including cosmeceuticals. Red seaweeds (Rhodophyta) are good sources of Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAA) for photoprotectant and antiphotoaging compounds. In addition, Rhodophyta are also good sources for hydrogel compounds that are used widely in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical industries as gelling agents, moisturizers or for their antiphotoaging effects. Our survey and ongoing studies revealed that the biodiversity of Indonesian Rhodophyta is rich and is a treasure trove for cosmeceutical agents including MAA and hydrogels. This study delivers valuable information for identifying potential red seaweeds in screening and searching for cosmeceutical agents.

An analysis of the sponge Acanthostrongylophora igens' microbiome yields an actinomycete that produces the natural product manzamine A

Sponges have generated significant interest as a source of bioactive and elaborate secondary metabolites that hold promise for the development of novel therapeutics for the control of an array of human diseases. However, research and development of marine natural products can often be hampered by the difficulty associated with obtaining a stable and sustainable production source. Herein we report the first successful characterization and utilization of the microbiome of a marine invertebrate to identify a sustainable production source for an important natural product scaffold. Through molecular-microbial community analysis, optimization of fermentation conditions and MALDI-MS imaging, we provide the first report of a sponge-associated bacterium (Micromonospora sp.) that produces the manzamine class of antimalarials from the Indo-Pacific sponge Acanthostrongylophora ingens (Thiele, 1899) (Class Demospongiae, Order Haplosclerida, Family Petrosiidae). These findings suggest that a general strategy of analysis of the macroorganism's microbiome could significantly transform the field of natural products drug discovery by gaining access to not only novel drug leads, but the potential for sustainable production sources and biosynthetic genes at the same time.

Metabolism and resistance of Fusarium spp. to the manzamine alkaloids via a putative retro pictet-spengler reaction and utility of the rational design of antimalarial and antifungal agents

As a part of our continuing investigation of the manzamine alkaloids we studied the in vitro activity of the β-carboline containing manzamine alkaloids against Fusarium solani, Fusarium oxysporium, and Fusarium proliferatum by employing several bioassay techniques including one-dimensional direct bioautography, dilution, and plate susceptibility, and microtiter broth assays. In addition, we also studied the metabolism of the manzamine alkaloids by Fusarium spp. in order to facilitate the redesign of the compounds to prevent resistance of Fusarium spp. through metabolism. The present research reveals that the manzamine alkaloids are inactive against Fusarium spp. and the fungi transform manzamines via hydrolysis, reduction, and a retro Pictet-Spengler reaction. This is the first report to demonstrate an enzymatically retro Pictet-Spengler reaction. The results of this study reveal the utility of the rational design of metabolically stable antifungal agents from this class and the development of manzamine alkaloids as antimalarial drugs through the utilization of Fusarium's metabolic products to reconstruct the molecule.

Deciphering pactamycin biosynthesis and engineered production of new pactamycin analogues

Pactamycin is an aminocyclopentitol-derived natural product that has potent antibacterial and antitumor activities. Sequence analysis of an 86 kb continuous region of the chromosome from Streptomyces pactum ATCC 27456 revealed a gene cluster involved in the biosynthesis of pactamycin. Gene inactivation of the Fe-S radical SAM oxidoreductase (ptmC) and the glycosyltransferase (ptmJ), individually abrogated pactamycin biosynthesis; this confirmed the involvement of the ptm gene cluster in pactamycin biosynthesis. The polyketide synthase gene (ptmQ) was found to support 6-methylsalicylic acid (6-MSA) synthesis in a heterologous host, S. lividans T7. In vivo inactivation of ptmQ in S. pactum impaired pactamycin and pactamycate production but led to production of two new pactamycin analogues, de-6-MSA-pactamycin and de-6-MSA-pactamycate. The new compounds showed equivalent cytotoxic and antibacterial activities with the corresponding parent molecules and shed more light on the structure-activity relationship of pactamycin.

Kinetic studies and bioactivity of potential manzamine prodrugs

The manzamines represent a class of marine natural products that show considerable promise in the control of malaria but generate GI distress in rodents when administered orally in high doses. In an effort to generate manzamine prodrugs with improved antimalarial activity and reduced GI toxicity, we prepared acetylated 8-hydroxymanzamine A analogues including 8-acetoxymanzamine A (3) and 8,12-diacetoxymanzamine A (4), and 8-methoxymanzamine A (5) beginning with 8-hydroxymanzamine A (2). The semisynthetic analogues were assayed for antimalarial and antimicrobial activities, cytotoxicity, and biological and chemical stability. Due to gradual hydrolysis of the ester group, application of monoacetate 3 as an antimalarial prodrug was investigated. The in vitro and in vivo bioassays show that acetylated analogues exhibit significant antimalarial activity (IC50( 3) 9.6-30 ng/mL), which are comparable to the parent molecule; however the monoaceate 3 was shown to actually produce higher toxicity at 30 mg/kg when administered orally.

