New Partnerships and New Technologies

DBMR has teamed up with the University of Minnesota, Oregon State University, the University of California-Santa Cruz, and Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp. on a National Cancer Institute funded project to discover and develop novel anticancer agents using genetic material from marine microorganisms. The focus of this $4.9 million, 4 1/2 year grant is the discovery of new compounds with anticancer activity which act through non-traditional biochemical or molecular mechanisms.

Microorganisms (e.g., bacteria and fungi) found in the marine environment have not been extensively studied, but they show great potential in the production of novel chemicals. Many marine microorganisms are difficult to grow and may contain biosynthetic genes that are not expressed under laboratory conditions: it is the genes of these marine microorganisms that will be studied during this research. DBMR has a highly diverse collection of marine microorganisms found in association with deep water marine invertebrates such as sponges and cnidarians (sea fans). Dr. Amy Wright and Dr. Peter McCarthy will isolate DNA from actinomycetes (filamentous bacteria). The DNA will be inserted into a genetically engineered actinomycete using technology developed by Dr. David Sherman at the University of Minnesota. The resulting clones will be grown by Dr. McCarthy and his group in Microbiology and tested for anticancer properties at Novartis' labs. Dr. Wright and her team will be responsible for the isolation and characterization of new chemical compounds discovered through this screening process. This project will draw upon developing technologies in the field of microbial genomics, which integrates biological, chemical, engineering and computer sciences.

A National Science Foundation grant to Dr. Jose Lopez further expands DBMR's use of these emerging technologies in drug discovery research. The human genome project has resulted in a deluge of new gene and protein sequence information combined with advances in computer technology, and this has created a new discipline called "bioinformatics", dedicated to the analysis of sequences and their functions. Dr. Lopez's research applies cutting edge bioinformatics tools (e.g., computer software) to determine the structure, function and evolution of protein enzymes that may be responsible for an organism's synthesis of a particularly interesting natural product, specifically polyketide antibiotics.