Each day, algae transform 100 million tons of CO2 into organic metabolites, providing half of the oxygen in our atmosphere.[1] These organic outputs are primary metabolites that sustain global ocean ecosystems and support complex food-webs, nutrient cycling, biomass production and climate regulation. Primary metabolites from algae interact with bacteria (symbiosis), generating intricate algae-bacterial networks. These interactions are complex! Bacteria use the chemical outputs of algae to generate secondary metabolites for mutualistic (i.e. antibiotic) or parasitic (i.e. algalcidal) outcomes, allowing bacteria to secure their environmental niche.
This talk will focus on both primary and secondary natural product metabolites. It will feature 3 different projects and showcase how total synthesis and chemical biology approached provide an improved understanding of marine ecosystem health. Firstly, I will highlight the role of total synthesis in correct existing literature (Part 1).[2],[3] Secondly, we will investigate the discovery of new metabolic pathways (Part 2) and thirdly, I will highlight some bio-inspired chemical approaches towards the synthesis of marine algicides (Part 3).