Cyanobacteria and eukaryotic microalgae as potential sources of antibiotics

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is an issue receiving significant attention and highlights the urgent need for new classes of antibiotics. This has led to exploration for natural compounds from relatively unexplored microorganisms including microalgae. These photosynthetic organisms are extremely diverse and ubiquitous and have been shown to produce compounds that exhibit antibacterial activity against human pathogens. Their ability to survive in a wide range of environmental conditions and the possibility of culture condition manipulation for optimization of antibacterial compounds suggests that they have significant potential. However, only a few species have been so far investigated, and very few metabolites characterized. This review provides an overview of this research and illustrates the opportunity for significantly more systematic investigation of these microorganisms.