Special Issue "Compounds from Cyanobacteria"

Guest Editor
Dr. Michele R. Prinsep
Department of Chemistry, The University of Waikato, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, Gate 1 Knighton Road, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
Website: http://cms.its.waikato.ac.nz/spe/people/michele
E-Mail: michele@waikato.ac.nz
Phone: +64 7 838 4466 ext. 8902
Interests: marine natural products chemistry; NMR spectroscopy; chemistry of cyanobacteria

Dear Colleagues,

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are an ancient and successful group of organisms that are found in a wide range of marine and freshwater habitats and in conditions as extreme as the heat of volcanic regions to the cold of Antarctica. They have proven to be an excellent source of secondary metabolites, many of which possess biological activity. The most common class of compounds found in cyanobacteria are oligopeptides (predominantly cyclic peptides). These are synthesised by nonribosomal peptide synthetases and many contain unique or unusual amino acids. Some of the other compound classes that have been isolated from cyanobacteria include terpenes and alkaloids.
Many of the natural products produced by cyanobacteria may be ecologically significant and some of the toxic metabolites are a human health concern, especially when present in recreational water bodies or fisheries. Cyanobacteria often have the means to produce many more metabolites than are actually expressed, so an understanding of biosynthesis and genetics in these organisms is vitally important.
There is considerable overlap between metabolites produced by terrestrial and marine cyanobacteria, hence the scope of this issue has been widened to include compounds from freshwater cyanobacteria, in addition to studies of marine species.

Dr. Michele R. Prinsep
Guest Editor

Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs).

• Cyanobacteria
• blue-green algae
• algal bloom
• oligopeptides
• amino acids
• non-ribosomal peptide synthesis
• biological activity
• biosynthesis
• secondary metabolites