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Review
. 2022 Mar 22;20(4):219.
doi: 10.3390/md20040219.

Biomaterials and Bioactive Natural Products from Marine Invertebrates: From Basic Research to Innovative Applications

Giovanna Romano  1 , Mariana Almeida  2   3 , Ana Varela Coelho  4 , Adele Cutignano  1   5 , Luis G Gonçalves  4 , Espen Hansen  6 , Denis Khnykin  7 , Tali Mass  8 , Andreja Ramšak  9 , Miguel S Rocha  2   3 , Tiago H Silva  2   3 , Michela Sugni  10 , Loriano Ballarin  11 , Anne-Marie Genevière  12
Affiliations
Review

Biomaterials and Bioactive Natural Products from Marine Invertebrates: From Basic Research to Innovative Applications

Giovanna Romano et al. Mar Drugs. .

Abstract

Aquatic invertebrates are a major source of biomaterials and bioactive natural products that can find applications as pharmaceutics, nutraceutics, cosmetics, antibiotics, antifouling products and biomaterials. Symbiotic microorganisms are often the real producers of many secondary metabolites initially isolated from marine invertebrates; however, a certain number of them are actually synthesized by the macro-organisms. In this review, we analysed the literature of the years 2010-2019 on natural products (bioactive molecules and biomaterials) from the main phyla of marine invertebrates explored so far, including sponges, cnidarians, molluscs, echinoderms and ascidians, and present relevant examples of natural products of interest to public and private stakeholders. We also describe omics tools that have been more relevant in identifying and understanding mechanisms and processes underlying the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in marine invertebrates. Since there is increasing attention on finding new solutions for a sustainable large-scale supply of bioactive compounds, we propose that a possible improvement in the biodiscovery pipeline might also come from the study and utilization of aquatic invertebrate stem cells.

Keywords: bioactivity; marine biomaterials; marine invertebrates; marine natural products; stem cells.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The demosponge Smenospongia aurea (left) and Aplysina fistularis (right). Photo by Joseph Pawlik (https://spongeguide.uncw.edu/, accessed on 13 February 2022).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion of different bioactivity associated to sponge-derived MNP, according to data in Table S1.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Renieramycin E (1) and ecteinascidin-743 (2).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Smenamide A; (3) smenamide B (4).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Aplysinopsin.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Proportion of different bioactivity associated to cnidarian-derived MNP, according to data in Table S2.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Fuscoside E (6); 11-epi-sinulariolide acetate (7); sarcophine (8); pukalide (9); cladidiol (10).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Protoxenicin A (11); sinularone I (12).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Proportion of different bioactivity associated to mollusc-derived MNP, according to data in Table S3.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Lignarenone B (13) and dolastatin 10 (14).
Figure 11
Figure 11
The sea hare Dolabella auricularia. (Photo by Dr. Ernesto Mollo.)
Figure 12
Figure 12
The gastropod Conus textile. (Courtesy of Dr. Ernesto Mollo.)
Figure 13
Figure 13
The sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (left) and the sea star Echinaster sepositus (right) (photo by Federico Betti).
Figure 14
Figure 14
Proportion of different bioactivity associated to echinoderm-derived MNPs, according to data in Table S4.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Echinochrome A (15); spinochrome E (16).
Figure 16
Figure 16
The ascidians Ciona intestinalis (left) and Botryllus schlosseri (right).
Figure 17
Figure 17
Proportion of different bioactivity associated to tunicate-derived MNP, according to data in Table S5.
Figure 18
Figure 18
Didemnin B (17) and plitidepsin (18).
Figure 19
Figure 19
Metabolomics workflow for marine biodiscovery.
Figure 20
Figure 20
Number of papers using metabolomic approaches in marine invertebrates by year (search was performed on March 2021 in PubMed limited to original papers that mention (((metabolomic OR “metabolic profile”) AND (“marine invertebrate” OR echinoderm OR cnidarian OR mollusc OR sponge OR tunicate))) or (((metabolomic OR “metabolic profile”) AND (“NMR” OR “Nuclear Magnetic Resonance”) AND (“marine invertebrate” OR echinoderm OR cnidarian OR mollusc OR sponge OR tunicate))) or (((metabolomic OR “metabolic profile”) AND (“mass spectrometry” OR “LC-MS” OR “GC-MS” OR “MS”) AND (“marine invertebrate” OR echinoderm OR cnidarian OR mollusc OR sponge OR tunicate))) in the title, abstract or keyword).
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