Screening for new metabolites from marine microorganisms.

This article gives an overview of current analysis techniques for the screening and the activity analysis of metabolites from marine (micro)organisms. The sequencing of marine genomes and the techniques of functional genomics (including transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome analyses) open up new possibilities for the screening of new metabolites of biotechnological interest. Although the sequencing of microbial marine genomes has been somewhat limited to date, selected genome sequences of marine bacteria and algae have already been published. This report summarizes the application of the techniques of functional genomics, such as transcriptome analysis in combination with high-resolution two-dimensional polyacrylamide gelelectrophoresis and mass spectrometry, for the screening for bioactive compounds of marine microorganisms. Furthermore, the target analysis of antimicrobial compounds by proteome or transcriptome analysis of bacterial model systems is described. Recent high-throughput screening techniques are explained. Finally, new approaches for the screening of metabolites from marine microorganisms are discussed.