University of Stirling, Institute of Aquaculture, School of Natural Sciences, Marine Biotechnology Group , Stirlingshire, FK9 4LA , UK +44 01786 467894 ; +44 01786 472133 ;
Expert Opin Drug Discov. 2014 Sep;9(9):985-90. doi: 10.1517/17460441.2014.927863. Epub 2014 Jun 7.
Drug discovery from marine organisms has been underway for > 60 years and there have been notable successes in discovering, developing and introducing clinical agents derived from marine sources. Such examples include: the analgesic ziconotide and the anti cancer compound trabectedin. However, in light of the pressing need for new drugs, particularly those with anti-infective and anticancer properties, there is strong justification for increased exploration of marine organisms as sources of novel compounds. This article considers approaches that might enhance our chances of delivering new medicines from marine-based drug discovery efforts. Consideration is given to the organisms and habitats deserving of more attention and how we might make best use of these marine genetic resources. In particular, the opportunities offered by synthetic biology are highlighted because these methods allow drug discoverers to explore pathways in 'non-culturable' species and turn on natural product biosynthesis genes that are difficult to activate under laboratory conditions (so-called 'silent' gene clusters).
海洋生物的药物研发已经进行了超过 60 年，从海洋资源中发现、开发和引入临床药物方面取得了显著的成功。例如：镇痛药齐考诺肽和抗癌化合物曲贝替定。然而，鉴于对新药的迫切需求，特别是具有抗感染和抗癌特性的药物，有充分的理由增加对海洋生物作为新型化合物来源的探索。本文考虑了一些方法，可以提高我们从海洋为基础的药物发现工作中提供新药的机会。本文考虑了值得更多关注的生物体和栖息地，以及我们如何最好地利用这些海洋遗传资源。特别是，突出了合成生物学提供的机会，因为这些方法使药物发现者能够探索“不可培养”物种中的途径，并激活在实验室条件下难以激活的天然产物生物合成基因（所谓的“沉默”基因簇）。
