Green genes from blue greens: challenges and solutions to unlocking the potential of cyanobacteria in drug discovery

Benjamin Philmus; Nicole E. Avalon; Yousong Ding; Drew T. Doering; Alessandra S. Eustáquio; William H. Gerwick; Hendrik Luesch; Jimmy Orjala; Shaz Sutherland; Arnaud Taton; Daniel Udwary

doi:10.1039/D5NP00016E

Green genes from blue greens: challenges and solutions to unlocking the potential of cyanobacteria in drug discovery

Benjamin Philmus,

*^a Nicole E. Avalon,

^b Yousong Ding,

^c Drew T. Doering,

^d Alessandra S. Eustáquio,

^e William H. Gerwick,

^f Hendrik Luesch,

^cg Jimmy Orjala,

^e Shaz Sutherland,

^a Arnaud Taton

^h and Daniel Udwary

^d

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
E-mail: benjamin.philmus@oregonstate.edu

^b Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

^c Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Center for Natural Products, Drug Discovery and Development, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA

^d U.S. Department of Energy, Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

^e Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Retzky College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois, Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA

^f Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92092, USA

^g Program in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore

^h School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are prolific producers of biologically active compounds that are important in influencing ecology, behavior of interacting organisms, and as leads in drug discovery efforts. Here we discuss the challenges faced by all natural product researchers, especially those that focus on cyanobacteria, and then describe progress that has been made in these areas. We also propose some solutions, paths forward, and thoughts for consideration on these challenges.

Natural Product Reports

Green genes from blue greens: challenges and solutions to unlocking the potential of cyanobacteria in drug discovery

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Green genes from blue greens: challenges and solutions to unlocking the potential of cyanobacteria in drug discovery

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