Novel Anti-Infective Compounds from Marine Bacteria

Marine Drugs

Hafizur Rahman¹  Brian Austin¹  Wilfrid J. Mitchell¹  Peter C. Morris¹  Derek J. Jamieson¹  David R. Adams²  Andrew Mearns Spragg³ 

[1] School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, Scotland, UK; E-Mails:;Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, Scotland, UK; E-Mail:;Aquapharm Biodiscovery Limited, European Centre for Marine Biotechnology, Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Oban, Argyll PA37 1QA, Scotland, UK; E-Mail:

关键词: marine bacteria;    MRSA;    VRE;    hospital superbugs;    new scaffolds;    antibiotic resistance;    nosocomial infection;   

DOI  :  10.3390/md8030498

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

As a result of the continuous evolution of microbial pathogens towards antibiotic-resistance, there have been demands for the development of new and effective antimicrobial compounds. Since the 1960s, the scientific literature has accumulated many publications about novel pharmaceutical compounds produced by a diverse range of marine bacteria. Indeed, marine micro-organisms continue to be a productive and successful focus for natural products research, with many newly isolated compounds possessing potentially valuable pharmacological activities. In this regard, the marine environment will undoubtedly prove to be an increasingly important source of novel antimicrobial metabolites, and selective or targeted approaches are already enabling the recovery of a significant number of antibiotic-producing micro-organisms. The aim of this review is to consider advances made in the discovery of new secondary metabolites derived from marine bacteria, and in particular those effective against the so called “superbugs”, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE), which are largely responsible for the increase in numbers of hospital acquired, i.e., nosocomial, infections.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2010 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland