Eco-friendly "ocean solutions" for the improvment of human wellness

Bioprospecting is the process of discovery and commercialization of new products based on biological resources. One of the most promising nature’s treasure is the marine biota. It harbours a huge number of organisms that have developed unique metabolic abilities to ensure their survival in diverse and hostile habitats, resulting in the biosynthesis of an array of metabolites with specific activities, most of which finding application in a wide range of industries. Marine bioprospecting is increasingly becoming the excellence tool to face up the today’s societal challenges. Nowadays, marine natural products are unanimously acknowledged as the “blue gold” in the urgent quest for new pharmaceuticals. Marine bioprospecting is therefore an important field of innovation, but this process is based on biodiversity and, to preserve it, there is an urgent need for a sustainable approach to the use of marine organisms as a source. In this project, three marine sources were explored for their bioactive potentialities, paying attention to analysis of their sustainable supply. Antarctic sea ice samples were used for isolation of cold-adapted bacteria. A fast and effective screening method, based on the creation of cell-free supernatant collection, allowed the selection of a promising strain, identified as Shewanella antarctica, able to produce anthelmintic and antibiofilm activity. The second work explored the bioactive potential of the edible marine gastropod Haliotis tuberculata. The results obtained showed the potential of the marine oil (with antimicrobial, anthelmintic and anticancer activity) derived from this species, suggesting its importance as promising candidate for further investigation aimed at the development of functional foods, food ingredients, as well as pharmaceuticals. In the third work the bioactive potential of shellfish by-products was investigated and, in particular, the microbial bioconversion of this waste material into valuable products. Two marine bacteria with proteolytic activity, Pseudoalteromonas issachenkonii and Pseudoalteromonas artica showed the ability to efficiently convert crab shells into anthelmintic and antibiofilm compounds. The results of this project confirmed the huge potential of marine organisms for bioprospecting.