Much of our research focuses on Sea slugs, which like many marine organisms, turn to chemistry in the struggle for survival. Sponges, soft corals and seaweeds live fixed to the ocean bottom, and can neither fight nor flee to avoid being eaten. Such seemingly vulnerable creatures instead produce an arsenal of toxins, rendering themselves distasteful or downright poisonous to most would-be predators. However, sea slugs are specialized to feed on the chemically defended organisms that other consumers avoid. Not only are slugs immune to the noxious effects of toxins in their food, they actually concentrate dietary poisons in their own tissues, hijacking the chemical defense of their prey for their own protection. While snails cower inside cumbersome shells, evolution has freed the slugs to cruise the seafloor in safety, sporting spectacular warning colors to signal their dangerous contents.
The chemicals sea creatures use to protect themselves from competitors and predators also have potential as pharmaceutical drugs in the fight against cancer, viruses, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In natural products chemistry, chemicals produced by living organisms are extracted, characterized, and tested for possible use as medicinal drugs. Marine invertebrates have proven to be a rich source of novel organic molecules, a few of which are in clinical trials as anticancer agents. Other compounds from the sea have been used as probes in cell biology research. By binding to specific proteins and disrupting their action, small molecules reveal the normal function of their intracellular protein targets. Chemical investigations thus yield insight into the ecology and evolution of ocean life, while providing new opportunities for drug discovery, cell biology and biotechnology.
For some amazing photography of sea slugs, check out the Vibrant Sea galleries by Jeff Rosenfeld: http://www.vibrantsea.net/gallery.html