Marine sponges have been one of the richest sources of bio- active compounds. However, the supply of these sponges must come from ocean collections. And with natural collections as the basis for drug development, the purity and impurity of the final product is difficult to control. Also, Pharmaceutical, or agrichemical companies will not continue to develop a promising new natural product lead without a secure, reliable supply, or an indication of a probable synthesis or analog being developed. A controlled environment aquaculture system is proposed for the culture of two tropical marine sponges, for the investigation and development of novel techniques for harvesting the high- value secondary metabolites produced by these sponges, the diterpene antibiotics, the Kalihinols, from Acanthella carvenosa, and the antiparasitic and antibiotic, amino acid- derived Bengamides from Jaspis sp.. The objective is to develop a reliable source that can deliver production quantities of chemically consistent natural products to researchers.
