Commemorating the Launch of the Section “Marine Chemoecology for Drug Discovery”

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Chemoecology for Drug Discovery".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 3699

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry (ICB) at the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
Interests: natural products; marine biotechnology; terpeniods; metabolites; marine ecology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The new section of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397), “Marine Chemoecology for Drug Discovery”, was launched in April 2022, aiming to collect outstanding articles focusing on the chemical diversity, ecological roles, origin, and mechanisms of action of marine natural products, as well as on their potential for drug discovery. The section thus aims at recognizing commonalities and bridges between natural and applied sciences.

We have now established a new Special Issue to commemorate the launch of the Section aimed to further highlight how studies in marine chemical ecology can efficiently assist in the discovery and/or design of new drugs, or in the finding of innovative solutions to critical technological issues. Therefore, manuscripts that identify a connection between the effects of bioactive marine metabolites within their natural environment with their properties in applicative settings are especially welcomed.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit your latest research for publication in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Vassilios Roussis
Dr. Ernesto Mollo
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

  • drug discovery
  • marine chemical diversity
  • chemical communication
  • semiochemicals
  • chemical defense
  • trophic interactions
  • pheromones
  • attractants
  • repellents
  • chemosensation
  • marine invasive species
  • drivers of ecosystem change
  • microbial interactions
  • marine fouling
  • mechanisms of action
  • biosynthetic pathways
  • molecular evolution

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4101 KiB  
Article
Polyunsaturated Aldehydes Profile in the Diatom Cyclotella cryptica Is Sensitive to Changes in Its Phycosphere Bacterial Assemblages
by María Hernanz-Torrijos, María J. Ortega, Bárbara Úbeda and Ana Bartual
Mar. Drugs 2023, 21(11), 571; https://doi.org/10.3390/md21110571 - 30 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1790
Abstract
Diatoms are responsible for the fixation of ca. 20% of the global CO2 and live associated with bacteria that utilize the organic substances produced by them. Current research trends in marine microbial ecology show which diatom and bacteria interact mediated through the production [...] Read more.
Diatoms are responsible for the fixation of ca. 20% of the global CO2 and live associated with bacteria that utilize the organic substances produced by them. Current research trends in marine microbial ecology show which diatom and bacteria interact mediated through the production and exchange of infochemicals. Polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUA) are organic molecules released by diatoms that are considered to have infochemical properties. In this work, we investigated the possible role of PUA as a mediator in diatom–bacteria interactions. To this end, we compare the PUA profile of a newly isolated oceanic PUA producer diatom, Cyclotella cryptica, co-cultured with and without associated bacteria at two phosphate availability conditions. We found that the PUA profile of C. cryptica cultured axenically was different than its profile when it was co-cultured with autochthonous (naturally associated) and non-autochthonous bacteria (unnaturally inoculated). We also observed that bacterial presence significantly enhanced diatom growth and that C. cryptica modulated the percentage of released PUA in response to the presence of bacteria, also depending on the consortium type. Based on our results, we propose that this diatom could use released PUA as a specific organic matter sign to attract beneficial bacteria for constructing its own phycosphere, for more beneficial growth. Full article
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20 pages, 3636 KiB  
Article
A Chemo-Ecological Investigation of Dendrilla antarctica Topsent, 1905: Identification of Deceptionin and the Effects of Heat Stress and Predation Pressure on Its Terpene Profiles
by Paula De Castro-Fernández, Carlos Angulo-Preckler, Cristina García-Aljaro, Conxita Avila and Adele Cutignano
Mar. Drugs 2023, 21(9), 499; https://doi.org/10.3390/md21090499 - 19 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1476
Abstract
Marine sponges usually host a wide array of secondary metabolites that play crucial roles in their biological interactions. The factors that influence the intraspecific variability in the metabolic profile of organisms, their production or ecological function remain generally unknown. Understanding this may help [...] Read more.
Marine sponges usually host a wide array of secondary metabolites that play crucial roles in their biological interactions. The factors that influence the intraspecific variability in the metabolic profile of organisms, their production or ecological function remain generally unknown. Understanding this may help predict changes in biological relationships due to environmental variations as a consequence of climate change. The sponge Dendrilla antarctica is common in shallow rocky bottoms of the Antarctic Peninsula and is known to produce diterpenes that are supposed to have defensive roles. Here we used GC-MS to determine the major diterpenes in two populations of D. antarctica from two islands, Livingston and Deception Island (South Shetland Islands). To assess the potential effect of heat stress, we exposed the sponge in aquaria to a control temperature (similar to local), heat stress (five degrees higher) and extreme heat stress (ten degrees higher). To test for defence induction by predation pressure, we exposed the sponges to the sea star Odontaster validus and the amphipod Cheirimedon femoratus. Seven major diterpenes were isolated and identified from the samples. While six of them were already reported in the literature, we identified one new aplysulphurane derivative that was more abundant in the samples from Deception Island, so we named it deceptionin (7). The samples were separated in the PCA space according to the island of collection, with 9,11-dihydrogracilin A (1) being more abundant in the samples from Livingston, and deceptionin (7) in the samples from Deception. We found a slight effect of heat stress on the diterpene profiles of D. antarctica, with tetrahydroaplysulphurin-1 (6) and the gracilane norditerpene 2 being more abundant in the group exposed to heat stress. Predation pressure did not seem to influence the metabolite production. Further research on the bioactivity of D. antarctica secondary metabolites, and their responses to environmental changes will help better understand the functioning and fate of the Antarctic benthos. Full article
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