Discovery of Novel Marine Natural Products from Bacterial Symbionts in Sponges Collected off the West Coast of Africa

01/06/2022 to 31/08/2024

In this study we wish to address whether new MNPs with antimicrobial activity can be discovered from central African sponges and from the cultivatable bacteria associated with those sponges. Marine sponges are a well-proven resource for novel NPs provided new species are investigated and novel methods to identify and isolate these molecules are invented [14, 16]. The main aim of this project will be to discover new MNPs with antimicrobial activity off the west coast of Africa using a rational-based approach. This will involve collection of marine sponges, direct extraction, isolation of the associated bacteria and then in vitro screening to determine their antimicrobial activities. The generated extracts will then be submitted to bioactivity-guided fractionation to obtain active fractions which will be purified to yield novel lead compounds that can be further developed as potential drug candidates.