Absorbed in the search; antimicrobial revelations from marine sponge ecosystems

Strains of bacteria are becoming more resistant to antibiotics; with many scientists warning our drugs could soon become ineffective against even the most basic of infections. On top of this the risk of viral epidemics has been increasing, many solutions are being explored and scientists are looking to marine fungi for potential sources of new antibiotic and antiviral drugs.

Bovio et al (2019) used PCR to identify marine fungi isolated from Atlantic sponge Grantia compressa, OSMAC revealed metabolic diversity in the isolate-Eurotium chevalieri MUT 2316, from which compounds were extracted, isolated, and characterised. Of these, Dihydroauroglaucin was shown to inhibit the replication of influenza A, with another compound-Isodihydroauroglaucin showing antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922.

This paper is a good first step into looking at alternate sources of antibiotics and antiviral drugs, showing compounds that potentially could be used in the future. However long clinical trials would still be required before any of these compounds are usable. This paper is well written however some of the graphs are convoluted and hard to follow. Future research is needed into these novel compounds and their effects on additional pathogens to the ten presented here.

Bovio, E.; Garzoli, L.; Poli, A.; Luganini, A.; Villa, P.; Musumeci, R.; McCormack, G.P.; Cocuzza, C.E.; Gribaudo, G.; Mehiri, M.; Varese, G.C. Marine Fungi from the Sponge Grantia compressa: Biodiversity, Chemodiversity, and Biotechnological Potential. Mar. Drugs 2019, 17, 220.
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/17/4/220