Natural products are molecules produced by organisms that have played a vital role in drug discovery
[1]. Generally, the terrestrial environment and its organisms are well-studied for bioactive compounds, and this is due to the relative ease of their sampling
[2] and culturing in the laboratory
[3]. However, the largest ecosystem, the ocean
[4], abundantly endowed with chemical and biological resources
[5], is less explored
[6][7]. The challenging conditions of the marine environment, for example, high salt concentration, low temperature, high pressure, low nutrients, and varying light intensities
[8], spur marine organisms to synthesise uncommon chemical compounds that help them adapt to their environment
[9]. Recently, researchers have been moving away from terrestrial to the marine ecosystem for unique therapeutic molecules with high pharmaceutical and biotechnological potentials
[10]. However, many more studies are needed to cover the ocean’s vast biodiversity for this purpose.
2. Aquatic Bacillota
A study by da Silva et al., 2013 identified at least a strain of Bacillota in every analysed sample of sea sediment collected from different depths of the South Atlantic Ocean, in contrast to other phyla
[66], corroborating the easy cultivation of marine Bacillota in the laboratory
[67]. Also, while assessing the microbial symbionts of sponges and a soft coral obtained from the Red Sea, Refs.
[13][68] found that Bacillota was the most-encountered bacteria phylum, usually synonymous with bioactive secondary metabolites. For instance, some marine
Bacillus species produced many novel natural products, ranging from macrolides
[69][70][71] to fatty acids
[72]. A specific example is
Bacillus silvesteris from a marine crab, which synthesised two unknown cyclodepsipeptides with very high cytotoxic effects (GI
50s: 0.001–0.01 ng/mL) against human cancer cell lines
[73]. Unfortunately, with these exciting numbers of novel molecules associated with marine Bacillota, only a few studies covered Bacillota from macroalgae; more studies were on Bacillota of corals and sponges.
3. Marine Macroalgae, a Good Source of Bioactive Bacillota
Consistently, marine macroalgae have produced various remarkable molecules
[2][26]. Between 1960 and 2012, more than three thousand natural products were identified in different algae types, and they are still receiving attention for their novel bioactive compounds
[74]. Some examples of algae chemical compounds include two potential anticancer agents, lophocladines B from a red alga
[75], dieckol from a brown alga
[76] and Griffithsin from a red alga, currently in phase I clinical trial for HIV prevention
[11][77]. However, algae’s commercial and ecological applications are linked to the chemical communications between them and their associated microbes
[18][78]. To ascertain this assumption, scientists are investigating algae microbial symbionts for their natural products
[19][79][80][81]. It appears that Bacillota play more beneficial than pathogenic functions in algae
[22][79], by producing chemical compounds that protect algae from fouling and colonising pathogenic microbes.
4. Secondary Metabolites of Marine Macroalgae Bacillota and Their Biosynthetic Gene Clusters
Several chemical compounds have been obtained from marine macroalgae-associated Bacillota in laboratories. However, the type of compounds generated by any microorganism in a conventional laboratory can be influenced by the properties of the growth medium
[13]. Different classes of compounds would emerge by varying the composition or condition of the culture media. For instance, growing a symbiotic bacterium in a static culture or one consistently shaken at a particular speed affects the types of chemical compounds the bacterium will produce
[80]. This is a well-known natural-product drug-discovery approach called the one strain many compounds (OSMAC) approach.
Table 1 also shows that most bioactive compounds of the marine macroalgae Bacillota belong to the polyketide class, which aligns with the suggestion by Aleti et al., 2015, regarding the prevalence of a polyketide synthase (
pks) gene cluster in Bacillota
[81]. Of the forty-one compounds isolated from the macroalgae Bacillota, thirty-eight are polyketides, while the remaining three belong to the non-ribosomal peptide–polyketide hybrid. The chemical structures of these molecules (
1–
41) are shown in
Figure 1,
Figure 2,
Figure 3 and
Figure 4, and they are grouped according to their chemical classes, including macrolides, esters, furanoterpenoids and amicoumacins. Apart from the forty-one isolated and characterised compounds, there are forty-seven volatile compounds identified in an extract of a
B. amyloliquefaciens strain isolated from a brown alga
Zonaria tournefortii [82], as well as a YbdN protein isolated from
B. licheniformis of
Fucus serratus [80].
Table 1. Natural products and pharmacological properties of symbiotic Bacillota from marine macroalgae.
