By Charlotte Seid Elizabeth Ireland 鈥 Times of San Diego
A new study led by UC San Diego鈥檚 Scripps Institution of Oceanography may pave the way for lab-based production of rare coral compounds called diterpenoids that show promise in treating cancer and inflammation.
However, researchers have been unable to study the chemicals in depth because they are produced in tiny amounts by slow-growing, uncommon corals, making it environmentally destructive and impractical to gather enough for testing or drug development.
鈥淐orals produce unique chemical compounds not seen in the terrestrial world, so there is lots of excitement to study their biomedical potential,鈥 said Bradley Moore, the study鈥檚 senior author and a marine chemist with Scripps and UC San Diego鈥檚 Skaggs School of Pharmacy.
鈥淯nfortunately, it is super challenging to get enough supply directly from nature. With the genetic blueprint for producing these chemicals now in hand, the door is open to solve the supply issue and discover new compounds that could benefit humankind.鈥
The study found a cluster of five genes responsible for the production of diterpenoids across multiple species of a type of coral called octocorals.
Discovering this gene cluster enables biochemists to produce octocoral compounds in the lab and investigate their potential as medicines or other products.
The research, published in Nature Chemical Biology, was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and NOAA.