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They have discovered more than 2,500 new species of bacteria, which they have dubbed Salinospora. These new organisms are cousins of the land-based actinomycetes, which account for almost 70 percent of the world's naturally occurring antibiotics.
"The ocean muds are an extremely rich source of microbes that are different from anything we've seen on land," says Fenical. "The bottom of the ocean is the part that nobody cares about. We asked ourselves, if we go out and send down a sampler to 3,000 feet and bring back some mud, what's in there?"
The result? More than 80 percent of the Salinospora discovered by Fenical's team have shown activity against human cancer cell lines, and in extremely dilute concentrations.
In 2003, the group published its discovery of alinosporamide A, a proteasome inhibitor they isolated from a Salinospora species. The compound inhibits the enzymes that mop up old or malfunctioning proteins within a cell. As a result, the old proteins build up and the cell dies. Salinosporamide A is in preclinical development and should enter clinical trials in early 2005.
Along with the Salinospora, Fenical and colleagues have discovered several other new types of bacteria. The distinct genetics and chemistries of these bacteria may usher in a new era of anti-cancer drug development.
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