Discovery of Novel Bioactive Compounds from Marine Microorganisms

Abstract

Approximately 30,000 structurally diverse natural products with a vast array of bioactivities have been discovered from marine organisms including microbes, algae and invertebrates. Especially, the study of marine bacteria and their potential role in the production of bioactive metabolites is a rapidly growing field, due to the fact that a number of metabolites obtained from marine macroalgae and invertebrates such as sponges may be produced by associated marine microorganisms. Thus, marine microorganisms have attracted considerable attention due to the structural diversities and unique biological activities of their secondary metabolites. This presentation will highlight the importance of marine microorganisms in the drug discovery from marine natural products. The isolation, structure determination, and bioactivities of novel compounds from marine microorganisms will be presented.