Marine fungi as a source of antibacterial, antifungal and antibiofilm agents

Domenico Schillaci; Federica Parisi; Donatella Ferraro; Carmen Festa; Gerardo Dellasala; Simona De Marino; Marcella Pasqualetti; Massimiliano Fenice; Valentina Catania

Previous Article in event

In silico design of synthetic peptides inspired by natural peptides scaffolds from a Mediterranean medical plant Charybdis pancration (Steinh.) Speta, with predicted activity against relevant pathogens

Next Article in event

Antimicrobial Peptides SET-M33L and SET-M33L-PEG Are Promising Agents Against Strong Biofilm-Forming Clinical Strains of P. aeruginosa, Including Multidrug-Resistant Isolates

Next Article in session

Genome mining as a tool for identifying novel glycopeptide antibiotics: insights from kineomicins

Marine fungi as a source of antibacterial, antifungal and antibiofilm agents

^{*

1},

¹,

²,

³,

⁴,

³,

⁵,

⁵,

⁶

¹ Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF) , University of palermo, via Archirafi n.32, 90123, Palermo Italy
² Department of Promotion of Health, Maternal-Infant, Internal and Specialist Medicine of Excellence “G. D’Alessandro” (PROMISE), University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 133, 90127 Palermo, Italy
³ Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples “Federico II”, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy
⁴ Marine Biotechnology Department, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, via A. F. Acton, Molosiglio, 80133 Naples, Italy
⁵ Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences (DEBS), University of Tuscia, Via Santa Maria in Gradi 4, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
⁶ Department of Earth and Marine Sciences (DiSTeM), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 16, 90128 Palermo, Italy

Academic Editor: Marc Maresca

Published: 04 May 2026 by MDPI in Antibiotics 2026—Advances in Antimicrobial Action and Resistance session Conventional and Novel Approaches in the Discovery of New Antimicrobial Agents

Abstract:

Introduction: Marine fungi are an underexplored reservoir of bioactive secondary metabolites with significant potential for the development of new therapeutic agents to combat infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

Broad objectives: In this work, the antimicrobial properties of ten marine fungal strains Trichoderma afroharzianum (HP58), Penicillium citrinum (HP26), Talaromyces austrocalifornicus (HPα8), Penicillium rubens (HP10), Tamaricicola sp. (PN38), Phaeosphaeriaceae sp. (PN33), Clonostachys rosea (IG119), Trichoderma sp. (HP31), Talaromyces catalonicus (HP25), and Fusarium clavus (HP54) were investigated using crude extracts obtained from cultures grown on different media.

Methods: Chloroform and butanol extracts from cultures grown on malt extract medium (MEA) were evaluated against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial reference strains exhibiting antibiotic resistance, as well as against the yeast Candida albicans. Antimicrobial activity was assessed through determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) and antibiofilm activity.

Results: The preliminary in vitro results identified strains Penicillium citrinum (HP26), Talaromyces austrocalifornicus (HPα8), Penicillium rubens (HP10)and Clonostachys rosea IG119 as promising producers of antimicrobial secondary metabolites. In particular, Clonostachys rosea IG119 showed an interesting ability to inhibit biofim formation of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 with a Biofilm Inhibition Concentration 50% (BIC₅₀) of 22 μg/ml.

Conclusions: Optimization of cultivation parameters could support the isolation of bioactive compounds and enable their detailed chemical and pharmacological characterization. Overall, these findings indicate that marine fungi deserve to be considered an excellent source of antimicrobials.

Keywords: Antibiotic-resistance; Antimicrobials discovering; biofilm; antifungal activity; marine fungi.

3 Reads
0 Recommendations