Dr. Watanabe
http://www.chem.tamu.edu/rgroup/watanabe/
watanabe@mail.chem.tamu.edu
Our
research is focused on natural products that are secondary metabolites,
compounds found only in specific organisms and reflect metabolism unique to
that species. Investigation of secondary metabolism has led to the discovery
that many natural products exhibit a wide range of biological activities and
include antibiotics, such as the penicillins and vancomycin, anti-cancer
agents such as mitomycin C and Taxol and other medicinals. Our interests
include:
-
Biochemical and genetic approaches to access marine natural products and
their respective biosynthetic pathways through heterologous expression,
i.e. expression in a surrogate host (E. coli, Streptomyces)
-
Mode of action and biosynthesis of the anti-tumor agent azinomycin B
produced by the terrestrial bacterium Streptomyces sahachiroi
(illustrated in Figure 6)
-
Chemical synthesis of a library of substituted cyclohexadienes and
investigation of their biological roles through cell-based screening (e.g.
neurite outgrowth and cellular differentiation assays).
