The chemical origins of biological interactions: an evolutionarily refined approach for natural products discovery

生物相互作用的化学起源：天然产物发现的进化改进方法

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-05813
• 负责人: Sit, Clarissa
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: Saint Mary's University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=632759
• 关键词: chemical; origins; biological; interactions; evolutionarily

One of the greatest challenges we currently face is the development of antibiotic-resistance in human pathogens. In the past, scientists have harvested a large number of antibacterial and antifungal molecules from microbes found in the soil. These molecules that are isolated from natural sources are referred to as natural products. Because many natural products are structurally complex, they often have useful bioactive properties. Indeed, the structures of natural products form the inspiration for the majority of successful drug candidates. However, both the pharmaceutical industry and academia have realized that searching for natural products using standard procedures (e.g. isolating soil microbes) is labour-intensive and often leads to rediscovery of known compounds.

我们目前面临的最大挑战之一是人类病原体抗生素耐药性的发展。过去，科学家们从土壤中发现的微生物中收获了大量的抗菌和抗真菌分子。这些从天然来源中分离出来的分子被称为天然产物。由于许多天然产物结构复杂，它们通常具有有用的生物活性特性。事实上，天然产物的结构为大多数成功的候选药物提供了灵感。然而，制药业和学术界都认识到，使用标准程序（例如分离土壤微生物）寻找天然产物是劳动密集型的，而且往往导致重新发现已知的化合物。