Marine derived micro-organisms secrete precious bioactive molecules in traceable amount as their secondary metabolites. These bio-molecules can be developed into antimicrobial agents, using modern tools of molecular biology and drug discovery. Exhaustion of terrestrial sources and demand of newer class of antibiotics due to ever-increasing resistance level in existing antimicrobial drugs, led a paradigm shift from land to ocean for discoveries of such agents. Marine bacteria, fungi and algae are potential sources of novel antimicrobial drugs. Many such agents are identified worldwide including India. Huge cost of marine bioprospecting and non-culturability of marine microbes are the major hurdles in marine drug development which emphasized need of public-private partnerships and advanced technologies like metagenomic tools, genetic recombinant techniques and chemoenzymatic synthesis.

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