Roles of Marine Microbial Natural Products

Over billions of years, marine microorganisms evolved a vast genetic potential to produce the molecules we denote as natural products or secondary metabolites. While these molecules show promise as therapeutics, their ecological roles, beyond those as antimicrobials, are receiving increasing attention. This review examines recent advances in our understanding of the ecological functions of marine microbial natural products and highlights both known and emerging roles. We summarize the involvement of these natural products in biological, ecological, and biogeochemical processes in the oceans; outline how their production may profoundly affect the producing organism; and discuss how the presence of natural product–producing microorganisms may affect microbiome composition and function. Despite progress, knowledge about the ecological roles of marine microbial natural products remains limited, and we also discuss challenges and opportunities in this field, including promising new technologies that could provide novel insights.