A closely related group of alphaproteobacteria were found to be present in seven genera of marine sponges from several locations and were shown to be transferred between sponge generations through the larvae in one of these sponges. Isolates of the alphaproteobacterium were cultured from the sponges Axinella corrugata, Mycale laxissima, Monanchora unguifera, and Niphates digitalis from Key Largo, Florida; Didiscus oxeata and Monanchora unguifera from Discovery Bay, Jamaica; an Acanthostronglyophora sp. from Manado, Indonesia; and Microciona prolifera from the Cheasapeake Bay in Maryland. Isolates were very similar to each other on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence (>99% identity) and are closely related to Pseudovibrio denitrificans. The bacterium was never isolated from surrounding water samples and was cultured from larvae of M. laxissima, indicating that it is a vertically transmitted symbiont in this sponge. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis, and fluorescent in situ hybridization with probes specific to the alphaproteobacterium confirmed the presence of this bacterium in the M. laxissima larvae. The alphaproteobacterium was densely associated with the larvae rather than being evenly distributed throughout the mesohyl. This is the first report of the successful culture of a bacterial symbiont of a sponge that is transferred through the gametes.

Two novel alkaloids, named manadomanzamines A (1) and B (2), were isolated from an Indonesian sponge Acanthostrongylophora sp. (Haplosclerida: Petrosiidae). Their structures were elucidated and shown to be a novel organic skeleton related to the manzamine type alkaloids. Their absolute configuration and conformation were determined by CD, NOESY, and molecular modeling analysis. The microbial community analysis for the sponge that produces these unprecedented alkaloids has also been completed. Manadomanzamines A (1) and B (2) exhibited strong activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) with MIC values of 1.9 and 1.5 µg/mL, respectively. Manadomanzamines A and B also exhibit activities against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) and AIDS opportunistic fungal infections.

The cone snail Conus pulicarius from the Philippines provides a specific habitat for actinomycetes and other bacteria. A phenotypic screen using primary cultures of mouse dorsal root ganglion neurons revealed that one C. pulicarius associate, Streptomyces sp. CP32, produces a series of natural products that enhance or diminish whole-cell Ca 2+ flux. These compounds include known thiazoline compounds and a series of new derivatives, pulicatins A-E (6-10). Individual compounds were shown to bind to a series of human receptors, with selective binding to the human serotonin 5-HT 2B receptor. Here, we report the structure elucidation of the new compounds and results of the neurological assays.Symbiotic bacteria living with animals have been implicated in the synthesis of defensive and other natural products of importance to drug discovery.1 -5 In the marine environment, most studies of symbiont-derived natural products have focused on soft-bodied, benthic invertebrates that are otherwise vulnerable to predation. By contrast, cone snail mollusks are well defended by their shells and their arsenal of extremely diverse, snail-derived peptide toxins that act on channels and receptors.6 We sought to investigate whether this type of well-defended organism would also house symbiotic bacteria involved in the synthesis of allelochemicals, potentially including venom components, antibacterial defenses, and other small-molecule natural products. In addition to investigating this basic question, we reasoned that exploration of an untapped bacterial niche could lead to the discovery of new bioactive natural products.We recently reported that at least some cone snails are associated with diverse actinomycetes and other bacteria, and that extracts of some of these bacteria exhibit neurological activity.7 In order to maximize the discovery of new active bacterial metabolites from these new niches, we applied a broad-scope assay involving primary * Corresponding author. Mailing address: College of Pharmacy, Medicinal Chemistry, 307 Skaggs Hall, 30 S. 2000 E., Rm. 201, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-5820. Tel: (801) 585-9119. ews1@utah.edu. Supporting Information Available: NMR data for pulicatins A-E (6-10), DRG assay results, application of LIS, 1 H NMR of MTPA esters for compounds 1, 6 and 7, HRESIMS data of compounds 1 and 6-10. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org. NIH Public Access Results and DiscussionExtracts of pilot-scale cultures of strain CP32 were strongly active in the DRG assay, resulting in K + -stimulated Ca 2+ influx. CP32 was fermented in 2.8 L Fernbach flasks for eight days. In an assay-guided procedure, the culture broth was centrifuged and subjected to HP20 adsorption chromatography, followed by C 18 flash chromatography and HPLC to yield compounds 1-10.A known compound, aerugine (1) was isolated as a pale yellow solid.10 , 11 The NMR and low resolution MS data also exactly matched a siderophore compound (1a) isolated from a bacterium associated with a marin...

