This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: New medicines, crop protection products and treatments for fish diseases could have their origins on the seabed. That is where project coordinator Gilles van Wezel and project manager Mariana Avalos Garcia, both biologists in Leiden, together with their colleagues, searched for microorganisms that produce useful compounds.
Their search took them to sponges, algae, fish and salt-tolerant plants. "Marine ecosystems are particularly promising," says Avalos Garcia. "The organisms there have developed unique ways of surviving intense competition, disease pressure and environmental stress.
In doing so, they often produce new compounds to protect themselves, and these can be very different from those found on land." But how do you identify the truly interesting compounds among so many microorganisms? According to Avalos Garcia, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. To tackle this challenge, the team developed an analytical tool to identify promising molecules from thousands of samples.
The researchers analyzed more than 1,200 microbial strains, produced over 8,000 extracts and subjected them to more than 160,000 biological tests. This led them to several compounds and groups of microorganisms that can suppress disease-causing organisms. Five of the most promising compounds have now moved on to the next stage of development.
The researchers are investigating whether these substances can be produced sustainably on a larger scale. As part of this work, they are confirming the compounds' chemical structures and activity, while also improving the fermentation process used to produce them. During fermentation, researchers grow microorganisms under controlled conditions so that they produce the desired compounds.
Sustainability was a key principle of the project from the outset. By growing microorganisms in the laboratory and producing the desired compounds through fermentation, the researchers hope to avoid repeatedly collecting sponges and other marine organisms from the sea. This makes large-scale research possible without placing additional pressure on vulnerable ecosystems.
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