Marine Natural Products Legacy Collection
The Marine Natural Products (MNP) Legacy Collection consists of a microbial biobank and chemical library of extracts and pure compounds housed at the UP Marine Science Institute. Prof. Emeritus Gisela P. Concepcion initiated the establishment of the microbial biobank of marine invertebrate-associated microorganisms in the early 2000s, in line with the paradigm shift in marine natural products, where simple organisms such as bacteria were recognized as the true producers of biomedically-important compounds.
The MNP Legacy Collection serves as one of the foundations of the marine biotechnology program at MSI. This microbial biobank is mostly host-associated symbionts belonging to Streptomyces and Teredinibacter which has great potential for developing high value products. These microorganisms have been screened for biological activity and assessed for biosynthetic potential using whole genome sequencing and metabolomics. Several novel compounds and microorganisms have been identified from our culture collection. In 2013, Dr. Lilibeth Salvador-Reyes started the chemical repository of extracts and pure compounds from marine invertebrates and microorganisms. These are in assay ready format. |
Mammalian Cell Culture Facility
The MPL has a dedicated Mammalian Cell Culture Laboratory equipped with two biosafety level 2 hoods for various cell-based assays such as MTT, anti-inflammatory, RT-PCR, and DRG assays. This laboratory houses different normal, and cancer cell lines obtained from the ATCC for bioactivity screening purposes. Extracts, as well as pure compounds from marine organisms, are tested against an array of cell lines like HCT116 human colon cancer cells, MCF7 human breast cancer cells, HK-2 human normal kidney cells, and HepG2 human hepatoma.
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Calcium Imaging Facility for DRG Assay
The calcium imaging facility is equipped with an Olympus IX73 microscope, a CoolED pE-340 fura light source, and higher resolution camera to examine disturbances in intracellular calcium caused by active compounds or crude extracts when applied to diverse neurons found in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG).
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Microbiology Facility
The lab is equipped with four biosafety level 2 hoods to isolate associated bacteria from marine organisms. Large-scale cultures of these bacteria for compound purification can be done using our five temperature-controlled shaking incubators that can handle eight 1L cultures per incubator. Trained personnel also perform in vitro antimicrobial assays against ESKAPE pathogens, MRSA, and biofilm inhibition assays against S. epidermidis.
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Shimadzu Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (LCMS-8040)
High Performance Liquid Chromatography Systems
The lab has four Shimadzu HPLC-PDA systems routinely used for purification of secondary metabolites from marine organisms. One HPLC system is also equipped with an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) for the detection of non-UV absorbing compounds, an automated fraction collector, and autosampler.
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