Structural Diversity in Marine Natural Products

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Structural Studies on Marine Natural Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2025 | Viewed by 2392

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, 191, Hambangmoe-ro, Rm. 303, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21936, Republic of Korea
Interests: marine natural products; structure determination; molecular networking; computational analysis; biosynthetic pathway
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E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical Biology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology/KRIBB School, University of Science and Technology, 30 Yeongudanji-ro, Ochang-eup, Cheongwon-gu, Cheongju-si 28116, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea
Interests: marine natural products; structure determination; marine-derived fungus; biosynthesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine environments are diverse and extreme, fostering the unique adaptation of marine organisms. These marine organisms produce novel chemical structures which are not found in terrestrial organisms. Marine natural products have displayed structural diversity, leading to a discovery of new classes of drug candidates with unique biological activities.

In recent years, biotechnological advancements enable the diverse exploration of marine environments and comprehensive analysis combined with metabolites and genome data. Our object is to focus on a discovery of structurally and biologically novel compounds in marine organisms and its potential on drug development. As the Guest Editor of this Special Issue, I invite scientists from all over the world to submit reviews and original and conceptual research articles highlighting structural diversity in marine natural products and its application.

Dr. Bae Munhyung
Dr. Jae-hyuk Jang
Guest Editors

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. 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 natural products
  • marine biotechnology
  • bioactive secondary metabolites
  • structural diversity
  • isolation and structure elucidation
  • biosynthesis
  • drug candidates

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1539 KiB  
Article
Purpuramine R, a New Bromotyrosine Isolated from Pseudoceratina cf. verrucosa Collected in the Kingdom of Tonga
by Jennie L. Ramirez-Garcia, Hannah Lee-Harwood, David Ackerley, Michelle Kelly, S. Vailala Matoto, Patricia Hunt, A. Jonathan Singh and Robert A. Keyzers
Mar. Drugs 2025, 23(5), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/md23050186 - 27 Apr 2025
Viewed by 152
Abstract
Sponges in the verongiid genus Pseudoceratina Carter are well-known producers of bioactive secondary metabolites. Chemical screening of a Tongan P. cf. verrucosa Bergquist using NMR highlighted the presence of aromatic natural products. Subsequent extraction and purification of P. cf. verrucosa yielded a new [...] Read more.
Sponges in the verongiid genus Pseudoceratina Carter are well-known producers of bioactive secondary metabolites. Chemical screening of a Tongan P. cf. verrucosa Bergquist using NMR highlighted the presence of aromatic natural products. Subsequent extraction and purification of P. cf. verrucosa yielded a new bromotyrosine, purpuramine R (1), that exhibits moderate (MIC 16 µg/mL) antibacterial activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. The E-geometry of the oxime was confirmed using a combination of NMR and computational approaches. Additionally, computational conformational analysis indicates that purpuramine R adopts a hairpin orientation, stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen and halogen bonds. Knowledge of this stabilized conformation can inform synthetic approaches to make analogues of the purpuramines for future SAR studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural Diversity in Marine Natural Products)
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15 pages, 3483 KiB  
Article
Non-Steroidal FXR Agonistic Dimeric 2-Methyl-4-(1-glycerol)furan with Lipid-Lowering Activities from Marine-Derived Nocardiopsis sp. ZSN1
by Yongjun Jiang, Zhen Lei, Jiebin Fang, Yanping Wu and Chengpeng Sun
Mar. Drugs 2025, 23(3), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/md23030092 - 20 Feb 2025
Viewed by 526
Abstract
Five novel 2-methyl-4-(1-glycerol)furan (MGF) dimers, namely nocardifuran A (1), 13-acetyl-nocardifuran A (2), 15-epi-nocardifuran A (3), nocardifuran B (4), and nocardifuran C (5), were isolated from the Gause liquid fermentation [...] Read more.
Five novel 2-methyl-4-(1-glycerol)furan (MGF) dimers, namely nocardifuran A (1), 13-acetyl-nocardifuran A (2), 15-epi-nocardifuran A (3), nocardifuran B (4), and nocardifuran C (5), were isolated from the Gause liquid fermentation of the marine-derived Nocardiopsis sp. ZSN1. Their structures were elucidated through HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data analysis, and ECD calculations. Compounds 14 were identified as derivatives of MGF with its rearrangement of furan or pyran derivatives, while compound 5 was identified as the derivative of MGF with an indole derivative. These MGF dimers, representing a new structural class, were isolated from a marine microorganism for the first time, thereby enhancing chemical diversity. Screening for farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonistic activity revealed that MGF dimers could activate FXR. Furthermore, bioactivity evaluations demonstrated that these types of compounds exhibited lipid-lowering activity with lower cytotoxicity in vitro. Consequently, our findings not only contribute to the chemical diversity of marine-derived MGF-type natural products but also offer potential insights into the development of MGF dimers as lead compounds for FXR agonists in the dysregulation of hepatic lipid metabolism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural Diversity in Marine Natural Products)
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14 pages, 2070 KiB  
Article
Isolation and Characterization of Bioactive Compounds from Saccharomonospora sp. CMS18 and Their Antifungal Properties
by Soohyun Um, Hyeongju Jeong, Ji-Eun Park, Jeongwon Seo, Sang Heon Jung, Munhyung Bae, Kyung-Tae Lee and Kyuho Moon
Mar. Drugs 2024, 22(12), 539; https://doi.org/10.3390/md22120539 - 30 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1327
Abstract
In this study, metagenomic analysis was employed to investigate the bacterial communities in the Muan tidal mudflat of the Republic of Korea. We used metagenomic analysis to identify the microbial community in tidal soil dominated by Proteobacteria. From this environment, the bacterial strain, [...] Read more.
In this study, metagenomic analysis was employed to investigate the bacterial communities in the Muan tidal mudflat of the Republic of Korea. We used metagenomic analysis to identify the microbial community in tidal soil dominated by Proteobacteria. From this environment, the bacterial strain, Saccharomonospora sp. CMS18, was isolated and yielded two previously unknown compounds, penipaline D (3) and N-acetyl-dimethylallyltryptophan (4). The chemical structures of the isolated compounds along with 6-dimethylallyl-indole (1), 6-dimethylallyltryptophan (2), penipaline D (3), and N-acetyl-dimethylallyltryptophan (4) were structurally investigated using HR-ESI-MS and NMR spectroscopy. The isolated compound 6-dimethylallyl-indole (1) demonstrated broad-spectrum antifungal activity, with IC50 value of 0.04 mM against Candida glabrata and 0.35 mM against both Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Additionally, it exhibited additive interaction with caspofungin against C. albicans. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structural Diversity in Marine Natural Products)
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