5-Bromo-DMT (5-bromo-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) is a psychedelic brominated indole alkaloid found in the sponges Smenospongia aurea and Smenospongia echina, as well as in Verongula rigida alongside 5,6-Dibromo-DMT and seven other alkaloids. It is the 5-bromo derivative of DMT, a psychedelic found in many plants and animals.
Agelas conifera, also known as the brown tube sponge, is a species of sponge. Its color is brown, tan, or greyish brown with a lighter interior. It is common in the Caribbean and Bahamas, and occasional in Florida. Agelas conifera contains bromopyrrole alkaloids, notably sceptrin and oroidin, and levels of these feeding-deterrents increase upon predation.
ChEMBL or ChEMBLdb is a manually curated chemical database of bioactive molecules with drug-like properties. It is maintained by the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), based at the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK.
3-Alkylpyridinium (3-AP) compounds are natural chemical compounds that are found in marine sponges belonging to the order Haplosclerida. Some polymers derived from 3-APs are anticholinesterase agents and show hemolytic and cytotoxic activities. More than 70 structurally different 3-APs have been isolated from marine sponges. However, not all such sponges contain 3-AP compounds. Variation in content of 3-APs has been detected even within a single sponge species collected from different geographical area. Although 3-APs look structurally quite simple, the structure elucidation by NMR spectroscopy is complicated by the fact that most of the methylene groups in the alkyl chains show the same chemical shift. Therefore, the 3-APs are an ideal test case for a combined approach of NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.
Sea sponge aquaculture is the process of farming sea sponges under controlled conditions. It has been conducted in the world's oceans for centuries using a number of aquaculture techniques. There are many factors such as light, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen and the accumulation of waste products that influence the growth rate of sponges. The benefits of sea sponge aquaculture are realised as a result of its ease of establishment, minimum infrastructure requirements and the potential to be used as a source of income for populations living in developing countries. Sea sponges are produced on a commercial scale to be used as bath sponges or to extract biologically active compounds which are found in certain sponge species. Techniques such as the rope and mesh bag method are used to culture sponges independently or within an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system setting. One of the only true sustainable sea sponges cultivated in the world occur in the region of Micronesia, with a number of growing and production methods used to ensure and maintain the continued sustainability of these farmed species.
The molecule malabaricane and its derivatives, the malabaricanes, are triterpene and triterpenoid compounds found in various organisms. They are named after the rain forest tree Ailanthus malabarica, from which they were first isolated in 1967 by scientists at the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, India. Later, great varieties of malabaricanes were discovered in other organisms, mostly in marine sponges such as Rhabdastrella globostellata.
Agelas is a genus of sea sponge in the class Demospongiae.
Parazoanthus swiftii, commonly known as the golden zoanthid, is a species of coral in the order Zoantharia which grows symbiotically on several species of sponge. It is found in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea and western Atlantic Ocean.
Agelas flabelliformis, also known as the elephant ear sponge, is a species of demosponge. It takes the form of a large leathery slender flap and is found in the Caribbean area at depths down to 100 metres (330 ft).
Stevensine is a bromopyrrole alkaloid originally isolated from an unidentified Micronesian marine sponge, as well as a New Caledonian sponge, Pseudaxinyssa cantharella and Axinella corrugata. Total synthesis of stevensine has been achieved by Ying-zi Xu et al., and investigations into the biosynthetic origin has been explored by Paul Andrade et al. Understanding methods to synthesize stevensine and other similar compounds is an important step to accomplish, as marine sponges contain numerous biologically active metabolites that have been shown to function as anything from antitumor to antibacterial agents when tested for medicinal applications. Reasons for why marine sponges contain so many bio-active chemicals has been attributed to their sessile nature, and the need to produce chemical defenses to ensure survival. However, since many of these compounds naturally occur in small amounts, harvesting the sponges has in the past led to near-extinction of some species.
Sceptrin is a bioactive marine isolate. It has been isolated from the marine sponge Agelas conifera and appears to have affinity for the bacterial actin equivalent MreB. As such, this compound possess antibiotic potential.
