SeaMap: Mapping marine diversity along the South African coastline
Contacts: A/Prof Marilize Le Roes-Hill (LeRoesM@cput.ac.za); ORCiD: 0000-0002-1930-2637
This National Research Foundation-Foundational Biodiversity Initiative program (NRF-FBIP) funded project is focused on exploring the biodiversity of marine macro- and microorganisms within the South African marine environment.
CPUT Research Focus Area: Bioeconomy and Biotechnology CPUT Research Niche Areas: Natural Products Chemistry
This large consortium-based project is driven by Dr Lara Atkinson from the South African Environmental Observation Network. At AMHBI, we are involved in the isolation of marine actinobacteria from marine samples collected along the coastline. Actinobacterial diversity can provide insights into
Harnessing natural product diversity to combat multi-drug resistant pathogens
their potential roles in these environments and how they
This consortium-based project is driven by the Rhodes
interact with other micro- and macroorganisms.
University in South Africa and the University of Plymouth in the
Actinobacteria are an important source of novel bioactive
UK, with CPUT as one of the consortium partners. This
compounds, with marine actinobacteria believed to
project forms part of the Antibiotic Accelerator Initiative and
produce different, more novel bioactive compounds than
Antibiotic Drug Discovery Hub initiated/established by the South
An omics-based approach for the discovery of antimicrobial natural products from South African actinobacteria
African and UK Medical Research Councils. As the initiative implies, various researchers across South
This NRF-funded project is spearheaded by Prof Denzil Beukes, School of Pharmacy, University of the Western Cape (UWC). Our involvement in this study, is focused on the evaluation of the genome sequences of South African actinobacterial strains and exploring their ability to produce antibiotics against multi-drug resistant pathogens, while the team at UWC focuses on the metabolome (mass spectrometry fingerprints) of the antibiotic-producing strain for the development of a targeted approach in the production and isolation of novel bioactive compounds.
Africa and the UK are working together on the discovery of novel antibiotics from various sources (including marine actinobacteria) for the treatment of infections caused by multi-drug resistant pathogens. In addition, the consortium is also working on the development of a synthetic compound library for improved preparedness for the next pandemic and/or antibiotic-resistant pathogens that may emerge.