Deciphering functional biomolecule potential of marine diatoms through complex network approach
Thomas Kiran Marella1, Hina Bansal2, Raya Bhattacharjya2
1Algae Biomass and Energy System R&D Center (ABES), University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Bioresource Technology
|September 20, 2021
Summary
Marine diatoms yield bioactive compounds for drug discovery. This study identified key compounds like oleic acid and their therapeutic pathways using bioinformatics, paving the way for new drug development.
Area of Science:
- Marine biology
- Pharmacology
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Marine diatoms are rich sources of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential.
- High-throughput screening is crucial for identifying novel drug molecules from these compounds.
- Understanding biomolecule-target interactions is key to drug discovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify bioactive chemical constituents from marine diatoms.
- To predict the bioactivity and molecular targets of these constituents using in-silico methods.
- To elucidate the associated metabolic pathways using a complex network approach.
Main Methods:
- Untargeted metabolite profiling of five marine diatom species.
- In-silico virtual screening and bioinformatics analysis.
- Construction of ingredient-target-pathway networks and subnetworks.
Main Results:
- 17 out of 51 extracted chemical constituents showed interactions with 76 protein targets across 213 pathways.
- Oleic acid, linoleic acid, and cholest-5-en-3-ol were identified as major active constituents.
- These compounds are involved in cell signaling, growth, and xenobiotic metabolism pathways.
Conclusions:
- This study reveals key active ingredients and their associated pathways in marine diatoms.
- The findings provide a foundation for developing novel therapeutics from marine diatom metabolites.
- A complex network approach effectively identified bioactive compounds and their biological roles.
