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Marine Extremophiles and Their Metabolites

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biotechnology Related to Drug Discovery or Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 4718

Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
Interests: marine extremophiles; biosynthesis; secondary metabolite

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine extremophiles refer to microorganisms that thrive in extreme marine environments, such as hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, deep ocean abysses, submarine salt lakes, polar seas, and other conditions including extremely low temperatures, high pressures, high salinity, low oxygen levels, high radiation, and high acidity or alkalinity. These unique environments pose significant challenges to life, yet marine extremophiles have evolved unique physiological mechanisms to adapt to and flourish in such conditions.

The study of marine extremophiles and their metabolites holds immense significance. These microorganisms also produce a wide range of unique enzymes and bioactive compounds that have potential applications. The study of marine extremophiles' metabolites can provide insights into the biochemical pathways and mechanisms that enable these organisms to survive in extreme conditions. These results can be leveraged to develop novel biotechnological processes and products that can be used as bioremediation, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.

This Special Issue aims to collect papers on the most recent findings or comprehensive review papers in the field of “Marine Extremophiles and their metabolites”.

Prof. Dr. Yi Wang
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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 2900 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 extremophiles
  • natural products
  • enzymes
  • biosynthesis
  • structure elucidation
  • genome mining
  • bioprospecting

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2491 KB  
Article
Exploration of Carotenoid-Producing Microorganisms from the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench and Their Antioxidant Potential
by Guan-Yuan Zhang, Xue-Gong Li, Hai-Rong Fang, Jin-Wei Gao and Wei-Jia Zhang
Mar. Drugs 2026, 24(3), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/md24030105 - 11 Mar 2026
Viewed by 1713
Abstract
Despite its extreme conditions, the hadal environment harbors abundant but largely underexplored microbial resources. In this study, samples from the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench (KKT) were enriched at low temperature using R2A and 2216E media. Carotenoid-producing microorganisms (CPMs) were isolated from approximately one-third of the [...] Read more.
Despite its extreme conditions, the hadal environment harbors abundant but largely underexplored microbial resources. In this study, samples from the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench (KKT) were enriched at low temperature using R2A and 2216E media. Carotenoid-producing microorganisms (CPMs) were isolated from approximately one-third of the samples, yielding a total of 124 isolated strains spanning 4 phyla and 11 genera. Planococcus, Kocuria, Paracoccus, and Exiguobacterium collectively accounted for 75.8% of the isolates. The choice of culture medium significantly influenced CPM diversity at the family and genus levels, though not at the phylum or class level. Water depth, sample type, and sediment layer also significantly affected CPM community structure. Carotenoid spectral profiles correlated with phylogenetic lineage, and closer phylogenetic relationships corresponded to greater similarity in carotenoid biosynthesis gene clusters. Antioxidant assays (FRAP, ABTS, DPPH) demonstrated strong total antioxidant and radical scavenging capacities in carotenoid extracts from Citricoccus, Kocuria, Arthrobacter, and Olleya. Scavenging activity toward ABTS or DPPH radicals varied significantly among genera, suggesting genus-specific antioxidant mechanisms. These findings highlight the hadal zone as a promising reservoir of diverse CPMs and a valuable source of novel carotenoids and antioxidant-producing strains with potential biotechnological applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Extremophiles and Their Metabolites)
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17 pages, 1722 KB  
Article
Exploring Biosurfactant Production from Halophilic Bacteria, Isolated from Burgas Salterns in Bulgaria
by Kaloyan Berberov, Ivanka Boyadzhieva, Boryana Yakimova, Hristina Petkova, Ivanka Stoineva, Lilyana Nacheva and Lyudmila Kabaivanova
Mar. Drugs 2026, 24(1), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/md24010053 - 22 Jan 2026
Viewed by 1561
Abstract
Biosurfactants produced by halophilic bacteria are gaining attention as eco-friendly and biocompatible alternatives to synthetic surfactants due to their high surface activity, stability under extreme conditions, and intrinsic antimicrobial properties. These amphiphilic biomolecules hold great promise for bioremediation, biomedical, and pharmaceutical applications. In [...] Read more.
Biosurfactants produced by halophilic bacteria are gaining attention as eco-friendly and biocompatible alternatives to synthetic surfactants due to their high surface activity, stability under extreme conditions, and intrinsic antimicrobial properties. These amphiphilic biomolecules hold great promise for bioremediation, biomedical, and pharmaceutical applications. In this study, moderately halophilic bacteria capable of biosurfactant production were isolated from saline mud collected at the Burgas solar salterns (Bulgaria). The halophilic microbiota was enriched in Bushnell–Haas (BH) medium containing 10% NaCl amended with different carbon sources. Primary screening in BH liquid medium evaluated the isolates’ ability to degrade n-hexadecane while at the same time producing biosurfactants. Thirty halophilic bacterial strains were isolated on BH agar plates supplemented with 2% n-hexadecane, 2% olive oil, or 2% glycerol. Four isolates—BS7OL, BS8OL, BS9GL, and BS10HD—with strong emulsifying activity (E24 = 56%) and reduced surface tension in the range of 27.3–45 mN/m were derived after 7 days of batch fermentation. Strain BS10HD was chosen as the most potent biosurfactant producer. Its phylogenetic affiliation was determined by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis; according to the nucleotide sequence, it was assigned to Halomonas ventosae. The extract material was analysed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Upon spraying the TLC plate with ninhydrin reagent, the appearance of a pink spot indicated the presence of amine functional groups. FTIR analysis showed characteristic peaks for both lipid and peptide functional groups. Based on the observed physicochemical properties and analytical data, it can be suggested that the biosurfactant produced by Halomonas ventosae BS10HD is a lipopeptide compound. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Extremophiles and Their Metabolites)
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12 pages, 1513 KB  
Article
Discovery of Antimicrobial Oligoindoles from a Cold-Seep-Derived Halomonas Strain
by Yunchen Yan, Zhiting Li, Hongcheng Li, Junpeng Sun, Wenli Li and Fei Xiao
Mar. Drugs 2026, 24(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/md24010016 - 26 Dec 2025
Viewed by 924
Abstract
Mining bioactive secondary metabolites from microorganisms originating from deep-sea cold seep holds significant potential for discovering novel drug lead compounds. In this study, three known indole derivatives (13) were isolated from cold-seep-derived Halomonas meridiana OUCLQ22-B7. Subsequently, two-new indole dimers, [...] Read more.
Mining bioactive secondary metabolites from microorganisms originating from deep-sea cold seep holds significant potential for discovering novel drug lead compounds. In this study, three known indole derivatives (13) were isolated from cold-seep-derived Halomonas meridiana OUCLQ22-B7. Subsequently, two-new indole dimers, meribisindole A (4) and meribisindole B (5), with nine known metabolites (614) were obtained via indole precursor feeding strategy. The structure of these compounds was elucidated via a combination of spectroscopic methods and circular dichroism (CD) measurement. Antimicrobial assays revealed that compounds 4, 7 and 8 exhibited potent inhibitory activity against Fusarium oxysporum CICC 41029 with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 0.39−12.5 μg/mL, and compound 11 showed significant growth inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus CCARM 3090 with MIC value at 0.098 μg/mL. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Extremophiles and Their Metabolites)
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