Marine Natural Products for Infectious Disease Control: Emerging Therapeutics and Mechanisms of Action

Marine environments harbor rich biological diversity. Organisms inhabiting these environments, including sponges, corals, algae, cyanobacteria, and symbiotic microorganisms, have evolved elaborate chemical defenses over millions of years of ecological competition. The secondary metabolites produced through these pressures form a structurally novel chemical library with properties rarely encountered in terrestrial sources. Marine natural products (MNPs) have attracted sustained scientific interest for their potent biological activities, and a growing body of evidence supports their relevance as antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and antiparasitic agents. Although clinical approvals of MNP-derived compounds have historically concentrated on oncology (such as cytarabine) and pain management (such as ziconotide), the translation of anti-infective marine compounds is a critical frontier, as demonstrated by the landmark antiviral drug vidarabine. Additional compounds with anti-infective activity are advancing through preclinical and early clinical development pipelines, and the marine pharmacopeia represents an underexploited source of structurally novel leads for addressing the global burden of infectious disease.The escalating threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the recurrent emergence of novel viral pathogens, and a significantly constrained pipeline of structurally new anti-infective compound classes together constitute a major challenge in contemporary medicine. Conventional drug discovery has struggled to generate structurally distinct leads with novel mechanisms of action, and cross-resistance patterns continue to undermine frontline therapies across bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral targets. Marine natural products, characterized by structural complexity, chemical novelty, and modes of action often distinct from existing drugs, are well positioned to help address these gaps. This Research Topic aims to advance understanding in this area by bringing together original research, mechanistic investigations, and review articles on MNPs with demonstrated or potential activity against infectious agents. The collection prioritizes work that advances mechanistic understanding, clarifies structure-activity relationships, and moves compounds closer to translational application, while also welcoming contributions that situate MNP discovery within the broader context of global health priorities. With evolving artificial intelligence (AI) tools, knowledge of MNP opportunities in the field of infectious diseases can be enriched further through this special edition.Contributions are invited on themes including, but not limited to: isolation, identification, and characterization of MNPs with antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, or antiparasitic activity; molecular and cellular mechanisms of action; structure-activity relationship and pharmacophore studies; synergistic interactions between MNPs and existing anti-infective agents; biosynthesis and biotechnological production of marine bioactive compounds, where directly linked to pharmacological characterization or therapeutic development; in vitro and in vivo preclinical efficacy and safety profiling; and computational approaches including molecular docking, virtual screening, and ADMET prediction. Contributions spanning the full discovery-to-translation spectrum are encouraged, from marine ecological sampling to clinical relevance assessments.Scope Boundaries: To maintain a strict pharmacological focus, studies analyzing crude, chemically uncharacterized marine extracts without identification of the active components are out of scope. Purely computational or in silico predictions (such as molecular docking) without accompanying in vitro or in vivo experimental validation will not be considered. In line with the section’s editorial policy, meta-analyses and retrospective studies are outside the scope of this Research Topic.Topic Editor Dr. Gangadhar Sunkara works for Novartis Pharmaceuticals and holds company shares. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject. Topic editors: Marinella Silva Laport, Gangadhar Sunkara, Bey Hing Goh Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82627/marine-natural-products-for-infectious-disease-control-emerging-therapeutics-and-mechanisms-of-action