Marine Natural Products from Marine Sponge Microorganisms

Abstract

Sponges and corals are great pool of diverse microbes because they are closely associated with microorganisms that occur either extracellularly or intracellularly. The recent studies have revealed new microbial communities and novel compounds from sponges and corals. Many reports are found toward the availability of antibiotics from the sponge-/coral-associated microorganisms; very few reports are available for the enzymes, but there are no scientific research reports with the potentiality in medical and biotechnological applications. Therefore, there is an urgent need of exploration of marine enzymes from sponges and corals for human and environmental perspectives. This chapter will focus on current and future prospects of marine enzymes from microbial symbionts especially sponges/corals.