Ocean Creatures May Hold Key for New Infectious Disease Drugs

Ocean animal species have existed in harmony with their bacteria for millions of years, these benign bacteria have devised molecules that can affect body function without side effects and therefore better fight disease. Oregon Health & Science University (Oregon, USA) researchers, in collaboration with scientists from several other institutions, have established a research partnership called the Philippine Mollusk Symbiont International Cooperative Biodiversity Group was formed. As the name suggests, the group specifically focuses on mollusks, a large phylum of invertebrate animals, many of which live under the sea. Margo Haygood and colleagues have investigated a unique ocean-dwelling animal, known as the shipworm – which is a mollusk that uses its shell as a drill and feeds on wood by burrowing into the wood fibers.  The researchers initially focused on shipworms because the animals’ creative use of bacteria to convert wood — a poor food source lacking proteins or nitrogen — into a suitable food source where the animal can both live and feed. This research revealed that one form of bacteria utilized by shipworms secretes a powerful antibiotic, which may hold promise for combatting human diseases. Observing the organisms against which antibiotics were designed to protect us have adapted to widespread use, the researchers are hopeful that a new class of antibiotics may be developed that is not compromised by resistance, in an effort to address this otherwise serious threat to human health.