Specimen collection, marine

A specimen of marine sponge of Dysidea sp. collected from Palau contained an unstable 14-membered macrolide, arenolide (55), which showed modest cytotoxicity... 

As with all specimens collected for natural products research, all collections of marine organisms should be made with the informed consent of the host country or state. Permits are required for most collections of marine organisms and come under local and/or federal laws. Some marine species are protected by CITES and cannot be collected or exported without special permits. A review by Baker et al. (22) outlines general philosophies and policies with respect to the collection of both terrestrial and marine organisms. 

Concentrations of PAHs in marine biota indicate a high degree of contamination of certain areas of the region. Data given for the Ligurian Sea ior Mytilus sp. range from 14 to 571 ng/g dw. In other studies, the 14 priority PAHs in mussel tissues Mytilus sp.) and fish livers Serranus and Mullus sp.) of specimens collected in the French and Spanish Mediterranean coasts and found values of 25-82, 27-87 and 15-49 ng/g dw, respectively, n values up to 390 ng/g dw were found in mussels collected inside harbours. Similar determinations carried out in deep sea fish from the NW Mediterranean basin Mora sp.) showed liver concentrations of 7-16 ng/g ww (UNEP, 2002). 

ScHiADOT JD, Backhaus F, Burow M, Froning M, Mohl C, Ostapczuk P, Rossbach M (1993) Collection, preparation and characterization of fresh, marine candidate reference materials of the German Environmental Specimen Bank. Fresenius [ Anal Chem 345 137-139. 

The first step in discovering a marine natural product lead compound involves accumulating collections of the source organisms. Ideally the collections would include as many species as possible collected from a large number of sites reflecting the wide diversity of habitats found in the world s oceans. The development of SCUBA and both manned and remotely operated (ROV) submersibles has provided the technology required to effectively collect algae and invertebrate specimens from most marine habitats. Consequently, the major issue... 

Nineteen MAA compounds have been reported from 382 species of marine organisms collected from tropical, temperate and polar latitudes (Tables 15.1, 15.2, and 15.3). Approximately 75% of the data available on MAA presence/absence and quantification in individual taxa come from only one or several specimens or cultures. While a complete evaluation of intraspecific variation, geographical distribution or phylogenetic trends is not possible, a number of generalizations about MAA occurrence are evident. 

The best way to ship material is live. Insects Drosophila, in particular) can be sent on small amounts of food in vials. Most marine organisms can be shipped live in sealed plastic bags. On receipt of the organisms, however, prompt treatment of the shipment is required. Specimens obtained for rearing should be placed in proper rearing media. Specimens obtained for protein or DNA extraction should be immediately and rapidly frozen at or below —70°. Frozen tissue should be shipped on dry ice. A much more convenient way to send tissue, however, is in 70-95% ethanol. The DNA yield and quality from specimens sent in ethanol are usually almost as good as from fresh or frozen tissue. Sperm can be shipped on wet ice if it is collected dry (i.e., undiluted in water) and if sodium azide is added to a final concentration of 0.01 -0.02% in order to prevent bacterial growth.13... 

---