@article{BurgsdorfSlabyHandleyetal.2015, author = {Burgsdorf, Ilia and Slaby, Beate M. and Handley, Kim M. and Haber, Markus and Blom, Jochen and Marshall, Christopher W. and Gilbert, Jack A. and Hentschel, Ute and Steindler, Laura}, title = {Lifestyle Evolution in Cyanobacterial Symbionts of Sponges}, series = {mBio}, volume = {6}, journal = {mBio}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1128/mBio.00391-15}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-143117}, pages = {e00391-15}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The "Candidatus Synechococcus spongiarum" group includes different clades of cyanobacteria with high 16S rRNA sequence identity (~99\%) and is the most abundant and widespread cyanobacterial symbiont of marine sponges. The first draft genome of a "Ca. Synechococcus spongiarum" group member was recently published, providing evidence of genome reduction by loss of genes involved in several nonessential functions. However, "Ca. Synechococcus spongiarum" includes a variety of clades that may differ widely in genomic repertoire and consequently in physiology and symbiotic function. Here, we present three additional draft genomes of "Ca. Synechococcus spongiarum," each from a different clade. By comparing all four symbiont genomes to those of free-living cyanobacteria, we revealed general adaptations to life inside sponges and specific adaptations of each phylotype. Symbiont genomes shared about half of their total number of coding genes. Common traits of "Ca. Synechococcus spongiarum" members were a high abundance of DNA modification and recombination genes and a reduction in genes involved in inorganic ion transport and metabolism, cell wall biogenesis, and signal transduction mechanisms. Moreover, these symbionts were characterized by a reduced number of antioxidant enzymes and low-weight peptides of photosystem II compared to their free-living relatives. Variability within the "Ca. Synechococcus spongiarum" group was mostly related to immune system features, potential for siderophore-mediated iron transport, and dependency on methionine from external sources. The common absence of genes involved in synthesis of residues, typical of the O antigen of free-living Synechococcus species, suggests a novel mechanism utilized by these symbionts to avoid sponge predation and phage attack. IMPORTANCE While the Synechococcus/Prochlorococcus-type cyanobacteria are widely distributed in the world's oceans, a subgroup has established its niche within marine sponge tissues. Recently, the first genome of sponge-associated cyanobacteria, " Candidatus Synechococcus spongiarum," was described. The sequencing of three representatives of different clades within this cyanobacterial group has enabled us to investigate intraspecies diversity, as well as to give a more comprehensive understanding of the common symbiotic features that adapt "Ca. Synechococcus spongiarum" to its life within the sponge host.}, language = {en} } @article{ChengMacIntyreRamadanAbdelmohsenetal.2015, author = {Cheng, Cheng and MacIntyre, Lynsey and Ramadan Abdelmohsen, Usama and Horn, Hannes and Polymenakou, Paraskevi N. and Edrada-Ebel, RuAngelie and Hentschel, Ute}, title = {Biodiversity, Anti-Trypanosomal Activity Screening, and Metabolomic Profiling of Actinomycetes Isolated from Mediterranean Sponges}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {10}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {9}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0138528}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125138}, pages = {e0138528}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Marine sponge-associated actinomycetes are considered as promising sources for the discovery of novel biologically active compounds. In the present study, a total of 64 actinomycetes were isolated from 12 different marine sponge species that had been collected offshore the islands of Milos and Crete, Greece, eastern Mediterranean. The isolates were affiliated to 23 genera representing 8 different suborders based on nearly full length 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Four putatively novel species belonging to genera Geodermatophilus, Microlunatus, Rhodococcus and Actinomycetospora were identified based on a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of < 98.5\% to currently described strains. Eight actinomycete isolates showed bioactivities against Trypanosma brucei brucei TC221 with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values <20 μg/mL. Thirty four isolates from the Milos collection and 12 isolates from the Crete collection were subjected to metabolomic analysis using high resolution LC-MS and NMR for dereplication purposes. Two isolates belonging to the genera Streptomyces (SBT348) and Micromonospora (SBT687) were prioritized based on their distinct chemistry profiles as well as their anti-trypanosomal activities. These findings demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of utilizing metabolomics tools to prioritize chemically unique strains from microorganism collections and further highlight sponges as rich source for novel and bioactive actinomycetes.