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Science 13 April 1990:
Vol. 248. no. 4952, pp. 173 - 177
DOI: 10.1126/science.2183350
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Articles

Science, Vol 248, Issue 4952, 173-177
Copyright © 1990 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Some marine ecological phenomena: chemical basis and biomedical potential

PJ Scheuer

Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaii, Monoa, Honolulu 96822.

Analysis of secondary metabolites derived from marine organisms has revealed a broad spectrum of novel molecular architecture. The function of these compounds in their natural habitat is linked to various aspects of species survival, and the compounds have also served as characteristic chemical markers through successive trophic levels. Fundamental questions concerning the locus of synthesis in complex and intricate assemblies of plants and animals and the pathways of biosynthesis are beginning to be answered. It is now apparent that the marine environment gives rise to some distinctive chemistry, which is generated along characteristic pathways. Some of the newly described compounds have already become valuable tools in biomedicine.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Traditional and Modern Biomedical Prospecting: Part II--the Benefits: Approaches for a Sustainable Exploitation of Biodiversity (Secondary Metabolites and Biomaterials from Sponges).
W. E.G. Muller, H. C. Schroder, M. Wiens, S. Perovic-Ottstadt, R. Batel, and I. M. Muller (2004)
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med. 1, 133-144
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Response in Nematocyst Uptake by the Nudibranch Flabellina verrucosa to the Presence of Various Predators in the Southern Gulf of Maine.
K. Frick (2003)
Biol. Bull. 205, 367-376
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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