Dear Colleagues,

Our oceans are extremely rich reserves of allelochemicals—natural compounds, mostly secondary metabolites, originating from living organisms that influence the behavior, growth, signaling, and reproduction of other organisms. These substances, which mediate key ecological interactions (allelopathy), have been maintained during evolution for conferring protection under ecological constrains, and for enhancing survival to biological communities. Out of the many bioactive chemicals described from the oceans, only a small fraction has been studied for their ecological significance. Similarly, most chemically-mediated interactions are not well understood, because the molecules involved remain unrevealed. In Polar regions, this gap in knowledge is even more acute in comparison to tropical or temperate regions, even if polar organisms are also prolific producers of interesting natural products. The extreme and uniquely complex marine environments surrounding the South and North Poles are expected to favor the production of numerous unusual functional secondary metabolites. Indeed, there is an urgent need to comprehend the evolutionary role of marine derived substances in general, and particularly in the Poles.

Marine bioactive molecules offer also a great deal of applications in pharmacology (e.g., drugs to fight cancer or inflammatory diseases), cosmetics and skincare products (e.g., eco-friendly sunscreens), industry (e.g., ecologically friendly antifouling paints), or even nutraceuticals (e.g., omega;-3 fatty acids, algal gelling agents). To date, less than 3% of the reported marine compounds originate from higher latitudes, despite the fact that a huge portion of global shallow-water habitat is found around the Antarctic. The reasons for this asymmetry are probably related to the difficult accessibility, harsh climate, and the prevailing theory that Polar systems should be less biochemically productive.

In this Special Issue of Marine Drugs, entitled “Chilling Allelochemicals: Natural Products and Bioactivities from Polar and Sub-Polar Latitudes”;, we intend to compile any discovery or contribution of identified marine natural products or natural mixtures of metabolites proven to have a biological or ecological function in Polar ecosystems. This Special issue is focused on (but not limited to) compounds that are involved in allelopathy among natural organisms. Nonetheless, the issue will also collect work on compounds or mixtures that are able to target other activities related to the development of eco-friendly products with applications for human goods and services.

Guest Editor

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• Chemical ecology

• Bioactive metabolites

• Defense

• Antifouling

• Photoprotection

• Drug discovery

• Eco-friendly products

• Marine invertebrates and algae

• Symbiosis

• Microorganisms