The ocean harbors an immense, largely untapped diversity of microorganisms—bacteria, fungi, yeasts, thraustochytrids, and microalgae—whose metabolic versatility makes them a powerful resource for industrial biotechnology. Marine microbes supply novel extracellular enzymes that degrade complex polymers, robust cell factories for pigments and lipids, and a wealth of bioactive molecules, while marine biomass and processing by-products offer abundant, renewable feedstocks. Advances in meta-omics (metagenomics, metaproteomics, metabolomics), cultivation, and metabolic engineering now allow these resources to be discovered, characterized, and applied. Yet challenges remain: many marine microbes resist cultivation, enzyme functions are often inferred rather than verified, product titers are frequently low, and marine biomass and waste streams are underexploited. Connecting the discovery of marine microbial resources with biocatalysis and microbial production is essential to translate this biodiversity into sustainable bio-based products and a blue bioeconomy.
Goal
This Research Topic aims to connect the discovery of marine microbial resources with their conversion into high-value bioproducts, building a full marine bioproduction chain—from bioprospecting, through biocatalysis and microbial cell factories, to the valorization of marine biomass.
On the discovery side, we welcome studies that use meta-omics, single-cell approaches, and targeted cultivation to reveal the functional potential of marine bacteria and fungi and to identify novel enzymes (e.g., polysaccharide-degrading, proteolytic, and oxidative biocatalysts) with potential in industrial biotechnology.
On the production side, we invite work spanning the marine product spectrum: biochemical characterization and engineering of marine-derived enzymes; marine and non-conventional microbial cell factories for carotenoids (e.g., astaxanthin), polyunsaturated fatty acids, and microbial lipids; marine-derived bioactive compounds and functional biomolecules; and the enzyme- and fermentation-based bio-upcycling of marine biomass, algal polysaccharides, and processing by-products. By uniting ecological discovery with biocatalysis and metabolic engineering, the collection seeks to advance the sustainable use of marine microbial biodiversity for industrial biotechnology.
Scope and information for authors
We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Methods, and Perspectives on, but not limited to:
(1) bioprospecting and functional characterization of marine microbial resources (bacteria, fungi, yeasts, thraustochytrids, microalgae) using metagenomics, metaproteomics, metabolomics, and cultivation;
(2) discovery, biochemical characterization, and protein engineering (including directed evolution) of marine-derived enzymes for biocatalysis—polysaccharide-degrading, proteolytic, oxidative, and other industrially relevant biocatalysts;
(3) marine and non-conventional microbial cell factories for carotenoids and astaxanthin, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and microbial lipids;
(4) marine-derived bioactive compounds and functional biomolecules (oligosaccharides, peptides, antioxidant and antimicrobial agents, bioflocculants) and the evaluation of their bioactivities;
(5) bio-upcycling and enzyme- or fermentation-based valorization of marine biomass, algal polysaccharides, and processing by-products and waste streams;
(6) metabolic and genetic engineering, adaptive laboratory evolution, high-throughput screening, and metabolomics-guided fermentation process development to improve titers and product quality.
Article types and fees
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Brief Research Report
Case Report
Data Report
Editorial
FAIR² Data
General Commentary
Hypothesis and Theory
Methods
Mini Review
Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.
Article types
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
