Antarctic sponge Suberites sp. elucidated compounds find promising biological activity in Marine Natural Products Chemistry.

Sydney Morrow

University of South Florida Chemistry Department

Marine Natural Products (MNPs) are gaining traction in the field of drug discovery for their antimicrobial properties and production of secondary metabolites that may treat infectious diseases. Many benthic fauna utilize biological and chemical defenses that have been found to have cytotoxic and anticancer abilities, indicating promising medicinal benefits. While very little is known about the Antarctic marine phyla, our research group has collected various species of sponges and coral for compound extraction. Suberites is a genus of sponges found in benthic habitats in the Southern Ocean. Using a 1H NMR-guided approach, chemical structures were fractionated from this sponge through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Five known compounds, suberitenone A-D and oxaspirosuberitenone were reported as well as five novel unreported compounds. The structures of these compounds have been elucidated using 1D/2D NMR combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS). Samples sent for testing of biological activity against infectious diseases showed promising screenings, with IC50 informative measures underway for further pharmacological research. With some of the first marine drugs hitting the market, these studies on the chemical novelty of sponges like Suberites sp. provide a plausible source for treatments in a clinical setting.