ZMT - Leibniz Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung

Microbes: tiny biochemical factories

Some marine microorganisms produce   pathogenic compounds which cause diseases in tropical seaweeds used in aquaculture. On the other hand, some microorganisms are probiotics enhancing the healthy growth of macroalgae or produce relevant biochemical products and bioactive compounds  with a considerable value for the pharmaceutical or chemical industry.

We investigate:

• Basic and applied research of microbial communities: composition and functionality
• Identification of potential pathogens, probiotics and bacteria of biotechnological interest producing bioactive compounds
• Isolation of secondary metabolites to test their properties
• Assessment of management strategies

Main issues and solutions

Issue: Aquatic pathogens and diseases natural and in aquaculture seaweeds.
Our solution: Development and use of bacterial strains as probiotics and investigation of their metabolic capacity. Assessment of microorganisms responsible for diseases and management strategies for aquaculture.

Issue: Developing new or better commercially interesting pharmaceutical compounds
Our solution: Identification of bioactive compounds, their biosynthetic pathways and the microorganisms producing them in order to investigate potential biotechnological applications, e.g. antitumor, antibiotics, antifouling.

Benefits of our research

• Baseline on the microbial diversity and functionality from marine macroalgae of Vietnam
• Sustainable management of tropical seaweed aquaculture
• Increment on the economic benefits and new algae-based products