Fish Skin Mucus Extracts: An Underexplored Source of Antimicrobial Agents

Area of Science:

• Marine Biology
• Biochemistry
• Microbiology

Background:

• The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria necessitates novel therapeutic strategies.
• Fish skin mucus is a rich source of bioactive molecules with potential antimicrobial properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review antimicrobial molecules in fish skin mucus.
• To assess its antimicrobial capacity against various pathogens.
• To present mucus extraction methods and omic techniques for compound discovery.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies on fish skin mucus.
• Analysis of reported antimicrobial activities (in vitro).
• Description of extraction techniques (aqueous, organic, acidic) and omic approaches (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, multiomics).

Main Results:

• Fish skin mucus exhibits antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
• Diverse bioactive molecules, including peptides and proteins, are present.
• Various extraction and omic methods facilitate identification and isolation.

Conclusions:

• Fish skin mucus is a promising source for novel antimicrobial agent discovery.
• Further research using omic techniques can accelerate the identification of new compounds.
• This approach offers a potential solution to the challenge of antimicrobial resistance.