PRONAMAR
Bioactive Natural Products of Marine Origin

Research Line 1 - Isolation and determination of natural products

Over the last few years, the group has structurally identified a large number of new natural compounds isolated from various natural sources, mainly of marine origin. These natural products (NPs) belong to a wide variety of structures: polyketides, terpenes, alkaloids, peptides, saponins, etc. Many of them are characterised by their high polarity, a field in which we are experts.

An important part of structural identification is the relative configuration of stereogenic centres, which we are able to determine by means of in-depth studies involving conformational analysis together with homo- and heteronuclear coupling constants. This method, known as J-based configurational analysis, is complemented by computational studies at the DFT level. The absolute configuration is completed with the application of Mosher and Marfey methods (peptide derivatives), circular dichroism studies and in some cases by total synthesis and X-ray diffraction.

In addition, we use anisotropic NMR measurements (CDR and RCSA) to determine the relative configuration of natural compounds.

Research Line 2 - Siderophores of pathogenic bacteria in fish

The main objective of this research line is the development of new treatments and diagnostics, based on Fe(III) uptake mechanisms, against infectious diseases in aquaculture fish caused by Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria.

Our approach is to exploit the bacterial uptake mechanisms of iron(III), an essential element for their growth and development but with a very limited availability due to its low solubility at physiological pH.

Our work focuses on the isolation, structural characterisation, synthesis of siderophore(s) and their analogues and their subsequent conjugation in order to develop new antimicrobials (mainly using the Trojan Horse strategy) and vaccines. In addition, we cloned, expressed in E. coli and subsequently purified the receptor protein(s) of each of the siderophores biosynthesised by the pathogenic bacteria in question, in order to test them as possible vaccines and determine their three-dimensional structure.

Current projects

• ChelOMICS: Application of multi-OMICS approaches to provide a holistic understanding of siderophore mediated host-pathogen interactions and new diagnostic options for aquaculture fish infections. HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01/101066127. Larissa Buedenbender. PI: Carlos Jiménez. Amount: 165.312,96 €.
• Proof of Concept Project: Use of bacterial cell wall proteins for the development of new multivalent vaccine formulations for fish, Ministry of Science and Innovation. Carlos Jiménez González/ Jaime Rodríguez González. Duration, from: 01/12/2022 to: 30/11/2024. Amount: 69.000,00 €.
• Role of siderophores in the development of bacterial infections in bivalve molluscs: applications for the improvement of clam culture (Subproject 2). Ministry of Science and Innovation. Carlos Jiménez González / Jaime Rodríguez González. Duration, from: 01/09/2022 to: 31/08/2026. Amount: 173,393.00 €.