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Dear Colleagues,

The phylum Mollusca embraces a high diversity of species, which turned out to be of great interest to natural products chemists. Chemical studies unveiled a variety of unique scaffolds inspiring leading drugs currently in clinical trials. Thus, extending investigation on unexplored species is expected to reveal novel molecular architectures. Beyond the chemistry and pharmacological potential of molluscan metabolites, their crucial role in regulating chemo-ecological interactions has also been addressed. The majority of these molecules are obtained from food sources, but they can be biosynthesized de novo, or derived from symbiotic microorganisms.

This Special Issue is open to contributions covering all aspects of chemistry, chemical ecology and pharmacological potential of secondary metabolites from molluscs; papers are welcome reporting on: i) the discovery of novel bioactive compounds and their molecular targets; ii) the origin and the biosynthetic pathways by which these metabolites are produced; iii) their chemo-ecological role; iv) the synthetic strategies designed to overcome the supply issue for the metabolites themselves and to provide derivatives with improved potency.

Dr. Adele Cutignano
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Secondary metabolites
Molluscs
Biosynthesis
Synthesis
Structural elucidation
Biological activity
Chemo-ecological study

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1535 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Amphilectene Diterpene Isonitriles and Formamido Derivatives from the Hainan Nudibranch Phyllidia Coelestis

by Marianna Carbone, Maria Letizia Ciavatta, Emiliano Manzo, Xiao-Lu Li, Ernesto Mollo, I Wayan Mudianta, Yue-Wei Guo and Margherita Gavagnin

Mar. Drugs 2019, 17(11), 603; https://doi.org/10.3390/md17110603 - 24 Oct 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2736

Abstract

Terpene content of two distinct collections of the nudibranch Phyllidia coelestis from the South China Sea has been chemically analyzed. A series of amphilectene diterpenes, most likely of dietary origin, with isocyano and formamido functionalities have been isolated from both collections and spectroscopically characterized by an exhaustive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. Interestingly, the structural architecture of compounds 5–7 and 9 with both 8,13-cis and 12,13-cis ring junctions is unprecedented in the amphilectene skeleton. Metabolite 3, which was the most abundant in the nudibranch’s mantle, has been shown to deter feeding by a generalist predator, supporting its involvement in chemical defense. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Secondary Metabolites from Marine Molluscs: Chemistry, Biosynthesis, Synthesis and Bioactivity)

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Graphical abstract

Review

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38 pages, 4661 KiB

Open AccessReview

Terpenoids in Marine Heterobranch Molluscs

by Conxita Avila

Mar. Drugs 2020, 18(3), 162; https://doi.org/10.3390/md18030162 - 14 Mar 2020

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5220

Abstract

Heterobranch molluscs are rich in natural products. As other marine organisms, these gastropods are still quite unexplored, but they provide a stunning arsenal of compounds with interesting activities. Among their natural products, terpenoids are particularly abundant and diverse, including monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids, sesterterpenoids, triterpenoids, tetraterpenoids, and steroids. This review evaluates the different kinds of terpenoids found in heterobranchs and reports on their bioactivity. It includes more than 330 metabolites isolated from ca. 70 species of heterobranchs. The monoterpenoids reported may be linear or monocyclic, while sesquiterpenoids may include linear, monocyclic, bicyclic, or tricyclic molecules. Diterpenoids in heterobranchs may include linear, monocyclic, bicyclic, tricyclic, or tetracyclic compounds. Sesterterpenoids, instead, are linear, bicyclic, or tetracyclic. Triterpenoids, tetraterpenoids, and steroids are not as abundant as the previously mentioned types. Within heterobranch molluscs, no terpenoids have been described in this period in tylodinoideans, cephalaspideans, or pteropods, and most terpenoids have been found in nudibranchs, anaspideans, and sacoglossans, with very few compounds in pleurobranchoideans and pulmonates. Monoterpenoids are present mostly in anaspidea, and less abundant in sacoglossa. Nudibranchs are especially rich in sesquiterpenes, which are also present in anaspidea, and in less numbers in sacoglossa and pulmonata. Diterpenoids are also very abundant in nudibranchs, present also in anaspidea, and scarce in pleurobranchoidea, sacoglossa, and pulmonata. Sesterterpenoids are only found in nudibranchia, while triterpenoids, carotenoids, and steroids are only reported for nudibranchia, pleurobranchoidea, and anaspidea. Many of these compounds are obtained from their diet, while others are biotransformed, or de novo biosynthesized by the molluscs. Overall, a huge variety of structures is found, indicating that chemodiversity correlates to the amazing biodiversity of this fascinating group of molluscs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Secondary Metabolites from Marine Molluscs: Chemistry, Biosynthesis, Synthesis and Bioactivity)

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