Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA.
J Nat Prod. 2012 Feb 24;75(2):295-304. doi: 10.1021/np200665k. Epub 2012 Jan 10.
Ascidians (tunicates) are rich sources of structurally elegant, pharmaceutically potent secondary metabolites and, more recently, potential biofuels. It has been demonstrated that some of these compounds are made by symbiotic bacteria and not by the animals themselves, and for a few other compounds evidence exists supporting a symbiotic origin. In didemnid ascidians, compounds are highly variable even in apparently identical animals. Recently, we have explained this variation at the genomic and metagenomic levels and have applied the basic scientific findings to drug discovery and development. This review discusses what is currently known about the origin and variation of symbiotically derived metabolites in ascidians, focusing on the family Didemnidae, where most research has occurred. Applications of our basic studies are also described.
海鞘（被囊动物）是结构优雅、具有药用潜力的次生代谢产物的丰富来源，最近也是潜在的生物燃料来源。已经证明，其中一些化合物是由共生细菌而不是动物本身产生的，对于其他一些化合物，也有证据支持其共生起源。在 Didemnid 海鞘中，即使在明显相同的动物中，化合物也具有高度的可变性。最近，我们已经在基因组和宏基因组水平上解释了这种变异，并将基础科学发现应用于药物发现和开发。本综述讨论了目前已知的海鞘中共生衍生代谢物的起源和变异，重点介绍了大多数研究都集中在的 Didemnidae 科。还描述了我们基础研究的应用。
