Antimicrobial activity of Antarctic bryozoans: An ecological perspective with potential for clinical applications

• All ether extracts exhibited antimicrobial activity against some bacteria.
• The antimicrobial compounds are mainly lipophilic.
• Bryozoan compounds show a wide array of potential ecological roles.
• The genus Camptoplites shows a broad-spectrum of antimicrobial activity.
• We suggest the potential use of bryozoan extracts as antimicrobial drugs.

The antimicrobial activity of Antarctic bryozoans and the ecological functions of the chemical compounds involved remain largely unknown. To determine the significant ecological and applied antimicrobial effects, 16 ether and 16 butanol extracts obtained from 13 different bryozoan species were tested against six Antarctic (including Psychrobacter luti, Shewanella livingstonensis and 4 new isolated strains) and two bacterial strains from culture collections (Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus). Results from the bioassays reveal that all ether extracts exhibited antimicrobial activity against some bacteria. Only one butanol extract produced inhibition, indicating that antimicrobial compounds are mainly lipophilic. Ether extracts of the genus Camptoplites inhibited the majority of bacterial strains, thus indicating a broad-spectrum of antimicrobial activity. Moreover, most ether extracts presented activities against bacterial strains from culture collections, suggesting the potential use of these extracts as antimicrobial drugs against pathogenic bacteria.