}, language = {en} } @article{HornHentschelRamadanAbdelmohsen2015, author = {Horn, Hannes and Hentschel, Ute and Ramadan Abdelmohsen, Usama}, title = {Mining Genomes of Three Marine Sponge-Associated Actinobacterial Isolates for Secondary Metabolism}, series = {Genome Announcements}, volume = {3}, journal = {Genome Announcements}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1128/genomeA.01106-15}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-124887}, pages = {e01106-15}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Here, we report the draft genome sequences of three actinobacterial isolates, Micromonospora sp. RV43, Rubrobacter sp. RV113, and Nocardiopsis sp. RV163 that had previously been isolated from Mediterranean sponges. The draft genomes were analyzed for the presence of gene clusters indicative of secondary metabolism using antiSMASH 3.0 and NapDos pipelines. Our findings demonstrated the chemical richness of sponge-associated actinomycetes and the efficacy of genome mining in exploring the genomic potential of sponge-derived actinomycetes.}, language = {en} } @article{AbdelmohsenChengViegelmannetal.2014, author = {Abdelmohsen, Usama Ramadan and Cheng, Cheng and Viegelmann, Christina and Zhang, Tong and Grkovic, Tanja and Ahmed, Safwat and Quinn, Ronald J. and Hentschel, Ute and Edrada-Ebel, RuAngelie}, title = {Dereplication Strategies for Targeted Isolation of New Antitrypanosomal Actinosporins A and B from a Marine Sponge Associated-Actinokineospora sp EG49}, series = {Marine Drugs}, volume = {12}, journal = {Marine Drugs}, number = {3}, issn = {1660-3397}, doi = {10.3390/md12031220}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119876}, pages = {1220-44}, year = {2014}, abstract = {High resolution Fourier transform mass spectrometry (HRFTMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were employed as complementary metabolomic tools to dereplicate the chemical profile of the new and antitrypanosomally active sponge-associated bacterium Actinokineospora sp. EG49 extract. Principal Component (PCA), hierarchical clustering (HCA), and orthogonal partial least square-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used to evaluate the HRFTMS and NMR data of crude extracts from four different fermentation approaches. Statistical analysis identified the best culture one-strain-many-compounds (OSMAC) condition and extraction procedure, which was used for the isolation of novel bioactive metabolites. As a result, two new O-glycosylated angucyclines, named actinosporins A (1) and B (2), were isolated from the broth culture of Actinokineospora sp. strain EG49, which was cultivated from the Red Sea sponge Spheciospongia vagabunda. The structures of actinosporins A and B were determined by 1D- and 2D-NMR techniques, as well as high resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Testing for antiparasitic properties showed that actinosporin A exhibited activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei with an IC₅₀ value of 15 µM; however no activity was detected against Leishmania major and Plasmodium falciparum, therefore suggesting its selectivity against the parasite Trypanosoma brucei brucei; the causative agent of sleeping sickness.}, language = {en} } @article{OliAbdelmohsenHentscheletal.2014, author = {Oli, Swarna and Abdelmohsen, Usama Ramadan and Hentschel, Ute and Schirmeister, Tanja}, title = {Identification of Plakortide E from the Caribbean Sponge Plakortis halichondroides as a Trypanocidal Protease Inhibitor using Bioactivity-Guided Fractionation}, series = {MARINE DRUGS}, volume = {12}, journal = {MARINE DRUGS}, number = {5}, issn = {1660-3397}, doi = {10.3390/md12052614}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-116536}, pages = {2614-2622}, year = {2014}, abstract = {In this paper, we report new protease inhibitory activity of plakortide E towards cathepsins and cathepsin-like parasitic proteases. We further report on its anti-parasitic activity against Trypanosoma brucei with an IC50 value of 5 mu M and without cytotoxic effects against J774.1 macrophages at 100 mu M concentration. Plakortide E was isolated from the sponge Plakortis halichondroides using enzyme assay-guided fractionation and identified by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Furthermore, enzyme kinetic studies confirmed plakortide E as a non-competitive, slowly-binding, reversible inhibitor of rhodesain.