An Underwater Pharmacy

June 4, 2009

Now Israeli zoologists believe they may have an answer: the common marine sponge. Scientists from the Department of Zoology at Tel Aviv University (TAU) have identified several alternative antibiotic candidates among the unique compounds that help a sponge fend off predators and infections. Now, project leader Professor Micha Ilan and his graduate students are identifying, isolating, and purifying those that could be the super-antibiotics of the future.

They have so far isolated thousands of bacteria and fungi, including a few hundred unique actinobacteria. So far, several dozen hold promise as new drugs. “Resistance to antibiotics has become an unbelievably difficult challenge for the medical community,” says Ilan. “Sponges are known for hosting an arsenal of compounds that could work to fight infections. We’re now culturing huge amounts of microorganisms, such as actinobacteria, that live in symbiosis with marine sponges.”

Marine sponges are sedentary animals whose bodies consist of an outer thin layer of cells and an inner mass of cells and skeletal elements. Glued to the seafloor, they rely on the flow of water through their bodies to collect food and to remove waste. This has led to a unique adaptive response to enemies and competition. They protect themselves by building associations and partnerships with bacteria and fungi. TAU is looking at the same chemicals that the sponge uses for defense as a means to fight infection in humans.

The problem is that these compounds are found in very small quantities. Collecting and extracting large amounts of these chemicals would mean killing huge quantities of animals. Instead, Ilan takes cultures from sea sponges with minimal damage to the natural environment. He then grows their symbionts and tests them in a “wet” laboratory. For more information: [email protected]

Excerpts of an article by www.israel21c.org

Photo Credit: Photo by Tom Oates

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