Bioactive Natural Products from Marine Organisms

Marine ecosystems harbour an extraordinary diversity of organisms—sponges, cnidarians, molluscs, algae and bacteria—that produce a rich repertoire of bioactive secondary metabolites. These natural products encompass a broad array of structural families, including alkaloids, terpenoids, polyketides and nonribosomal peptides, each arising from specialised biosynthetic pathways. Their ecological roles range from chemical defence and competition to symbiotic signalling. Over the past decade, advances in genome mining, metabolomics and synthetic biology have accelerated the discovery of novel scaffolds and enabled the engineering of biosynthetic enzymes. Many of these compounds exhibit potent antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties, pointing to their promise as lead candidates for drug development. In parallel, innovations in in situ sampling and high-resolution analytical techniques have improved access to low-abundance metabolites, driving forward both fundamental understanding of marine chemical ecology and translational applications in human medicine.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have identified new marine actinomycete-derived compounds that selectively inhibit glycolytic enzymes in glioma cells, revealing a mechanism for anti-glioma activity and demonstrating good metabolic stability and cell-selectivity profiles. Complementary work on sponge-derived scalarane sesterterpenoids has elucidated dual targets in leukaemic cells, showing that these compounds induce apoptosis by inhibiting topoisomerase II and disrupting Hsp90 chaperone functions. Structure–activity analyses and molecular docking have reinforced the potential of these marine metabolites as templates for multi-target anticancer agents.

Bioactive Natural Products from Marine Organisms publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in bioactive natural products from marine organisms across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Secondary metabolite: A non-essential small molecule produced by an organism, often with specialised ecological or bioactive functions.

Polyketide: A diverse class of natural products assembled by polyketide synthase enzymes, frequently possessing antibiotic or anticancer activities.

Nonribosomal peptide: A peptide biosynthesised by large enzyme complexes independent of ribosomes, often featuring unusual amino acids and potent biological effects.

Exometabolite: A metabolite secreted or released by an organism into its immediate environment, contributing to chemical communication or defence.

Metabolomics: The comprehensive analysis of small-molecule metabolite profiles in biological samples, used to identify and quantify bioactive compounds.

References

1. Anti-glioma Natural Products Downregulating Tumor Glycolytic Enzymes from Marine Actinomycete Streptomyces sp. ZZ406. Scientific Reports (2018).
2. Antileukemic Scalarane Sesterterpenoids and Meroditerpenoid from Carteriospongia (Phyllospongia) sp., Induce Apoptosis via Dual Inhibitory Effects on Topoisomerase II and Hsp90. Scientific Reports (2016).
3. In Situ Capture and Real-Time Enrichment of Marine Chemical Diversity. ACS Central Science (2023).
4. Secondary Metabolites from Marine-Derived Bacteria with Antibiotic and Antibiofilm Activities against Drug-Resistant Pathogens †. Marine Drugs (2023).
5. New 3,4-seco-3,19-Dinor- and Spongian-Based Diterpenoid Lactones from the Marine Sponge Spongia sp.. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2023).