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Antimicrobial activity in sub-Arctic marine invertebrates

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Abstract

In the marine environment, any living or non-living surface is exposed to bacterial colonization. Many invertebrate species in temperate, tropical and Antarctic regions have demonstrated chemical defences against the formation of microbial films. In the present study, the antimicrobial activity of sub-Arctic invertebrates was investigated for the first time. Crude extracts of abundant invertebrates belonging to several taxonomic groups were tested for their inhibitory effects on the growth of five sympatric phylogenetically diverse bacterial strains. Six out of 18 (33%) crude extracts inhibited bacterial growth at natural extract concentrations. The crude extract of the sponge Haliclona viscosa inhibited growth of all five bacterial strains, suggesting the presence of metabolites with broad-spectrum activity. Three active compounds were isolated from H. viscosa having antibacterial properties similar to those of the crude extract. Our data indicate that antibacterial secondary metabolites are present in sub-Arctic marine invertebrates but are less abundant than in temperate, tropical or Antarctic species.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Bauer for assistance with fieldwork and for many helpful suggestions concerning the micro-organisms. Invertebrate species were kindly identified by Dr. Monniot (ascidians), Dr. Wägele (nudibranchs), Dr. van Soest and Dr. de Weerdt (sponges) and Dr. Riemann-Zürneck (actinians). We are grateful for the support of the scientific and technical staff of the Koldewey-Station, the members of the AWI diving team and the Ny-Ålesund International Research and Monitoring Facility. This study was funded by the German Ministry (BMBF, Project no. 03F0254A) of Education and Science and was carried out in co-operation with the research groups of Dr. Lindel and Dr. Köck.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Columbusstraße, 27568 , Bremerhaven, Germany

    H. Lippert & R. Brinkmeyer

  2. Department Chemie, Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Butenandtstr. 5–13, 81377 , Munich, Germany

    T. Mülhaupt

  3. Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA

    K. Iken

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  1. H. Lippert
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  3. T. Mülhaupt
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Correspondence to H. Lippert.

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Lippert, H., Brinkmeyer, R., Mülhaupt, T. et al. Antimicrobial activity in sub-Arctic marine invertebrates. Polar Biol 26, 591–600 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0525-9

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