Metabolite Porifera

Metabolites of the phylum Porifera account for almost 50% of the natural products reported from marine invertebrates. Of the 2609 poriferan metabolites, 98% are derived from amino acid, acetogenin, or isoprenoid pathways. Isoprenoids account for 50% of all sponge metabolites, while amino acid and polyketide pathways account for 26% and 22%, respectively. A significant number of sponge metabolites appear to be derived from mixed biosynthetic pathways. Most structures reported containing carbohydrate moieties were glycosides. 

Unson, M. D. and Faulkner, D. J., Cyanobacterial symbiont biosynthesis of chlorinated metabolites from Dysidea herbacea (Porifera), Experientia, 49, 349, 1993. 

Porifera, or sponges, are rich in secondary metabolites a representative sample is shown in Figure 3.7. Some of these are biosynthesized by the sponges themselves, but others are biosynthesized by bacterial... 

The marine environment is a vast resource for the discovery of structurally unique bioactive secondary metabolites, some belonging to totally novel chemical classes.8 Sessile benthic organisms including the Porifera, Cnidaria, Bryozoa, and Tunicata as well as marine algae have developed an arsenal of compounds which have been demonstrated to confer a competitive advantage in ecosystems characterized by extreme resource limitations. Interactions of these organisms at the genetic,... 

Coelenterates are prolific sources of terpenes, particularly diterpenes [77]. As with the Porifera, soft corals and gorgonians frequently host microorganisms, and thus the question of which organism is responsible for a biosynthetic product is of interest. While there is circumstantial evidence that the animal host is the source of certain metabolites in coelenterates, [78, 79] this issue remains to be addressed in a rigorous manner. 

BIOACTIVE METABOLITES FROM SOUTHERN AFRICAN MARINE SPONGES (PHYLUM PORIFERA)... 

Steroids with O-heterocyclic fragments (pyrans and O-macroheterocycles) as bioactive metabolites from echinoderms and porifera 97G771. 

Amino Acid Derived Metabolites from Porifera.183... 

Several terpenoid furans have been isolated from Cadlina luteomar-ginata, most of them cited previously as metabolites from Porifera. Two more compounds from this species were dendrolasin (791) and pleraplysillin-1 (792) (524). Dendrolasin (791) was also a constituent of Hypselodoris ghiselini and H. califomiensis (78). The digestive glands of Dendrodoris grandiflora contained the previously known sesquiterpenes microcionin-1 (793), -2 (777), -3 (794), and -4 (795) (528). 

Table 19.6 shows the classification of Demospongiae according to Systema Porifera, where they are distributed among three subclasses, 15 orders, 88 families, and about 500 genera. As there is no question of describing all of these genera here, we limit discussion to those in which one or more species have been the subject of chemical research on their primary or secondary metabolites. 

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