Special Issue "Bioactive Compounds from Marine Microbes"

Guest Editor
Dr. Kirk R. Gustafson
Molecular Targets Development Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Building 1052, Room 121, Frederick, MD 21702-1201, USA
Website: http://ccr.cancer.gov/staff/staff.asp?profileid=7125
E-Mail:
Interests: natural products chemistry; chemical biology of natural products; NMR spectroscopy

Dear Colleagues,

The marine environment is a vast and largely unexplored resource for accessing diverse communities of microorganisms with novel biosynthetic capabilities. Marine habitats provide unique conditions for microbial growth and secondary metabolite expression that are not found in terrestrial ecosystems. The co-evolution of many marine macroorganisms, particularly invertebrate animals, with these microbes has often lead to the development of very close associations or symbiotic relationships between the host organism and a specific microbe. This in turn has resulted in the development and elaboration of unique microbial biosynthetic pathways and capabilities that can be utilized to generate novel compounds. Marine sediments are also now recognized as a rich source of microbial taxonomic diversity and new biologically active compounds. Efforts to cultivate and evaluate marine microorganisms and the associated compounds they can produce have expanded significantly in recent years, but this are of study is still very much in its infancy considering the vastness of the marine environment and the different types of microbial habitats found there.

Kirk R. Gustafson Ph. D.
Guest Editor

Submission

All papers should be submitted to marinedrugs@mdpi.org with copy to the Editors. To be published continuously until the deadline and papers will be listed together at the special websites. Both, research articles and review articles are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editors for announcment on this website.

Submitted papers should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All papers are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed quarterly journal published by Molecular Diversity Preservation International.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a paper Open Access publication fees are 1000 CHF per paper. English correction fees (250 CHF) will be added in certain cases (1250 CHF per paper for those papers that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.).

• actinomycetes
• bacteria
• biosynthesis
• dereplication
• fungi
• metabolic modulators and elicitors
• micro algae
• quorum sensing
• symbionts

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Bacteriocin as Weapons in the Marine Animal-Associated Bacterial Warfare: Inventory and Potential Applications as Probiotic for Aquaculture
Authors: F. Desriac¹, D. Defer², N. Bourgougnon², B. Brillet¹, P. Le Chevalier¹ and Y. Fleury¹
Affiliations: ¹ Université Européenne de Bretagne, Université de Brest, Institut Universitaire de Technologie, Laboratoire, Universitaire de Biodiversité et d’Ecologie Microbienne EA3882, , 6 rue de l’université, 29334 Quimper Cedex, France; E-Mail: yannick.fleury@univ-brest.fr
² Université Européenne de Bretagne, Université de Bretagne Sud, Centre de Recherche Saint Maudé, Laboratoire de Biotechnologie et Chimie Marines EA3884, 56321 Lorient Cedex, France
Abstract: Symbiotic association of marine animal with bacteria is becoming more and more illustrated so much so that doubts are frequent on the origin of the bioactive compounds isolated starting from marine animals. Bacteriocins, ribosomally synthesized antibiotic peptides, constitute one of the most potent weapons to fight against pathogen infection. Indeed, bacteriocinogenic bacteria may prevent pathogen dissemination by occupying the ecological niche. Bacteriocinogenic strain from marine animal associated bacterial flora is a relevant source for probiotic isolation. This review draws up an inventory of the marine bacteriocinogenic strainsisolated from animal-associated bacterial flora, known to date. Bacteriocin like inhibitory substances (BLIS) and fully-characterized bacteriocins are described. Finally, their applications as probiotics in aquaculture are discussed.