Project description:A new antibacterial 3-monoacyl-sn-glycerol, nostochopcerol (1), was isolated from a cultured algal mass of the edible cyanobacterium Nostochopsis lobatus MAC0804NAN. The structure of compound 1 was established by the analysis of NMR and MS data while its chirality was established by comparison of optical rotation values with synthetically prepared authentics. Compound 1 inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus at MIC of 50 μg/mL and 100 μg/mL, respectively.
Project description:Queen conch are among the most economically, socially, and culturally important fishery resources in the Caribbean. Despite a multitude of fisheries management measures enacted across the region, populations are depleted and failing to recover. It is believed that queen conch are highly susceptible to depensatory processes, impacting reproductive success and contributing to the lack of recovery. We developed a model of reproductive dynamics to evaluate how variations in biological factors such as population density, movement speeds, rest periods between mating events, scent tracking, visual perception of conspecifics, sexual facilitation, and barriers to movement affect reproductive success and overall reproductive output. We compared simulation results to empirical observations of mating and spawning frequencies from conch populations in the central Bahamas and Florida Keys. Our results confirm that low probability of mate finding associated with decreased population density is the primary driver behind observed breeding behavior in the field, but is insufficient to explain observed trends. Specifically, sexual facilitation coupled with differences in movement speeds and ability to perceive conspecifics may explain the observed lack of mating at low densities and differences between mating frequencies in the central Bahamas and Florida Keys, respectively. Our simulations suggest that effective management strategies for queen conch should aim to protect high-density reproductive aggregations and critical breeding habitats.
Project description:The success of targeted therapies hinges on our ability to understand the molecular and cellular mechanism of action of these agents. Here we modify various BET bromodomain inhibitors, an exemplar novel targeted therapy, to create functionally conserved compounds that are amenable to click-chemistry and can be used as molecular probes in vitro and in vivo. Using click-proteomics and click-sequencing we provide new mechanistic insights to explain the gene regulatory function of BRD4 and the transcriptional changes invoked by BET inhibitors. In mouse models of acute leukaemia, we use high resolution microscopy and flow cytometry to highlight the underappreciated heterogeneity of drug activity within tumour cells located in different tissue compartments. We also demonstrate the differential distribution and effects of the drug in normal and malignant cells in vivo. These data provide critical insights that reveal the cellular and molecular details for the efficacy and limitations of these agents. This study provides a framework for the pre-clinical assessment of other conventional and targeted therapies.