Novel anti-infective agents from marine bacteria and genes for production thereof

Infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria and fungi represent a serious challenge for current pharmacology, as they still account for millions of premature deaths all over the world. Rapid development of antibiotic resistance by many pathogens, al ong with the toxicity of some of the currently used antibiotics prompt the constant search for and development of novel anti-infective agents. Traditionally, antibiotic-producing organisms were isolated from the terrestrial sources, and only in the recent years the potential of marine microorganisms in this respect became apparent. During the last decade many microorganisms producing novel antib iotics with unusual structures and properties have been isolated from the sea. Norwegian marine environment is largely unexplored, and might provide a rich source of the microorganisms producing novel and efficient anti-infective compounds. In the current proposal it is suggested to harvested samples from the estuaries, sediments, marine plants and animals in the Trondheim fjørd, and to isolate bacteria associated with these samples. The collection of such bacteria will be screened for the ability to prod uce anti-infective compounds, and most interesting substances will be further characterised. The molecular cloning will be applied to isolate the genes governing biosynthesis of these compounds, so that these genes can be manipulated