Chemical Study of the Marine Sponge Myrmekioderma gyroderma: Biogenetic and Evolutionary Adaptation Shared with Terrestrial Plants?

AbstractThe Yucatan Peninsula contains a richness of organisms and invaluable knowledge beneath its marine waters. However, much of this value remains hidden and unknown; it has also been threatened by global climate change and other anthropogenic pressures. In this research, we present a chemical investigation of the marine sponge Myrmekioderma gyroderma, collected in the Yucatan Peninsula, from which we isolated the compound 13-Oxo-geranyllinalool, a derivative of geraniol previously isolated only from terrestrial plants. This chemical study is the first to investigate the secondary metabolites of the marine sponge M. gyroderma. To our knowledge, 13-Oxo-geranyllinalool is the fifth geraniol derivative isolated from the genus Myrmekioderma, and it showed moderate activity against herpes simplex virus type 1. We discuss the presence of the same compound in a terrestrial plant and a marine sponge and the use of geranyllinalool-derived compounds as potential chemotaxonomic markers.