The chemistry of some sponges and their symbionts

Abstract

From both ecological and biomedical viewpoints, it has become important to know whether the metabolites isolated from sponges are produced by symbiotic micro-organisms. Certain halogenated metabolites from Dysidea herbacea are localized in the symbiotic cyanobacterium Oscillatoria spongeliae. Recent studies concerning the origin of bioactive metabolites from lithistid sponges, some of which contain filamentous micro-organisms, are presented. © 1994 IUPAC