ABSTRACT
In the late 1920s, Alexander Fleming started the antibiotic movement through the discoveryat that time just an observation-of penicillin.1 Over the course of the next 30 years, many scientists-microbiologists, chemists, and pharmacologists-worked together to survey terrestrial micro organ isms for their ability to produce antibacterial substances. Their approach was to isolate micro organ isms from the environment and then evaluate them for their ability to produce antibacterial or antifungal compounds. Results from this research form the backbone of the current clinically used antimicrobial agents. Antibiotics including the penicillins and cephalosporins; the aminoglycosides, such as streptomycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, and tobramycin; the polyketidederived tetracyclines; and the macrolides, as well as various peptide derivatives, were all discovered empirically through isolation of micro organ isms, evaluation for the ability to kill other micro organisms, and subsequent development. From the 1980s onward, the biggest problem with this approach was the continued rediscovery of known compounds. With the current technology to rapidly dereplicate samples, that is, identify known compounds, this is no longer such a big issue. One solution
CONTENTS
8.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 167 8.2 Antibacterial Compounds ..................................................................................................... 168
8.2.1 Cephalosporin ........................................................................................................... 168 8.3 Antibacterial Agents from Marine Fish ............................................................................... 170
8.3.1 Squalamine ............................................................................................................... 170 8.3.2 Antibacterial Peptides from Fish .............................................................................. 171
8.4 Antibacterial Agents from Marine Microorganisms ............................................................ 171 8.5 Antiviral Compounds from Marine Sources ........................................................................ 175
8.5.1 Vidarabine ................................................................................................................ 175 8.5.2 Other Antiviral Lead Compounds ............................................................................ 176
8.6 Antifungal Compounds ........................................................................................................ 177 8.6.1 Example of the Discovery of a Potential Drug Lead from a Marine Fungus .......... 177
8.7 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 178 Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... 179 References ...................................................................................................................................... 179
to enrich chemical novelty came to include as many unusual sources of micro organ isms as possible, including those from marine samples. This latter approach has resulted in the discovery of many active anti-infective agents.
