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Planta Med 2016; 82(09/10): 754-760
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-106391
Perspectives
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Marine Biodiscovery Goes Deeper: Using In Vivo Bioassays Based on Model Organisms to Identify Biomedically Relevant Marine Metabolites

Korbin H. J. West
1   Chemical Biology Group, Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg
2   Department of Chemistry, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana, USA
,
Alexander D. Crawford
1   Chemical Biology Group, Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Belvaux, Luxembourg
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

received 04 December 2015
revised 31 March 2016

accepted 04 April 2016

Publication Date:
18 May 2016 (online)

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Abstract

Secondary metabolites from marine organisms are structurally diverse small molecules with high levels of bioactivity, and represent an underutilized resource for modern drug discovery. To facilitate the identification of drug-like marine metabolites, the significant potential of in vivo models of human disease – in particular those suitable for medium-throughput screening and bioassay-guided fractionation – should be explored in future marine biodiscovery efforts. Here, we explore the advantages of Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, and zebrafish bioassays for marine biodiscovery, and review recent progress in using these in vivo models to identify bioactive marine metabolites.

Key words

Caenorhabditis elegans - Drosophila melanogaster - Danio rerio - in vivo bioassay - marine biodiscovery - zebrafish - bioassay-guided fractionation
 

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