Algae Species |
Growth Medium |
Bacterial Species |
Biosynthetic Gene Cluster |
Extract/ Compounds |
Pharmacological Properties |
MIC (µg/mL) |
References |
Brown Algae Bacillota |
Sargassum wightii |
a ZMA * b NA a NA a ZMA |
Bacillus species Bacillus atrophaeus MW821482 |
pks pks nrps Siderophore |
Ethyl acetate extract Ethyl acetate extract |
Antibacterial Antioxidant Antihypertensive Antihypercholesterolamic Anti-inflammatory Anti-hyperglycemic Cytotoxicity Antioxidant Antibacterial Anti-inflammatory Anti-hyperglycemic Antihypertensive Antioxidant Anti-hypercholesterolemic Antibacterial |
6.25–12.5 ⁑ (133–492.04) ⁑ (498.12–735.42) ⁑ (10.21–24.32) ⁑ (5.22–735.45) ⁑ (92.02–759.24) ♯ 29.5 ♯ (133–4167) 6.25–12.5 ⁑ (9.74–788.8) ⁑ (118.1–513.4) ⁑ 713.6 ⁑ (413.2–429.8) ⁑ 22.23 6.25–12.5 |
[83][84][85][86] |
Anthophycus longifolius |
a NA ** NA SWA ZMA * NA MA * NA |
Bacillus subtilis MTCC 10403 |
pks pks pks |
(1) (35–38) (2) |
Antibacterial Antibacterial Antibacterial |
3.12–50 3.12–25 ND |
[87][88][89] |
Sargassum myriocystum |
MA * NA |
Bacillus subtilis MTCC 10407 |
pks |
(26 and 27) |
Antibacterial |
ND |
[90] |
Fucus serratus |
a TSA DSTA MA NA * CB |
Bacillus licheniformis |
ND |
YbdN protein |
Antibacterial |
ND |
[80] |
Endarachne binghamiae |
MA MB |
Bacillus sp. |
ND |
Acetone extract |
Antibacterial |
188.1–209.7 |
[91] |
Sargassum muticum |
MA MB |
Bacillus sp. |
ND |
Acetone extract |
Cytotoxicity Antibacterial |
♯ 5.5 174 |
[91] |
Egregia menziesii |
MA MB |
Bacillus sp. |
ND |
Acetone extract |
Antibacterial |
203.0–212.3 |
[91] |
Padina gymnospora |
a NA ** NA SWA ZMA * NA |
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens |
pks |
(28–31) |
Antibacterial |
ND |
[92] |
Zonaria tournefortii |
d LB |
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens S13 |
ND |
Volatile compounds |
Antimicrobial |
64–>500 |
[82] |
Red algae Bacillota |
Hypnea valentiae |
a ZMA * MBSA |
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens MB6 (MTCC 12716) |
pks pks-nrps ND |
(3–5) and (6–8) (39–41) Ethyl acetate extract |
Antibacterial Antibacterial Antibacterial Anti-inflammatory Anti-hypercholesterolemic Antidiabetic Antioxidant Antibacterial |
0.38–5.00 ¶ (−9.06)–(−10.13) ¶ (−11.33)–(−13.61) 0.78–3.12 3.125–12.5 ⁑ (6.06–675.36) ⁑ 17.30 ⁑ (84.00–639.54) ⁑ (136.78–278.19) 6.25–12.50 |
[93][94][95][96][97][98] |
Kappaphycus alvarezii |
a ZMA * MBSA |
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens MTCC 12713 |
pks pks |
(9–12) (22–25) |
Antibacterial Antibacterial |
‡ 2–9 × 10−3 1.56–6.25 ¶ (−9.06)–(−12.61) |
[99][100] |
Laurencia papillosa |
a NA c ZMA * NA a ZMA a NA * NA a NA ** NA SWA ZMA * NA |
Bacillus velezensis MBTDLP1 MTCC 13048 Bacillus velezensis MBTDLP1 Bacillus amyloliquefaciens |
pks ND pks |
(34) Ethyl acetate extract (32 and 33) |
Antibacterial Antibacterial Anti-inflammatory Cytotoxicity Antidiabetic Antioxidant Antibacterial |
0.38 7.5–15 ♯ 17 ♯ (32.3–200) ♯ (120–420) ♯ (107–4127) ND |
[101][102][103] |
Laurencia pacifica |
MA MB |
Bacillus sp. |
ND |
Acetone extract |
Antibacterial |
288.1 |
[91] |
Centroceras clavulatum |
MA MB |
Bacillus sp. |
ND |
Acetone extract |
Antibacterial |
217.1 |
[91] |
Schizymenia dubyi |
MB |
Bacillus sp. PP19-H3 |
pks |
(13–21) |
Antibacterial |
10–>100 |
[71] |
Green Algae Bacillota |
Codium fragile |
MA MB |
Bacillus sp. |
ND |
Acetone extract |
Antibacterial |
196 |
[91] |
Figure 1. Macrolides from marine macroalgae Bacillota.
