1. Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Agroecological Processing and Safety Monitoring, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 35002, China
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Prof. Xiangmin Lin
1. Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Agroecological Processing and Safety Monitoring, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 35002, China
Biofilm formation is a major concern in various sectors and cause severe problems to public health, medicine, and industry. Bacterial biofilm formation is a major persistent threat, as it increases morbidity and mortality, thereby imposing heavy economic pressure on the healthcare sector. Bacterial biofilms also strengthen biofouling, affecting shipping functions, and the offshore industries in their natural environment. Besides, they accomplish harsh roles in the corrosion of pipelines in industries. At biofilm state, bacterial pathogens are significantly resistant to external attack like antibiotics, chemicals, disinfectants, etc. Within a cell, they are insensitive to drugs and host immune responses. The development of intact biofilms is very critical for the spreading and persistence of bacterial infections in the host. Further, bacteria form biofilms on every probable substratum, and their infections have been found in plants, livestock, and humans. The advent of novel strategies for treating and preventing biofilm formation has gained a great deal of attention. To prevent the development of resistant mutants, a feasible technique that may target adhesive properties without affecting the bacterial vitality is needed. This stimulated research is a rapidly growing field for applicable control measures to prevent biofilm formation. Therefore, this review discusses the current understanding of antibiotic resistance mechanisms in bacterial biofilm and intensely emphasized the novel therapeutic strategies for combating biofilm mediated infections. The forthcoming experimental studies will focus on these recent therapeutic strategies that may lead to the development of effective biofilm inhibitors than conventional treatments.
15 February 2012 in Science Translational Medicine
The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance reduces the effectiveness of antimicrobial drugs in preventing and treating infectious diseases caused by pathogenic organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Because of the burgeoning growth of microbes with antimicrobial-resistant traits, there is a dire need to identify and develop novel and effective antimicrobial agents to treat infections from antimicrobial-resistant strains. The marine environment is rich in ecological biodiversity and can be regarded as an untapped resource for prospecting novel bioactive compounds. Therefore, exploring the marine environment for antimicrobial agents plays a significant role in drug development and biomedical research. Several earlier scientific investigations have proven that bacterial diversity in the marine environment represents an emerging source of structurally unique and novel antimicrobial agents. There are several reports on marine bacterial secondary metabolites, and many are pharmacologically significant and have enormous promise for developing effective antimicrobial drugs to combat microbial infections in drug-resistant pathogens. In this review, we attempt to summarize published articles from the last twenty-five years (1996–2020) on antimicrobial secondary metabolites from marine bacteria evolved in marine environments, such as marine sediment, water, fauna, and flora.