VPW: Chemical Studies of Natural Inducers of Larval Settlement and Metamorphosis in Tropical Marine Invertebrates

这项研究涉及几种海洋无脊椎动物幼虫定居和变态的天然诱导物的化学特性。 目标是分离和表征作为天然诱导剂的活性分子。 将研究专门研究滨珊瑚的裸鳃类Phestilla sibogae（后鳃类：裸鳃类）的天然诱导物;管建筑多毛类蠕虫Hydroides elegans，一种普遍存在的污垢生物，会对微生物膜的化学线索作出反应;以及专门研究某些海藻的食草海兔Stylocheilus longicauda，Aaprisia juliana和Aaprisia parvula（后鳃类：Anaspidea）。 将通过活性提取物的色谱分离进行活性化合物的分离，随后进行幼虫沉降的生物测定，以确定哪些组分诱导沉降和变态。 一旦纯化，NMR和其他光谱方法将用于阐明活性诱导剂的结构。 这种分离和阐明天然诱导物结构的方法最适用于相对小的有机分子或肽，如果诱导物是蛋白质或其他大分子，则可能需要修改以使用化学或酶降解技术。 了解海洋无脊椎动物幼体定居和变态的特定线索的化学性质对于包括发育生物学、海洋底栖生物群落生态学和水产养殖在内的不同领域都很重要。 互动活动包括在夏威夷大学动物学系开发和教授化学生态学研究生课程和海洋化学生态学研究生研讨会;参加夏威夷大学化学系的天然产物化学和有机研讨会课程;指导本科生，并与Kewalo海洋实验室和动物学研究所的研究生和博士后研究人员互动，夏威夷大学化学系。

The research involves the chemical characterization of natural inducers of larval settlement and metamorphosis in several species of marine invertebrates. The goal is to isolate and characterize the active molecules that function as natural inducers. Natural inducers will be studied for the nudibranch Phestilla sibogae (Opisthobranchia: Nudibranchia) that specializes on Porites corals; the tube-building polychaete worm Hydroides elegans, a ubiquitous fouling organism that settles in response to chemical cues from microbial films; and the herbivorous sea hares Stylocheilus longicauda, Aplysia juliana and Aplysia parvula (Opisthobranchia: Anaspidea) that specialize on certain seaweeds. Isolation of active compounds will be carried out by chromatographic separations of active extracts with subsequent bioassays of larval settlement to determine which fractions induce settlement and metamorphosis. Once purified, NMR and other spectroscopic methods will be used to elucidate the structures of active inducers. This approach to isolating and elucidating the structures of natural inducers will work best for relatively small organic molecules or peptides, and may require modification to use chemical or enzymatic degradation techniques if inducers are proteins or other large macromolecules. Understanding the chemical nature of specific cues for settlement and metamorphosis of marine invertebrate larvae is important for different fields including developmental biology, marine benthic community ecology, and aquaculture. Interactive activities include developing and teaching a graduate course in Chemical Ecology and a graduate seminar in Marine Chemical Ecology at the University of Hawaii Department of Zoology; participating in Natural Products Chemistry and Organic seminar courses at the University of Hawaii Department of Chemistry; and mentoring undergraduate students and interacting with graduate students and postdoctoral researchers at the Kewalo Marine Laboratory and the Zoology and Chemistry Departments at the University of Hawaii.