Yonghong Liu

CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology / Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica / Research Center for Marine Microbes, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China

OBJECTIVE: Marine microorganisms are plentiful source of bioactive lead compounds. They are subjects of intensive screening program for new drug leads. Our research interest is a discovery of antitumor compounds from special eco-environment microorganisms isolated from biogenic and abiotic sources.

METHODS:

1. Collection samples from biogenic (invertebrates, mangrove, sea weeds, etc) and abiotic (deep sea sediment and soils) sources. 
2. Isolation of fungi and bacteria (especially actinomycetes) from the special eco-environment. 
3. Mass culture of the symbiotic microorganisms.    
4. Chemical analysis of the active components of symbiotic microorganisms

5. Simple in-house bioassays including brine shrimp assay, antimicrobial assay, antioxidant assay.

RESULTS: 100 new and 100 known compounds were isolated from marine symbiotic microorganisms. The structures were established on the basis of NMR and MS analyses. The stereochemistry was defined by combined use of NMR, ECD, X-ray, and chemical derivation.

CONCLUSION: These compounds were screening foranticancer, antibacterial activities, some of them showed significant activities.