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. 2025 Jul 31:13:e19735.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.19735. eCollection 2025.

Evaluating the antibacterial properties of deep-sea sponges Dactylospongia elegants, Stelletta fibrosa, and Haliclona manglaris from the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba

Razan Ataallah Abuassaf #  1   2   3 , Fatima F Al-Jamal  1   3   4 , Osama H Abusara  5 , Malek Zihlif  6 , Ahmad A Deeb  5 , Mamoon M D Al-Rshaidat #  1   3
Affiliations

Evaluating the antibacterial properties of deep-sea sponges Dactylospongia elegants, Stelletta fibrosa, and Haliclona manglaris from the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba

Razan Ataallah Abuassaf et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Marine sponges are known for their rich variety of secondary metabolites, many of which show potential for pharmaceutical applications. In this study, three deep-sea sponge species-Stelletta fibrosa, Dactylospongia elegans, and Haliclona manglaris-were identified using DNA barcoding, and their ethanolic extracts were tested for antibacterial activity. The extracts were evaluated against Gram-positive (e.g., Bacillus pumilus, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA) and Gram-negative bacteria (e.g., Escherichia coli and Klebsiella aerogenes) using the agar well diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were also determined. Among the extracts, D. elegans exhibited the most potent antibacterial activity, with inhibition zones ranging from six to 21 mm against gram-positive bacteria and low MIC/MBC values from 0.25 to three mg/ml. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis of D. elegans revealed the presence of bioactive compounds such as gallic acid, caffeic acid, bolinaquinone, dactyloquinone, and others, which are known for their antimicrobial properties. These findings suggest that D. elegans has promising antibacterial properties that could be valuable in combating antimicrobial resistance.

Keywords: Antibacterial activity; Antimicrobial resistance (AMR); Bioactive compounds; DNA barcoding; Deep marine sponges; Gulf of Aqaba; Marine natural products.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Gulf of Aqaba map and sponge image.
Map of the Gulf of Aqaba showing the locations of sample collection and an image of the collected sample. The map was supplied by the OceanX vessel. Numbers 1–8 indicate the ship’s stations during the expedition.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Phylogenetic tree of 28S rRNA sequences from three sponge samples.
The phylogenetic tree was constructed using MEGA11 software, with the three sponge samples highlighted in red circles. The tree was generated using the UPGMA method and computed with the Neighbor-Joining algorithm, with 1,000 bootstrap replications (indicated by bold numbers).
Figure 3
Figure 3. MIC and MBC of D. elegans (sponge 2) and H. manglaris (sponge 3) ethanolic extracts: (A) MIC and (B) MBC for the ethanolic extracts of D. elegans (Sponge 2) against S. aureus, B. pumilus, S. epidermidis, and MRSA, as well as H. manglaris (Sponge 3) against S. aureus and S. epidermidis. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between the two sponge extracts, with p values indicated as follows: p = 0.033 (*), p = 0.002 (**), and p < 0.001 (***).
SEM values were zero in all cases; therefore, error bars are not displayed.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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