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Summary In the oceans, toxic secondary metabolites often protect otherwise poorly defended, soft-bodied invertebrates such as shell-less mollusks from predation. The origins of these metabolites are largely unknown, but many of them are thought to be made by symbiotic bacteria. In contrast, mollusks with thick shells and toxic venoms are thought to lack these secondary metabolites due to reduced defensive needs. Here, we show that heavily defended cone snails also occasionally contain abundant secondary metabolites, γ-pyrones known as nocapyrones, and that these pyrones are synthesized by symbiotic bacteria. This study shows that symbiotic bacteria can produce metabolites isolated from gastropod mollusks. The symbiotic bacteria, Nocardiopsis alba CR167, are closely related to potentially widespread actinomycetes that we propose to be casual symbionts of invertebrates on land and in the sea. The natural roles of nocapyrones are not known, but they are active in neurological assays at low micromolar levels, revealing that mollusks with external shells are an overlooked source of secondary metabolite diversity.

Actinomycetes can be symbionts in diverse organisms, including both plants and animals. Some actinomycetes benefit their host by producing small molecule secondary metabolites; the resulting symbioses are often developmentally complex. Actinomycetes associated with three cone snails were studied. Cone snails are venomous tropical marine gastropods which have been extensively examined because of their production of peptide-based neurological toxins, but no microbiological studies have been reported on these organisms. A microhabitat approach was used in which dissected tissue from each snail was treated as an individual sample in order to explore bacteria in the tissues separately. Our results revealed a diverse, novel, and highly culturable cone snail-associated actinomycete community, with some isolates showing promising bioactivity in a neurological assay. This suggests that cone snails may represent an underexplored reservoir of novel actinomycetes of potential interest for drug discovery.

Sponges have generated significant interest as a source of bioactive and elaborate secondary metabolites that hold promise for the development of novel therapeutics for the control of an array of human diseases. However, research and development of marine natural products can often be hampered by the difficulty associated with obtaining a stable and sustainable production source. Herein we report the first successful characterization and utilization of the microbiome of a marine invertebrate to identify a sustainable production source for an important natural product scaffold. Through molecular-microbial community analysis, optimization of fermentation conditions and MALDI-MS imaging, we provide the first report of a sponge-associated bacterium (Micromonospora sp.) that produces the manzamine class of antimalarials from the Indo-Pacific sponge Acanthostrongylophora ingens (Thiele, 1899) (Class Demospongiae, Order Haplosclerida, Family Petrosiidae). These findings suggest that a general strategy of analysis of the macroorganism’s microbiome could significantly transform the field of natural products drug discovery by gaining access to not only novel drug leads, but the potential for sustainable production sources and biosynthetic genes at the same time.

Strains designated R22 and R25, isolated from Salí River sediments, Argentina, were highly resistant to chromium. These strains were shown by 16S rRNA sequencing studies to be Streptomyces spp.; this affiliation was consistent with morphological and chemical characteristics. Growth of strains R22 and R25 in medium containing 100 mg l(-1) chromate was reduced by only 23% and 34%, respectively, compared with growth in medium without added chromium. Streptomyces sp. strains R22 and R25 both accumulated chromium with yields of 10.0 and 5.6 mg Cr g(-1) of dry weight, respectively, and a chromate concentration of 50 mg ml(-1). Cell fractionation studies with strain R22 showed that the great majority of the chromium were associated with the cell wall fraction. Streptomyces strains R22 and R25 may have applications in bioremediation of chromium contamination.