UIC-2012-017 – Secondary Metabolite Fractionated libraries from crude extracts of marine-derived Actinomycete bacteria

The surfaces of marine organisms provide a source of nutrients for microbes within our oceans. Consequently a competition for space results between surface-colonizing (epibiotic) microorganisms. Select secondary metabolites from epibiotic bacteria, which serve as chemical defenses or means of inter- and intra-species microbial communication, can be utilized to probe and combat the pathogenic mechanisms of human microbial pathogens. In the Murphy lab, these epibiotic bacteria are collected from unique source organisms, cultivated in liquid culture, crudely separated, and screened against a variety of human pathogens with the ultimate intent of discovering novel antibiotic structural classes. The fraction library in this technology consists of fractions of secondary metabolites from marine-derived actinomycete bacteria. These bacterial strains were collected in Massachusetts, San Diego, and the Florida Keys under the appropriate collection permits. Each strain was grown in liquid culture, extracted with resin, and separated into four fractions upon elution over silica gel cartridges. Nelson Grihalde grihalde@otm.uic.edu 312-996-4129