Bacterial Communities of different Mediterranean Sponge Species - Basic investigations for biotechnological sponge cultivation

The aim to use sponges and their associated microorganisms for the supply of natural compounds for their investigation in clinical trials for subsequent development of drugs was the motivation for the investigation of bacterial communities of sponges. The investigation revealed surface- and tissue-associated bacterial communities of free-living sponges were different from each other and microbial communities and secondary metabolites of sponges remain stable during biotechnological cultivation.