A growing number of marine fungi are the sources of novel and potentially life-saving bioactive secondary metabolites. Here, we have discussed some of these novel antibacterial, antiviral, antiprotozoal compounds isolated from marine-derived fungi and their possible roles in disease eradication. We have also discussed the future commercial exploitation of these compounds for possible drug development using metabolic engineering and post-genomics approaches.

Free-living nematodes are abundant in all\ud marine habitats, are highly diverse, and can be useful for\ud monitoring anthropogenic impacts on the environment. Despite\ud such attributes, nematodes are effectively ignored by\ud many marine ecologists because of their time-consuming\ud taxonomy. Nematode diagnostics has traditionally relied on\ud detailed comparison of morphological characters which,\ud given their abundance, is difficult and laborious, meaning\ud that the biodiversity of the group is typically underestimated.\ud Molecular methods such as DNA-barcoding offer\ud potentially efficient alternative approaches to studying the\ud biodiversity of marine nematode communities, allowing\ud these organisms to be more effectively exploited in ecological\ud surveys and environmental assessments. In this study, a\ud number of nuclear and mitochondrial genomic regions were\ud evaluated as potential diagnostic loci for marine nematode\ud species identification. Of these, the 18S ribosomal RNA\ud gene amplified most reliably from a range of taxa, and was\ud therefore evaluated as a DNA barcode. In a comparison of\ud molecular and morphological identifications, over 97% of\ud specimens sequenced were correctly assigned on the basis\ud of a short stretch of 18S rRNA sequence (approximately 345\ud bp), making this a potentially useful marker for the rapid\ud molecular assignment of unknown nematode species, and\ud evaluation of nematode species richness during ecological\ud surveys or environmental assessments. This study showed\ud that a single marker approach based on amplification and\ud sequencing may prove invaluable in the rapid identification\ud of nematodes during ecological surveys and, indeed

Arsenic (As) contamination is a major global environmental concern with widespread effects on health of living organisms including humans. In this review, the occurrence (sources and forms) of As representing diverse aquatic habitats ranging from groundwater to marine environment has been detailed. We have provided a mechanistic synopsis on direct or indirect effects of As on different organismal groups spanning from bacteria, algae, phytoplankton, zooplankton and higher trophic levels based on a review of large number of available literature. In particular, special emphasis has been laid on finfishes and shellfishes which are routinely consumed by humans. As part of this review, we have also provided an overview of the broadly used methods that have been employed to detect As across ecosystems and organismal groups. We also report that the use of As metabolites as an index for tracking As_tot exposure in humans require more global attention. Besides, in this review we have also highlighted the need to integrate ‘omics’ based approaches, integration of third and fourth generation sequencing technologies for effective pan-geographical monitoring of human gut microbiome so as to understand effects and resulting consequences of As bioaccumulation.