Microorganisms Associated with the Marine Sponge <i>Scopalina hapalia</i>: A Reservoir of Bioactive Molecules to Slow Down the Aging Process

• Main Authors: Charifat Said Hassane, Mireille Fouillaud, Géraldine Le Goff, Aimilia D. Sklirou, Jean Bernard Boyer, Ioannis P. Trougakos, Moran Jerabek, Jérôme Bignon, Nicole J. de Voogd, Jamal Ouazzani, Anne Gauvin-Bialecki, Laurent Dufossé
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
• Series: Microorganisms
• Subjects: <i>Scopalina hapalia</i>; Actinomycetes; <i>Bacillus</i>; Fungi; elastase inhibition; tyrosinase inhibition
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/9/1262

Aging research aims at developing therapies that delay normal aging processes and some related pathologies. Recently, many compounds and extracts from natural products have been shown to slow aging and/or extend lifespan. Marine sponges and their associated microorganisms have been found to produce a wide variety of bioactive secondary metabolites; however, those from the Southwest of the Indian Ocean are much less studied, especially regarding anti-aging activities. In this study, the microbial diversity of the marine sponge <i>Scopalina hapalia</i> was investigated by metagenomic analysis. Twenty-six bacterial and two archaeal phyla were recovered from the sponge, of which the <i>Proteobacteria</i> phylum was the most abundant. In addition, 30 isolates from <i>S. hapalia</i> were selected and cultivated for identification and secondary metabolites production. The selected isolates were affiliated to the genera <i>Bacillus</i>, <i>Micromonospora</i>, <i>Rhodoccocus</i>, <i>Salinispora</i>, <i>Aspergillus</i>, <i>Chaetomium</i>, <i>Nigrospora</i> and unidentified genera related to the family <i>Thermoactinomycetaceae</i>. Crude extracts from selected microbial cultures were found to be active against seven clinically relevant targets (elastase, tyrosinase, catalase, sirtuin 1, Cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7), Fyn kinase and proteasome). These results highlight the potential of microorganisms associated with a marine sponge from Mayotte to produce anti-aging compounds. Future work will focus on the isolation and the characterization of bioactive compounds.