Marine pharmacology in 2009-2011: marine compounds with antibacterial, antidiabetic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiprotozoal, antituberculosis, and antiviral activities; affecting the immune and nervous systems, and other miscellaneous mechanisms of action.

The peer-reviewed marine pharmacology literature from 2009 to 2011 is presented in this review, following the format used in the 1998–2008 reviews of this series. The pharmacology of structurally-characterized compounds isolated from marine animals, algae, fungi and bacteria is discussed in a comprehensive manner. Antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, antituberculosis, and antiviral pharmacological activities were reported for 102 marine natural products. Additionally, 60 marine compounds were observed to affect the immune and nervous system as well as possess antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory effects. Finally, 68 marine metabolites were shown to interact with a variety of receptors and molecular targets, and thus will probably contribute to multiple pharmacological classes upon further mechanism of action studies. Marine pharmacology during 2009–2011 remained a global enterprise, with researchers from 35 countries, and the United States, contributing to the preclinical pharmacology of 262 marine compounds which are part of the preclinical pharmaceutical pipeline. Continued pharmacological research with marine natural products will contribute to enhance the marine pharmaceutical clinical pipeline, which in 2013 consisted of 17 marine natural products, analogs or derivatives targeting a limited number of disease categories

The sponge microbiome within the greater coral reef microbial metacommunity

Much recent marine microbial research has focused on sponges, but very little is known about how the sponge microbiome fits in the greater coral reef microbial metacommunity. Here, we present an extensive survey of the prokaryote communities of a wide range of biotopes from Indo-Pacific coral reef environments. We find a large variation in operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness, with algae, chitons, stony corals and sea cucumbers housing the most diverse prokaryote communities. These biotopes share a higher percentage and number of OTUs with sediment and are particularly enriched in members of the phylum Planctomycetes. Despite having lower OTU richness, sponges share the greatest percentage (>90%) of OTUs with >100 sequences with the environment (sediment and/or seawater) although there is considerable variation among sponge species. Our results, furthermore, highlight that prokaryote microorganisms are shared among multiple coral reef biotopes, and that, although compositionally distinct, the sponge prokaryote community does not appear to be as sponge-specific as previously thought.publishe

Role of protein in larval swimming and metamorphosis of Bugula neritina (Bryozoa: Cheilostomatida)

Larvae of the marine cheilostomatid bryozoan Bugula neritina (L.) were prevented from settling for 1, 4 and 8 h by mechanical agitation, following which settlement and metamorphosis success were examined. Settlement rates were significantly affected by swimming time, which decreased from 100% after 2 h to 93.7 ± 4.3% after 8 h. Similarly, metamorphosis to the feeding ancestrula was significantly impaired following a swimming time of 8 h, declining from 93.7 ± 4.3% after 1 h to 65.9 ± 7.0% after 8 h. The resultant colonies grew well for the first 3 wk, following which time, growth patterns became erratic. Growth rate was in all cases highly variable, and did not correlate with enforced swimming times. Larval protein composition was examined after 1, 4 and 8 h swimming time, and post-larval composition 1, 2, 5, 24 and 48 h after settlement using sodium-dodecyl-sulphate polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Individual protein content was measured using a densitometer. Larvae did not consume protein during swimming, however a protein measuring 170 kdaltons was consumed during metamorphosis. These results are discussed in the context of larval settlement and energetics

Localisation of biogenic amines in larvae of Bugula neritina (Bryozoa: Cheilostomatida) and their effects on settlement

Distributions of serotonin and catecholamines in larvae of the marine bryozoan Bugula neritina (Bryozoa: Cheilostomatida) were investigated using immunohistochemistry with anti-serotonin antiserum and glyoxylic acid–induced fluorescence histochemistry. Anti-serotonin immunoreactive substances and glyoxylic acid–induced fluorescent substances had similar distributions in the equatorial neuromuscular ring, the neural plexus, the paired axial neuromuscular cords, and tracts connecting the neural plexus to ciliated cells bordering the pyriform organ. The effects of dopamine, noradrenaline, adrenaline, tyramine, octopamine, synephrine and serotonin, at 10−4, 10−5 and 10−6  M, on settlement were analysed. In filtered seawater, 98% of larvae settled in 3 h, but only 11%, 3% and 6% total settlement was observed after 8 h in 10−4  M dopamine, 10−4  M serotonin and 10−5  M serotonin, respectively. Total settlement was 70% in 10−4  M noradrenaline, 80% in 10−4  M adrenaline and 60% in 10−4  M tyramine. Less than 60% settlement was observed in 10−4 and 10−5  M octopamine and synephrine. Serotonin's inhibitory effect on settlement was mimicked by a range of serotonin receptor agonists and antagonists, among which 5-carboxamidotryptamine was the most potent