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Metagenomic approaches to exploit the biotechnological potential of the microbial consortia of marine sponges

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Abstract

Natural products isolated from sponges are an important source of new biologically active compounds. However, the development of these compounds into drugs has been held back by the difficulties in achieving a sustainable supply of these often-complex molecules for pre-clinical and clinical development. Increasing evidence implicates microbial symbionts as the source of many of these biologically active compounds, but the vast majority of the sponge microbial community remain uncultured. Metagenomics offers a biotechnological solution to this supply problem. Metagenomes of sponge microbial communities have been shown to contain genes and gene clusters typical for the biosynthesis of biologically active natural products. Heterologous expression approaches have also led to the isolation of secondary metabolism gene clusters from uncultured microbial symbionts of marine invertebrates and from soil metagenomic libraries. Combining a metagenomic approach with heterologous expression holds much promise for the sustainable exploitation of the chemical diversity present in the sponge microbial community.

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Acknowledgements

JK is in receipt of a Marie Curie Transfer of Knowledge Host Fellowship (grant no. MTKD-CT-2006-042062). The authors acknowledge a receipt of funding from the Marine Institute in Ireland under the “Biodiscovery Programme” for work in this area.

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  1. Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Julian R. Marchesi & Alan D. W. Dobson

  2. Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Jonathan Kennedy & Alan D. W. Dobson

  3. Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Julian R. Marchesi

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  1. Jonathan Kennedy
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Correspondence to Alan D. W. Dobson.

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Kennedy, J., Marchesi, J.R. & Dobson, A.D.W. Metagenomic approaches to exploit the biotechnological potential of the microbial consortia of marine sponges. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 75, 11–20 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-007-0875-2

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