Marine-derived prospective antibiotic armamentarium: From anti-quorum sensing to anti-biofilm and anti-biofouling biometabolites

Antibiotics have been a significant advancement in medical science in recent decades. However, they are now creating drug-resistant pathogens worldwide due to the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in human, livestock, and crop health. According to the WHO's 2019 report, around 700,000 die worldwide each year due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with 230,000 of those deaths attributed to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. By 2050, it is projected that 10 million people will die annually from drug-resistant infections, and by 2030, around 24 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty because of the antibiotic resistance burden. Consequently, drug-resistant infections are on the rise. Researchers are searching for next-generation antimicrobial therapies isolated from plant and marine sources that could limit the effects of AMR, which could potentially be a worse pandemic than the COVID-19 disaster if no fast action is taken. This review emphasizes the significance of marine-derived antimicrobial biometabolites as promising additions to the antibiotic armamentarium. The article compiles marine originated antimicrobial biometabolites, including halogenated furanones, phlorotannins, lactonases, alkaloids, terpenoids, lectins, and nanoparticle-synthesizing metabolites from algae, fungi, sponges, corals, tunicates, actinomycetes, and epibiotic bacteria, with the capability to inhibit quorum sensing, biofouling, and biofilm formation. We conclude with an overview of the cutting-edge research demonstrating that marine-derived biometabolites, including anti-virulence agents, autophagy modulators, microbiome therapies, and phage-based approaches, offer promising strategies for combating multidrug-resistant infections. Targeting bacterial virulence factors, glycosylation systems, and quorum sensing pathways, these biometabolites represent a key approach to controlling the spread of AMR. While genetic variability among microbes is inevitable, it is possible to avert microbial pathogenesis through these innovative strategies.