Sponges: A Reservoir for Microorganism‐Derived Bioactive Metabolites

Ocean that supports life on land covers 71% of Earth's surface. It is an ideal habitat for both vertebrates and invertebrates, with 98% being the latter, such as sponges, cnidarians, platyhelminthes, mollusks, annelids, worms, bryozoans, phoronids, arthropods, echinoderms, tunicates, and weeds. To maintain the ecology of marine environment, symbiotic relationships exist between the microbes and these organisms. These associated microbes produce secondary metabolites that are beneficial to the host. On many occasions, it has been observed that the same species of a microbe that are free living do not produce secondary metabolites. So, it is necessitating world research communities to start exploring ocean to isolate potential cures for human diseases.