Sponges (phylum Porifera) are known to be very rich sources for bioactive compounds, mainly secondary metabolites. Main efforts are devoted to cell- and mariculture of sponges to assure a sustainable exploitation of bioactive compounds from biological starting material. These activities are flanked by improved technologies to cultivate bacteria and fungi which are associated with the sponges. It is the hope that by elucidating the strategies of interaction between microorganisms and their host (sponge), by modern cell and molecular biological methods, a more comprehensive cultivation of the symbiotic organisms will be possible. The next step in the transfer of knowledge to biotechnological applications is the isolation, characterization and structural determination of the bioactive compounds by sophisticated chemical approaches.

Inhalt

Analysis of the Sponge (Porifera) Gene Repertoire: Implications for the Evolution of the Metazoan Body Plan.- Sponge-Associated Bacteria: General Overview and Special Aspects of Bacteria Associated with Halichondria panicea.- Microbial Diversity of Marine Sponges.- Full Absolute Stereostructures of Natural Products Directly from Crude Extracts: the HPLC-MS/MS-NMR-CH 'Triad'.- Bioactive Natural Products from Marine Invertebrates and Associated Fungi.- Sustainable Use of Marine Resources: Cultivation of Sponges.- Sustainable Production of Bioactive Compounds from Sponges: Primmorphs as Bioreactors.-Approaches for a Sustainable Use of the Bioactive Potential in Sponges: Analysis of Gene Clusters, Differential Display of mRNA and DNA Chips.- Sorbicillactone A: a Structurally Unprecedented Bioactive Novel-Type Alkaloid from a Sponge-Derived Fungus.-