}, language = {en} } @article{DashtiGrkovicAbdelmohsenetal.2014, author = {Dashti, Yousef and Grkovic, Tanja and Abdelmohsen, Usama Ramadan and Hentschel, Ute and Quinn, Ronald J.}, title = {Production of Induced Secondary Metabolites by a Co-Culture of Sponge-Associated Actinomycetes, Actinokineospora sp EG49 and Nocardiopsis sp RV163}, series = {MARINE DRUGS}, volume = {12}, journal = {MARINE DRUGS}, number = {5}, issn = {1660-3397}, doi = {10.3390/md12053046}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-116547}, pages = {3046-3059}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Two sponge-derived actinomycetes, Actinokineospora sp. EG49 and Nocardiopsis sp. RV163, were grown in co-culture and the presence of induced metabolites monitored by H-1 NMR. Ten known compounds, including angucycline, diketopiperazine and beta-carboline derivatives 1-10, were isolated from the EtOAc extracts of Actinokineospora sp. EG49 and Nocardiopsis sp. RV163. Co-cultivation of Actinokineospora sp. EG49 and Nocardiopsis sp. RV163 induced the biosynthesis of three natural products that were not detected in the single culture of either microorganism, namely N-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-acetamide (11), 1,6-dihydroxyphenazine (12) and 5a, 6,11a, 12-tetrahydro-5a, 11a-dimethyl[1,4]benzoxazino[3,2-b][1,4]benzoxazine (13a). When tested for biological activity against a range of bacteria and parasites, only the phenazine 12 was active against Bacillus sp. P25, Trypanosoma brucei and interestingly, against Actinokineospora sp. EG49. These findings highlight the co-cultivation approach as an effective strategy to access the bioactive secondary metabolites hidden in the genomes of marine actinomycetes.}, language = {en} } @article{AbdelmohsenYangHornetal.2014, author = {Abdelmohsen, Usama Ramadan and Yang, Chen and Horn, Hannes and Hajjar, Dina and Ravasi, Timothy and Hentschel, Ute}, title = {Actinomycetes from Red Sea Sponges: Sources for Chemical and Phylogenetic Diversity}, doi = {10.3390/md12052771}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-112882}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The diversity of actinomycetes associated with marine sponges collected off Fsar Reef (Saudi Arabia) was investigated in the present study. Forty-seven actinomycetes were cultivated and phylogenetically identified based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and were assigned to 10 different actinomycete genera. Eight putatively novel species belonging to genera Kocuria, Mycobacterium, Nocardia, and Rhodococcus were identified based on sequence similarity values below 98.2\% to other 16S rRNA gene sequences available in the NCBI database. PCR-based screening for biosynthetic genes including type I and type II polyketide synthases (PKS-I, PKS-II) as well as nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) showed that 20 actinomycete isolates encoded each at least one type of biosynthetic gene. The organic extracts of nine isolates displayed bioactivity against at least one of the test pathogens, which were Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, human parasites, as well as in a West Nile Virus protease enzymatic assay. These results emphasize that marine sponges are a prolific resource for novel bioactive actinomycetes with potential for drug discovery.}, subject = {Meeresschw{\"a}mme}, language = {en} } @article{ShadyElHossaryFouadetal.2017, author = {Shady, Nourhan Hisham and El-Hossary, Ebaa M. and Fouad, Mostafa A. and Gulder, Tobias A. M. and Kamel, Mohamed Salah and Abdelmohsen, Usama Ramadan}, title = {Bioactive natural products of marine sponges from the Genus Hyrtios}, series = {Molecules}, volume = {22}, journal = {Molecules}, number = {5}, doi = {10.3390/molecules22050781}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-158227}, pages = {781}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Marine sponges are known as a rich source for novel bioactive compounds with valuable pharmacological potential. One of the most predominant sponge genera is Hyrtios, reported to have various species such as Hyrtios erectus, Hyrtios reticulatus, Hyrtios gumminae, Hyrtios communis, and Hyrtios tubulatus and a number of undescribed species. Members of the genus Hyrtios are a rich source of natural products with diverse and valuable biological activities, represented by different chemical classes including alkaloids, sesterterpenes and sesquiterpenes. This review covers the literature until June 2016, providing a complete survey of all compounds isolated from the genus Hyrtios with their corresponding biological activities whenever applicable.}, language = {en} }