Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, microbial natural products have
been exploited as an unexhausted resource for biodiscovery by the pharmaceutical
industry. Unlike primary metabolites such as amino acids, carbohydrates and fatty
acids that maintain function and utilized for the growth of an organism; secondary
metabolites are specific to its producer but not essential for survival. However, the
structural complexity of these natural products is closely linked to the ecological role of
the producing organism that supports their survival in their niche. Sessile or slowmoving
organisms thus rely more heavily on bioactive secondary metabolites, which
act as defences, antimicrobials, allelochemicals, signalling molecules, UV protectants
or feeding deterrents, thus often form symbiotic associations with microorganisms that
produce such metabolites. Technological advancements and the advent of new tools
such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) have
enhanced our understanding of the bioactivity of these natural products and aided the
discovery of numerous biologically active lead structures, drug candidates, and drugs to
treat various diseases. This chapter will thus overview the microbiological and
chemical techniques currently used to maximize the discovery of new bioactive
compounds in particular, the ones from marine actinomycetes that might be further
exploited for their potential as novel and potent drug candidates.
Keywords: Actinomycetes, Actinobacteria, Actinomycetales, Anti-Plasmodial
Activity, Ascidians, Chemical Diversity, Drug Discovery, Integrated Approaches
to Biodiscovery, Marine Natural Products, Microbial Metabolome, Natural
Products.