Nature's bounty - drug discovery from the sea

With ∼ 40 years of research completed after the development of self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, drug discovery opportunities in the sea are still too numerous to count. Since the FDA approval of the direct-from-the-sea calcium channel blocker ziconotide, marine natural products have been validated as a source for new medicines. However, the demand for natural products is extremely high due to the development of high-throughput assays and this bottleneck has created the need for an intense focus on increasing the rate of isolating and elucidating the structures of new bioactive secondary metabolites. In addition to highlighting the drug discovery potential of the marine environment, this review discusses several of the pressing needs to increase the rate of drug discovery in marine natural products, and describes some of the work and new technologies that are contributing in this regard.

Lysosome and HER3 (ErbB3) selective anticancer agent kahalalide F: semisynthetic modifications and antifungal lead-exploration studies

Kahalalide F (1) shows remarkable antitumor activity against different carcinomas and has recently completed phase I clinical trials and is being evaluated in phase II clinical studies. The antifungal activity of this molecule has not been thoroughly investigated. In this report, we focused on acetylation and oxidation of the secondary alcohol of threonine, as well as reductive alkylation of the primary amine of ornithine, and each product was evaluated for improvements in antifungal activity. 1 and analogues do not exhibit antimalarial, antileishmania, or antibacterial activity; however, the antifungal activity against different strains of fungi was particularly significant. This series of compounds was highly active against Fusarium spp., which represents an opportunistic infection in humans and plants. The in vitro cytotoxicity for the new analogues of 1 was evaluated in the NCI 60 cell panel. Analogue 5 exhibited enhanced potency in several human cancer cell lines relative to 1.

Microbial metabolism studies of cyanthiwigin B and synergetic antibiotic effects

Microbial transformation studies of the marine diterpene cyanthiwigin B (1), isolated from the Jamaican sponge Myrmekioderma styx, were accomplished. Two actinomycete cultures, Streptomyces NRRL 5690 and Streptomyces spheroides, significantly metabolized cyanthiwigin B to new metabolites. Streptomyces NRRL 5690 transformed cyanthiwigin B to three new compounds, cyanthiwigins AE (2), AF (3), and AG (4), and the known cyanthiwigin R (5). S. spheroides transformed cyanthiwigin B to cyanthiwigins S (6), E (7), and AE (2). All microbial-metabolized derivatives (2-7) of cyanthiwigin B exhibited the ability to increase the antimicrobial activity of curcuphenol, the major antimicrobial sesquiterpene isolated from M. styx.

SPK-843 (Aparts/Kaken)

SPK-843 is a water-soluble antibiotic under co-development by Aparts and Kaken for the potential treatment of systemic fungal infections. By November 2004, SPK-843 was in phase II trials for systemic mycosis.

Development of antibiotics and the future of marine microorganisms to stem the tide of antibiotic resistance

Antibiotics remain essential tools in the control of infectious diseases. With the emergence of new diseases, resistant forms of diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, as well as the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, it has become essential to develop novel antibiotics. Development of the existing antibiotics involved three strategies, including discovery of new target sites, modification of existing antibiotic structures, and the identification of new resources for novel antibiotics. Marine microorganisms have clearly become an essential new resource in the discovery of new antibiotic leads.

Three new manzamine alkaloids from a common Indonesian sponge and their activity against infectious and tropical parasitic diseases

Three new manzamine-type alkaloids, 12,34-oxamanzamine E (3), 8-hydroxymanzamine J (4), and 6-hydroxymanzamine E (8), as well as 12 previously characterized manzamine alkaloids have been isolated from a common Indonesian sponge of the genus Acanthostrongylophora. The structures of the new compounds have been established on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis and comparison of the data to literature values of related compounds. The biological activities and structure-activity relationship of the manzamines against malaria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Leishmania, HIV-1, and AIDS opportunistic infections are discussed. A plausible pathway for the formation of the 12,34-oxaether bridge in compound 3 is also provided.