Marine Microbiology

Though natural products drug discovery has been the basis for the development of many of todays pharmaceuticals this process faces a number of major challenges. Specifically the novelty of initial extract libraries and the ability to supply more material for further biological evaluation are both crucial elements to the success of any drug discovery program. Marine microbes represent a particularly promising biological source in this regard. It is estimated that only 1% of species in any sample are culturable using traditional fermentation techniques. In addition the microbial diversity of the worlds oceans is still largely unexplored, providing a broad platform from which to identify new bioactive natural products.

In addition to this impressive level of unexplored biodiversity, microorganisms are unique amongst the sources of natural products in that active constituents can be resupplied easily by large-scale fermentation. In this way initial lead discoveries can be developed as clinincal candidates without the requirement for the development of a total synthesis. Coupled with the moderate cost of large-scale production this makes microbial natural products particularly attractive as a source of new treatment for neglected infectious diseases such as malaria.

Our laboratory has built a large repository of marine-derived actinomycetes from around the world, and has created a natural products extract library that numbers several thousand extracts. This resource is rich in microbial and chemical novelty, and is yielding a number of new leads for drug discovery programs. Our research in this area focuses on the exploration of new environmental niches for actinomycete isolation, and integrated genomic and metabolomic strategies to predict metabolic capacity of individual organisms using a comprehensive systems-based approach.