Isotuberculosinol, also called nosyberkol or edaxadiene is a diterpene molecule produced by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB, which aids in its pathogenesis. Isotuberculosinol functions by preventing maturation of the host-cell phagosome in which the bacterium lives. Maturation of the phagosome would enable it to kill the bacterium. Mutations in genes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of nosyberkol result in normal development of the phagosome and reduction of mycobacterial infection. These biosynthetic genes include isotuberculosinol synthase.
Fungal isolates have been researched for decades. Because fungi often exist in thin mycelial monolayers, with no protective shell, immune system, and limited mobility, they have developed the ability to synthesize a variety of unusual compounds for survival. Researchers have discovered fungal isolates with anticancer, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, and other bio-active properties. The first statins, β-Lactam antibiotics, as well as a few important antifungals, were discovered in fungi.
Lacking an immune system, protective shell, or mobility, sponges have developed an ability to synthesize a variety of unusual compounds for survival. C-nucleosides isolated from Caribbean Cryptotethya crypta, were the basis for the synthesis of zidovudine (AZT), aciclovir (Cyclovir), cytarabine (Depocyt), and cytarabine derivative gemcitabine (Gemzar).
The asymmetric addition of alkynylzinc compounds to aldehydes is an example of a Nef synthesis, a chemical reaction whereby a chiral propargyl alcohol is prepared from a terminal alkyne and an aldehyde. This alkynylation reaction is enantioselective and involves an alkynylzinc reagent rather than the sodium acetylide used by John Ulric Nef in his 1899 report of the synthetic approach. Propargyl alcohols are versatile precursors for the chirally-selective synthesis of natural products and pharmaceutical agents, making this asymmetric addition reaction of alkynylzinc compounds useful. For example, Erick Carreira used this approach in a total synthesis of the marine natural product leucascandrolide A, a bioactive metabolite of the calcareous sponge Leucascandra caveolata with cytotoxic and antifungal properties isolated in 1996.
Onnamide A is a bioactive natural product found in Theonella swinhoei, a species of marine sponge whose genus is well known for yielding a diverse set of biologically active natural products, including the swinholides and polytheonamides. It bears structural similarities to the pederins, a family of compounds known to inhibit protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells. Onnamide A and its analogues have attracted academic interest due to their cytotoxicity and potential for combating the growth and proliferation of cancer cells.
Dysidea arenaria is a species of marine sponge (poriferan) found in the Pacific Ocean. It is a member of the order Dictyoceratida, one of two sponge orders that make up the keratose or "horny" sponges in which a mineral skeleton is absent and a skeleton of organic fibers is present instead.
Swinholides are dimeric 42 carbon-ring polyketides that exhibit a 2-fold axis of symmetry. Found mostly in the marine sponge Theonella, swinholides encompass cytotoxic and antifungal activities via disruption of the actin skeleton. Swinholides were first described in 1985 and the structure and stereochemistry were updated in 1989 and 1990, respectively. Thirteen swinholides have been described in the literature, including close structural compounds such as misakinolides/bistheonellides, ankaraholides, and hurgholide A It is suspected that symbiotic microbes that inhabit the sponges rather than the sponges themselves produce swinholides since the highest concentration of swinholides are found in the unicellular bacterial fraction of sponges and not in the sponge fraction or cyanobacteria fraction that also inhabit the sponges.
Spirastrella coccinea is a species of marine sponge in the family Spirastrellidae. It is found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico.
Pseudoceratina is a genus of sponge within the family Pseudoceratinidae. They are characterized by possession of a dendritic fiber skeleton lacking laminar bark but containing pith. They have been found in a variety of habitats including the Great Barrier reef, the Red Sea, and Jamaica. Sponges of this genus have a microbiome known to produce a variety of chemicals that are used in pharmaceutical and anti-fouling activities. Notably, a species in this genus produces a chemical that is effective in inhibiting the migration of metastatic breast cancer cells.
