Marine-Derived Microorganisms and Their Metabolites

Dear Colleagues,

Marine-derived microorganisms, including fungi, bacteria, and microalgae, inhabit diverse and extreme marine environments such as deep-sea sediments, hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, mangrove forests, coral reefs, and open oceans. These microorganisms have evolved unique metabolic pathways to adapt to high salinity, high pressure, low temperature, or oligotrophic conditions, leading to the production of structurally diverse and biologically active secondary metabolites. Investigating the diversity, ecology, and metabolic potential of marine microorganisms is of great significance for understanding their ecological roles and for discovering novel natural products with pharmaceutical or industrial applications.

Marine fungi, in particular, have emerged as a rich source of new chemical entities, including polyketides, terpenoids, alkaloids, and peptides, many of which exhibit promising antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral activities. Similarly, marine bacteria (e.g., Streptomyces, Pseudovibrio and Bacillus) and marine microalgae have also contributed to the discovery of unique metabolites such as macrolides, lipopeptides, and carotenoids. The growing number of reports on novel bioactive compounds from marine-derived microorganisms highlights the immense potential of this underexplored biosphere.

This Special Issue is a joint initiative between the Journal of Fungi and Microorganisms. We invite submissions of original research articles, reviews, and short communications that explore the diversity, taxonomy, ecology, and secondary metabolite production of marine-derived microorganisms. We particularly welcome studies that combine microbial taxonomy, phylogeny, and community analysis with the isolation, structural elucidation, and biological evaluation of new metabolites. Both culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches are of interest.

Manuscripts should be submitted online. Authors can choose to submit their work to either journal depending on the primary focus of their study:

• For manuscripts focusing on marine fungi (taxonomy, ecology, and metabolites), please submit to the Journal of Fungi via https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jof/special_issues/3I2ZFDH297.
• For manuscripts focusing on marine bacteria, microalgae, or other non-fungal microorganisms, please submit to Microorganisms via https://www.mdpi.com/journal/microorganisms/special_issues/944442MR3D.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in JoF.

Dr. Xiaoyong Zhang
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. Microorganisms 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 2700 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.