Bioactive Compounds from Bacteria Associated to Marine Algae

Abstract

Since ancient times, humans have sought to satisfy their needs, one of which is, without a doubt, to stay alive. The fear of getting sick and dying, led man to study the organisms that surround him, discovering that the chemicals compounds present in some of them could be beneficial for treating illness. Thus; began the chemistry of the natural products; biotechnology area for human welfare. Several of these organisms produce secondary metabolites, which are part of a wide variety of natural compounds used by humans to combat diseases. Secondary metabolites are defined as organic compounds formed as bio products in organisms, not directly related to growth, development and normal reproduction of thereof. Some examples are fibers (cotton, silk, wool); fuels (oil and natural gas), and medicines (antibiotics, hormones, vaccines). The importance of finding and using these secondary metabolites can be justified in two ways (1) to know the natural substances that can be beneficial for man and (2) to identify the organisms that produce these substances in order to make a rational exploitation of them, because they may be the only carriers of useful compounds to combat pathogenic microbes. Marine organisms possess an inexhaustible source of useful chemical substances for the development of new drugs; among these organisms we find marine algae that are capable of biosynthesizing a broad variety of secondary metabolites and bacteria that live in the oceans and that are crucial organisms used in biotechnology in the discovery of new compounds from marine origin. The discovery of new bioactive compounds necessarily involves previously diversity studies, because by knowing the type of microorganisms that reside in a certain environment, it is possible to design cultivation techniques adapted for all the microbial communities present in a certain ambience. That is why it is very important to identify the organisms that produce bioactive secondary metabolites, and to be able to structure a plan of use and preservation of those species that represent a potential source for new drug development, especially those obtained from bacteria, because of their own cultivation characteristics, have attracted attention on either a big quantity of investigators on a global scale in the search of new natural products with anticancer and antibiotic activity principally.