The biologically important marine sponge Jaspis coriacea is common throughout the Indo-Pacific and is especially abundant in Fiji reefs. The bengamide family of ketide-amino acids are the predominant secondary metabolites of J. coriacea, and several such analogs are presently a high priority of the parent NCNPDDG grant U19CA52955 because of their cytotoxicity against MDA-435 breast tumor cells. This FIRCA will assist the effort to examine J. coriacea and the bengamides in greater detail. Previous work has established that distribution of the types of bengamides found in J. coriacea samples appears to vary with the season and with the geographical location of the sponges. Although this variability is established, the factors that cause it are not understood. The research proposed will examine the chemical variation of the bengamides in J. coriacea as a function of ecological factors.
