Marine Biotech Fellowship: Natural Products from Common Shallow-water Soft Corals of Guam: Reproductive Considerations

9528570 Slattery这个研究项目将利用分析化学技术来评价次生代谢物和类固醇在关岛3种软珊瑚繁殖中的重要性。该项目建立在正在进行的研究基础上，该研究已经确定并检查了次生代谢物、有机提取物和形态防御在软珊瑚捕食者威慑中的重要性。本项目将提取、分离和测定成虫菌落及其卵中新的次生代谢物的结构。这些化合物浓度的时间变化将与生殖指数相关联，以评估化合物在成熟和产卵中的作用。将进行标准的生物测定，以指导生物活性化合物的分离，并确定分离的天然产物在卵子释放、精子趋化性和喂养威慑方面的重要性。在这个项目中发现的新化合物将在一个不断增长的代谢物数据库中进行扩展，这些代谢物可以用作化学分类标记，并将被纳入现有的药理学计划。此外，该项目将对关岛周围浅礁上常见软珊瑚的生殖生物学和化学生态学作出重大贡献。＊＊＊

9528570 Slattery This research project will utilize analytical chemical techniques to evaluate the importance of secondary metabolites and steroids in the reproduction of 3 species of soft corals from Guam. This project builds on ongoing research which has identified and examined the importance of secondary metabolites, organic extracts, and morphological defenses in soft coral predator deterrence. This project will extract, isolate, and determine the structures of new secondary metabolites in adult colonies and their eggs. Temporal changes in concentrations of these compounds will be correlated with reproductive indices to assess the role of the compounds in maturation and spawning. Standard bioassays will be conducted to guide isolation of bioactive compounds and to determine the importance of isolated natural products in egg release, sperm chemotaxis, and feeding deterrence. Novel compounds identified in this project will expand upon a growing database of metabolites that can be used as chemotaxonomic markers and will be incorporated into existing pharmacological programs. Additionally, this project will contribute significant in sights into the reproductive biology and chemical ecology of the common soft corrals on the shallow reefs surrounding Guam. ***