Advances in Marine Natural Products
A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2025 | Viewed by 109
Special Issue Editor
Interests: marine ecology; marine natural product; marine sponge; algae; cyanobacteria
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The oceans, covering over 70% of Earth’s surface, host unparalleled biodiversity and remain a frontier for discovering novel bioactive compounds. Marine ecosystems harbor an extraordinary diversity of organisms that produce unique bioactive compounds with untapped potential for pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and green technologies. Marine organisms—from microbes to macroalgae—produce structurally unique secondary metabolites with pharmaceutical, agricultural, and industrial potential. Despite their promise, challenges in sustainable sourcing, ethical exploration, and scalable production persist. During the centuries of exploration, less than 5% of marine species have been studied for their chemical ecology, leaving vast opportunities for discovery. Recent decades have seen breakthroughs in marine drug discovery, including FDA-approved therapies derived from marine sponges and cyanobacteria. Emerging fields include CRISPR-based engineering of marine symbionts, AI-driven bioactivity prediction, and deep-sea bioprospecting. Studies on marine microbiome interactions and climate-resilient compound production are also reshaping this field. However, climate change and habitat loss necessitate urgent innovation in sustainable exploitation and conservation.
This Special Issue aims to bridge interdisciplinary gaps by showcasing innovative approaches in marine natural product research, from bioprospecting in underexplored habitats (e.g., deep-sea vents and polar regions) to advanced metabolomics and AI-driven drug discovery. We particularly encourage studies addressing sustainability challenges, such as ethical sourcing, scalable production via marine biotechnology, and the impacts of global change on bioactive compound synthesis. Cutting-edge contributions may include metabolic engineering of marine microbes, multi-omics elucidation of metabolites’ ecological roles across symbiotic interactions, or biorefinery models for circular blue economies. Submissions should emphasize methodological rigor, ecological relevance, and translational potential. We welcome original research, reviews, and perspectives that integrate marine chemistry, molecular ecology, and omics technologies with applied strategies for sustainable exploitation of marine resources. By fostering dialogue between academia and industry, this collection aims to accelerate scalable solutions for global health and ocean stewardship. This Special Issue seeks to compile interdisciplinary research on the discovery, characterization, and application of marine-derived natural products. We aim to highlight advances in extraction technologies, ecological studies of marine biodiversity, and the integration of omics tools (genomics and metabolomics) to decode biosynthetic pathways. We invite original research, reviews, and perspectives on the following topics:
- Novel marine natural products with therapeutic or industrial applications.
- Sustainable harvesting and cultivation techniques.
- Ecological and evolutionary insights into marine chemical ecology.
- Advances in omics, synthetic biology, and computational modeling for marine biodiscovery.
We look forward to your submissions.
Dr. Pere Ferriol
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short 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 thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 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 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- marine natural products
- bioactivity
- marine biotechnology
- drug discovery
- sustainable extraction
- marine metabolomics
- marine symbiosis
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