Figure 2. Esters from marine macroalgae Bacillota.
Figure 3. Furanoterpenoids from marine macroalgae Bacillota.
Figure 4. Amicoumacins from marine macroalgae Bacillota.
4.1. Macrolides
These are polyketide macrocyclic lactones of varying ring sizes
[104]. They are highly oxygenated polyenes
[105] with a broad spectrum of antibacterial effects against pathogenic bacteria, which they achieve by binding to the 50S ribosomal subunit of bacteria and disrupting protein synthesis. Erythromycin and azithromycin, with 14- and 15-membered rings, belong to the first- and second-generation macrolide antibiotics
[106].
Twenty-five macrolides belonging to different classes have been isolated from marine macroalgae Bacillota, including derivatives of macrolactin (
1,
2,
13–
21)
[71][89], bacvalactone (
3–
5), elansolid (
6–
8)
[93][94][95], difficidin (
9–
12)
[99], and macrobrevin (
22–
25)
[100]. Compounds
1 and
2 are 24-membered macrolactins isolated from
B. subtilis of a brown alga,
Anthophycus longifolius [87][89]. They are biosynthesised by the type-1
pks gene cluster through decarboxylative Claisen condensation, ketoreduction, dehydration and cyclisation reaction steps for
1. The bacvalactones (
3–
5) and elansolids (
6–
8), which are also biosynthesised by several decarboxylative Claisen condensation reactions, were isolated from a strain of
B. amyloliquefaciens of a red alga,
Hypnea valentiae. The bacvalactones are 24-membered macrolactones with 13-
O-ethyl (
3) and 15-
O-furanyl (
4 and
5) substituents. The elansolids are 19-membered macrocyclic lactones which contain octahydroisobenzofuran derivative (
6), 4a,5,7,7a-tetrahydro-2
H-furo[3,4-b]pyran derivative (
7) and hexahydro-2
H-furo[3,4-b]pyran derivative
(8) in their structure. In addition, 22-membered difficidin (
9–
12) and macrobrevin (
22–
25) analogues, isolated from
Kappaphycus alvarezii’s (a red alga)
B. amyloliquefaciens, are also the products of repeated decarboxylative Claisen condensation reactions of the
pks gene clusters. Other macrolides of marine algae Bacillota are a set of macrolactins (
13–
21) isolated from a red alga (
Schizymenia dubyi)
Bacillus sp. All these macrolides were tested only for antibacterial properties, even though they have been reported elsewhere to possess anticancer, neuroprotective, antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties
[105].
4.2. Esters
Different previously undescribed derivatives of heterocyclic (
26–
29 and
31–
34) and aliphatic (
30) esters have been isolated and characterised from Bacillota of macroalgae (
Figure 2). For example, compounds (
26 and
27), isolated from
B. subtilis of
Sargassum myriocystum, are
pks-1 gene products and members of the pyranyl benzoate analogues
[90]. They are synthesised through the Claisen condensation, dehydration and ketoreduction pathways, and resemble two compounds isolated from the alga host. On the other hand,
B. amyloliquefaciens, isolated from
Padina gymnospora (a brown alga), produced polyketides (
28–
31) through the
pks-1 gene cluster
[92]. The heterocyclic esters (
32 and
33), which are octahyrobenzopyran derivatives and the secondary metabolites of
B. amyloliquefaciens, isolated from a red alga,
Laurencia papillosa, are also
pks gene products
[103]. In addition, the macrocyclic diester (
34), isolated from
B. velezensis of
Laurencia papillosa (a red alga), also belongs to the
pks-1 gene products
[101]. Like the macrolides, these nine esters were only tested for antibacterial properties.
4.3. Furanoterpenoids
Furanoterpenoids are a class of terpenoids containing at least a furan ring
[107]. Many furan-containing compounds, including furanoterpenoids, are toxic to humans. Their toxicity is through the cytochrome P450-catalysed oxidation of the furan ring to two reactive electrophilic intermediates that can bond with macromolecules and cause toxicity
[108][109]. However, furanoterpenoids have been reported to elicit anti-inflammatory
[110], antimalarial
[111], and other properties
[109]. Furanoterpenoids (
35–
38) isolated from
B. subtilis of red alga (
Anthophycus longifolius) showed in vitro antibacterial effects
[88]. Two were sesterpenoid-type compounds (
35,
36), and the others were furan annulation compounds. However, considering the toxicity concern regarding this group of compounds, an in vivo toxicity assay of any furan-containing molecule would be necessary, using an animal model, to ascertain their safety. The four furanoterpenoids are biosynthesised by the
pks gene cluster.
