Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0204, USA.
J Chem Ecol. 2013 Jul;39(7):879-91. doi: 10.1007/s10886-013-0316-x. Epub 2013 Jul 14.
Marine bacteria are known to produce a wide variety of structurally diverse and biologically active secondary metabolites. Considerably less is known about the ecological functions of these compounds, in part due to methodological challenges associated with this field of research. Here, we review the antagonistic activities mediated by marine bacteria with a focus on activities linked to structurally defined secondary metabolites. Bacterial antagonism has been documented against other marine bacteria as well as eukaryotes, and includes antibiosis, the inhibition of quorum sensing, larval settlement deterrence, and defense against predation. These compounds likely play important ecological roles that ultimately affect ecosystem structure and function, however, much remains to be learned before these roles can be fully appreciated. Recent technological advances coupled with a better understanding of the diverse processes mediated by secondary metabolites provide new opportunities to expand our understanding of the chemical ecology of bacterial antagonism in the marine environment.
海洋细菌被广泛认为能够产生多种结构多样、具有生物活性的次生代谢产物。然而，人们对这些化合物的生态功能知之甚少，部分原因是由于该研究领域存在方法学挑战。在这里，我们回顾了海洋细菌介导的拮抗活性，重点关注与结构定义的次生代谢产物相关的活性。已经记录了细菌对其他海洋细菌和真核生物的拮抗作用，包括抗生性、群体感应抑制、幼虫定殖抑制和防御捕食。这些化合物可能在最终影响生态系统结构和功能方面发挥着重要的生态作用，但是，在充分了解这些作用之前，还有很多工作要做。最近的技术进步以及对次生代谢产物介导的多种过程的更好理解，为扩展我们对海洋环境中细菌拮抗作用的化学生态学的理解提供了新的机会。
