Actinomycetes from Brazilian islands: a metabolomic approach in bioprospecting natural products with antitumor potential

Abstract

Despite its importance, research in Brazil involving bioprospecting of new molecules from microbial sources is still incipient. Secondary metabolites obtained specifically from bacteria represent the smallest portion, comprising only 9% of all substances isolated from microorganisms in Brazil. This fact is at odds with the potential of bacteria to provide bioactive compounds, as more than 50% of the microbial antibiotics discovered to date come from bacteria, mainly actinomycetes. Therefore, the present project aims to explore the chemical-pharmacological potential of bacteria isolated from ascidians, corals and marine sediments of Brazilian ecosystems, using a metabolomic approach. We will select 50 strains of the actinomycete bank belonging to the laboratory coordinated by Profa. Dra. Letícia Veras Costa Lotufo, located at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences - USP, which will be fermented on a small scale for metabolomic study using the Molecular Networking technique and screening through cytotoxicity assays. The most promising strains will be selected for large-scale fermentation and isolation and identification of target compounds, directing the study to the compounds unpublished in the literature and/or responsible for the observed activity. It is worth mentioning that this proposal is linked to and integrates the FAPESP Thematic Project entitled "Integrative Approach on the Sustainable Prospection of Marine Natural Products: From Diversity to Anticancer Compounds" Process No. 15/17177-6.