4.4. Amicoumacin C Derivatives
Amicoumacins are derivatives of the dihydroisocoumarin class of compounds biosynthesised by bacterial non-ribosomal peptide–polyketide (nrp-pk) hybrid biosynthetic pathway
[112]. Out of the forty-one natural products of the macroalgae Bacillota, the amicoumacins (
39–
41) are the only chemical compounds produced by another gene cluster other than the
pks, even though non-ribosomal peptides synthetase (
nrps) gene clusters are quite common in
Bacillus species
[99][113]. There is, therefore, a need to explore different biosynthetic pathways of macroalgae Bacillota for diverse bioactive chemical species. The structures of
39–
41 are shown in
Figure 4, and they were isolated from the
B. amyloliquefaciens of a red alga,
Hypnea valentiae [96].
5. Pharmacological Properties of the Secondary Metabolites of Marine Macroalgae Bacillota
In addition to the chemical constituents of the marine macroalgae Bacillota,
Table 1 also captures the biological activities of the compounds numbered
1–
41 and the extracts. Among the marine Bacillota,
Bacillus species are the most common symbionts of macroalgae, and they often showcase higher antibacterial properties than their counterparts
[114]. Furthermore, species of
Bacillus dedicate more than 7% of their genomes to producing compounds with antimicrobial properties
[115]. These two assertions can be seen clearly in
Table 1:
Bacillus were the only species isolated from all the macroalgae included in the table for bioactive natural products, and mainly elicited antibacterial properties.
Researchers realised that some authors carried out preliminary bioassays only, using bacterial cultures instead of extracts or isolated chemical compounds from the bacteria
[79][114][116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126]. Another scenario is where the antimicrobial effects of bacterial extracts/fractions were checked without determining the basic bioassay parameters like MIC, IC
50 or GI
50 [127][128][129][130][131][132]. The studies mentioned above were omitted in
Table 1. However, the table captures chemical constituents with low therapeutic properties—MIC/IC
50/GI
50 values greater than 100 and 10 µg/mL—for crude extracts and pure compounds, respectively, and compounds whose basic bioassay parameters were not determined.
5.1. Antibacterial Property of Marine Macroalgae Bacillota
Mostly in vitro antibacterial properties were reported for macroalgae Bacillota, according to data in
Table 1. The high frequency of documented antibacterial properties might be due to the ease of carrying out this assay in the laboratory, as opposed to other bioassays. Another potential explanation could be the author’s intention to demonstrate the antifouling properties attributed to symbiotic bacteria associated with macroalgae. The compounds isolated from the macroalgae Bacillota showed varied levels of antibacterial effects against human bacterial pathogens. The best in vitro antibacterial activity (with the MIC value of 2–9 × 10
−3 µM) was exhibited by the difficidin analogues (
9–
12) isolated from
B. amyloliquefaciens associated with a red alga,
Kappaphycus alvarezii [99]. These compounds showed bactericidal activities against a broad spectrum of pathogenic bacteria, including methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant
Enterococcus faecalis [99]. Other compounds with appreciable antibacterial activity are
7 and
34. At an MIC value of 0.38 µg/mL, compound
7, a product of
B. amyloliquefaciens isolated from a red alga,
Hypnea valentiae, was active against MRSA and
Vibrio haemolyticus [94][95], similar to
34, produced by
B. velezensis of
Laurencia papillosa [101]. Worthy of mention is
40 (MIC value: 0.78 µg/mL), another active compound from
B. amyloliquefaciens of
Hypnea valentiae, with a broad spectrum activity against pathogenic bacteria
[96].
Table 1 lists the MIC values of other compounds and extracts of macroalgae Bacillota. Unfortunately, as seen from the table, some extracts with MIC values lower than 100 µg/mL were not further simplified to isolate their bioactive chemical constituents.
5.2. Other Pharmacological Properties of Marine Algae Bacillota
Other biological properties, such as cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-hypercholesterolemic and anti-hyperglycemic, were exclusively determined for extracts/fractions of the macroalgae Bacillota. For example, the only reported in vitro antifungal assay was recorded for a volatile fraction of
B. amyloliquefaciens isolated from
Zonaria tournefortii [82]. Another example of biological activities of the macroalgae Bacillota extract is that of an acetone extract of a
Bacillus species isolated from a brown alga,
Sargassum muticum. The acetone extract displayed a good in vitro cytotoxic effect (IC
50 value of 5.5 µg/mL) against colon cancer cells
[91], but it was not purified further to pure compounds.