Deep-Sea Marine Sponges May Hold Key to Antibiotic Drug Resistance



Drug resistance to antibiotics is on the rise and there is an urgent need to develop new drugs to treat infectious diseases that are a major threat to human health globally. Drug resistance is the reduction in effectiveness of a medication such as an antimicrobial or an antineoplastic in curing a disease or condition. The term is used in the context of resistance that pathogens or cancers have "acquired", that is, resistance has evolved.  Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute may have a solution to this problem using sea sponges collected from the ocean depths.

For more than 30 years, FAU Harbor Branch scientists have accumulated sea sponges and other macro-organisms from the east coast of the United States, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean as well as European and African deep waters using manned submersibles and other methods. He collection contains more than 1,000 strains of actinobacteria, one of the most prolific microbial groups for the production of natural products. Actinomycetes produce more than half of the currently used antibiotic drugs.


In a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, FAU Harbor Branch scientists examined 50 actinobacteria strains from these marine samples to look for new anti-infective agents. All of these strains were cultivated from marine sponges. Researchers screened the samples' metabolites against a panel of bacterial pathogens that are common causes of healthcare-associated infections and are listed among the most severe threats to human health.

Results from the study reveal that more than half of the strains showed anti-microbial activity in at least one assay, indicating the potential of this group of actinobacteria for the production of antimicrobial natural products. They have found that deep-sea microorganisms, especially actinomycetes, are an attractive, untapped source for the discovery of anti-infective agents.

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