Harnessing Marine Microbial Diversity Against Antimicrobial Resistance: Discovery, Mechanisms, and Translational Applications

Marine environments, from deep-sea hydrothermal vents to shallow coastal microbiomes, subject microbial communities to extreme and varied selective pressure, driving the evolution of structurally novel bioactive compounds rarely encountered in terrestrial systems. Marine-derived microorganisms, including cyanobacteria, actinomycetes, microalgae, and associated bacteria, represent an underexplored reservoir of natural products whose chemical diversity reflects the ecological complexity of the ocean. At a time when antimicrobial resistance poses one of the most critical threats to global health, this marine microbial world offers a compelling and distinct frontier for drug discovery.The rapid rise of multidrug-resistant pathogens and the proliferation of biofilm-associated infections have made the development of novel therapeutic agents an urgent priority. Despite growing evidence that marine microbial metabolites can disrupt resistance mechanisms, inhibit biofilm formation, and exhibit potent activity against clinically relevant pathogens, translation from discovery to application remains slow. Key barriers include incomplete characterisation of molecular mechanisms, limited integration of metabolomic and bioinformatic tools, and persistent gaps between chemical profiling and functional validation in disease-relevant contexts.Advances in interdisciplinary approaches, including metabolomics, genome mining, molecular docking, synthetic biology, and computational drug discovery, are now beginning to close these gaps. By combining marine natural product chemistry with modern microbiology and translational research frameworks, this Research Topic aims to accelerate the pipeline from ocean-derived compound discovery to clinically actionable antimicrobial strategies.We invite original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, perspectives, and methodological studies on the discovery, characterisation, and therapeutic development of bioactive metabolites from marine-sourced microorganisms. Submissions focusing on terrestrial microbial systems without a clear marine context fall outside the scope of this collection.We welcome contributions covering, but not limited to:• Discovery and structural characterisation of bioactive metabolites from marine microorganisms• Cyanobacterial, actinomycete, and microalgal natural products: biosynthesis and bioactivity• Antimicrobial and antibiofilm mechanisms against drug-resistant pathogens• Marine natural products targeting multidrug-resistant bacteria and resistant biofilms• Metabolomics and systems biology approaches to marine natural product profiling• Genome mining and biosynthetic gene cluster analysis in marine microorganisms• Molecular docking and computational drug discovery for marine-derived compounds• Synthetic biology and microbial engineering for marine metabolite production• Translational pathways from marine compound discovery to antimicrobial therapeutic applications Topic editors: Anahas Matharasi, Mostafa Rateb, Prasannabalaji Nainangu, Sachin Kumar, Santhiyagu Prakash Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83173/harnessing-marine-microbial-diversity-against-antimicrobial-resistance-discovery-mechanisms-and-translational-applications