Six novel species of the obligate marine actinobacterium Salinispora, Salinispora cortesiana sp. nov., Salinispora fenicalii sp. nov., Salinispora goodfellowii sp. nov., Salinispora mooreana sp. nov., Salinispora oceanensis sp. nov. and Salinispora vitiensis sp. nov., and emended description of the genus Salinispora.

Ten representative actinobacterial strains isolated from marine sediments collected worldwide were studied to determine their taxonomic status. The strains were previously identified as members of the genus Salinispora and shared >99 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to the three currently recognized Salinispora species. Comparative genomic analyses resulted in the delineation of six new species based on average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values below 95 and 70 %, respectively. The species status of the six new groups was supported by a core-genome phylogeny reconstructed from 2106 orthologs detected in 118 publicly available Salinispora genomes. Chemotaxonomic and physiological studies were used to complete the phenotypic characterization of the strains. The fatty acid profiles contained the major components iso-C16 : 0, C15 : 0, iso-17 : 0 and anteiso C17 : 0. Galactose and xylose were common in all whole-sugar patterns but differences were found between the six groups of strains. Polar lipid compositions were also unique for each species. Distinguishable physiological and biochemical characteristics were also recorded. The names proposed are Salinispora cortesiana sp. nov., CNY-202T (=DSM 108615T=CECT 9739T); Salinispora fenicalii sp. nov., CNT-569T (=DSM 108614T=CECT 9740T); Salinispora goodfellowii sp. nov., CNY-666T (=DSM 108616T=CECT 9738T); Salinispora mooreana sp. nov., CNT-150T (=DSM 45549T=CECT 9741T); Salinispora oceanensis sp. nov., CNT-138T (=DSM 45547T=CECT 9742T); and Salinispora vitiensis sp. nov., CNT-148T (=DSM 45548T=CECT 9743T).

Marinocyanins, cytotoxic bromo-phenazinone meroterpenoids from a marine bacterium from the streptomycete clade MAR4.

Six cytotoxic and antimicrobial metabolites of a new bromo-phenazinone class, the marinocyanins A-F (1-6), were isolated together with the known bacterial metabolites 2-bromo-1-hydroxyphenazine (7), lavanducyanin (8, WS-9659A) and its chlorinated analog WS-9659B (9). These metabolites were purified by bioassay-guided fractionation of the extracts of our MAR4 marine actinomycete strains CNS-284 and CNY-960. The structures of the new compounds were determined by detailed spectroscopic methods and marinocyanin A (1) was confirmed by crystallographic methods. The marinocyanins represent the first bromo-phenazinones with an N-isoprenoid substituent in the skeleton. Marinocyanins A-F show strong to weak cytotoxicity against HCT-116 human colon carcinoma and possess modest antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and amphotericin-resistant Candida albicans.

Aurantoside K, a new antifungal tetramic acid glycoside from a Fijian marine sponge of the genus Melophlus.

A new tetramic acid glycoside, aurantoside K, was isolated from a marine sponge belonging to the genus Melophlus. The structure of the compound was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis (¹H NMR, ¹H-¹H COSY, HSQC, and HMBC, as well as high-resolution ESILCMS). Aurantoside K did not show any significant activity in antimalarial, antibacterial, or HCT-116 cytotoxicity assays, but exhibited a wide spectrum of antifungal activity against wild type Candida albicans, amphotericin-resistant C. albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp., Rhizopus sporangia and Sordaria sp.

Papuamides E and F, Cytotoxic Depsipeptides from the Marine Sponge Melophlus sp.

Two known papuamides C (1) and D (2) together with two new depsipeptides, papuamides E (3) and F (4), were isolated from an undescribed sponge of the genus Melophlus collected in the Solomon Islands. The planar structures of the compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies. Papuamides C-F (1-4) showed cytotoxicity against brine shrimp with LD(50) values between 92 and 106 µg/mL.

Plant-derived antimicrobials to fight against multi-drug-resistant human pathogens.

Antibiotic resistance is becoming a pivotal concern for public health that has accelerated the search for new antimicrobial molecules from nature. Numbers of human pathogens have inevitably evolved to become resistant to various currently available drugs causing considerable mortality and morbidity worldwide. It is apparent that novel antibiotics are urgently warranted to combat these life-threatening pathogens. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of studies to discover new bioactive compounds from plant origin with the hope to control antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This review attempts to focus and record the plant-derived compounds and plant extracts against multi-drug-resistant (MDR) pathogens including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), MDR-Mycobacterium tuberculosis and malarial parasites Plasmodium spp. reported between 2005 and 2015. During this period, a total of 110 purified compounds and 60 plant extracts were obtained from 112 different plants. The plants reviewed in this study belong to 70 different families reported from 36 countries around the world. The present review also discusses the drug resistance in bacteria and emphasizes the urge for new drugs.