Microbial Blue Bioprospecting: Exploring the Advances of Compounds Post-Discovery

Multisanti, Cristiana Roberta; Celi, Valeria; Dibra, Aurora; Pintus, Angela; Calogero, Rosario; Rizzo, Carmen; Faggio, Caterina

doi:10.3390/md23100406

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Microbial Blue Bioprospecting: Exploring the Advances of Compounds Post-Discovery

by

Cristiana Roberta Multisanti

^1,†

,

Valeria Celi

^2,3,†,

Aurora Dibra

⁴,

Angela Pintus

⁵,

Rosario Calogero

^3,6,

Carmen Rizzo

^3,7,*

and

Caterina Faggio

^2,8

¹

Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy

²

Department of Chemical Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy

³

Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Sicily Marine Centre, Department of Ecosustainable Marine Biotechnology, C. da Porticatello, 29-Villa Pace, 98167 Messina, Italy

⁴

Department of Biology and Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University “Luigj Gurakuqi” of Shkodra, 4000 Shkodra, Albania

⁵

National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), Via Piero Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy

⁶

Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn–CRIMAC, Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Calabria Marine Centre, C. da Torre Spaccata, 87071 Amendolara, Italy

⁷

Institute of Polar Sciences, National Research Council (CNR-ISP), Spianata S. Raineri 86, 98122 Messina, Italy

⁸

Department of Marine Biotechnology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Mar. Drugs 2025, 23(10), 406; https://doi.org/10.3390/md23100406

Submission received: 8 August 2025 / Revised: 11 October 2025 / Accepted: 14 October 2025 / Published: 17 October 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Defense in Marine Organisms, 3rd Edition)

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Abstract

Marine biotechnology is an emerging field of research. There is scientific evidence of the strong potential of a multitude of marine microorganisms in biotechnology, with applications spanning the medical, pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and environmental recovery fields. However, despite the discovery of new natural compounds being of wide-ranging benefit, their practical application still remains difficult due to costs and lengthy validation processes. The strength of natural compounds is that, unlike synthetic or already-known compounds, they can have more specific functions and are generally environmentally friendly. This requires, however, that each newly discovered compound be assayed for its toxicity through tests on model cells and organisms. Research should therefore not stop with the simple discovery of new compounds but go beyond with the validation of their efficacy and safety, an issue that remains poorly addressed for products of marine bacterial origin. This review analyses current knowledge on natural compounds of marine bacterial origin, trying to focus on the necessary steps after their discovery, including the investigation of their non-toxicity to model organisms.

Keywords: bioprospecting; marine bacteria; biotechnology; toxicity; model organisms

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MDPI and ACS Style

Multisanti, C.R.; Celi, V.; Dibra, A.; Pintus, A.; Calogero, R.; Rizzo, C.; Faggio, C. Microbial Blue Bioprospecting: Exploring the Advances of Compounds Post-Discovery. Mar. Drugs 2025, 23, 406. https://doi.org/10.3390/md23100406

AMA Style

Multisanti CR, Celi V, Dibra A, Pintus A, Calogero R, Rizzo C, Faggio C. Microbial Blue Bioprospecting: Exploring the Advances of Compounds Post-Discovery. Marine Drugs. 2025; 23(10):406. https://doi.org/10.3390/md23100406

Chicago/Turabian Style

Multisanti, Cristiana Roberta, Valeria Celi, Aurora Dibra, Angela Pintus, Rosario Calogero, Carmen Rizzo, and Caterina Faggio. 2025. "Microbial Blue Bioprospecting: Exploring the Advances of Compounds Post-Discovery" Marine Drugs 23, no. 10: 406. https://doi.org/10.3390/md23100406

APA Style

Multisanti, C. R., Celi, V., Dibra, A., Pintus, A., Calogero, R., Rizzo, C., & Faggio, C. (2025). Microbial Blue Bioprospecting: Exploring the Advances of Compounds Post-Discovery. Marine Drugs, 23(10), 406. https://doi.org/10.3390/md23100406

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Microbial Blue Bioprospecting: Exploring the Advances of Compounds Post-Discovery

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