Decoding the Genes Behind Dolastatin 10 Paves the Way for New Cancer Therapeutics

Researchers at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy have identified the genes responsible for the creation of dolastatin 10, a marine natural product that has led to six FDA-approved cancer drugs since 2011. The research team used genomic library screening and genome sequencing to identify the genes responsible for producing the marine natural product.

Hendrick Luesch, Ph.D, professor and chair of medicinal chemistry and the Debbie and Sylvia DeSantis Chair in Natural Products Drug Discovery and Development in the UF College of Pharmacy, is leading the project. Also working on the project is Yousong Ding, Ph.D, an associate professor in the UF College of Pharmacy and the associate director for synthetic biology in the CNPD3.

“Dolastatin 10 stands out as the most successful marine natural product to date,” said Luesch. “With six FDA-approved cancer drugs and over 100 ongoing clinical trials featuring this compound’s derivatives, there is significant interest in continually investigating its clinical possibilities.”

As a graduate student in 2001, Luesch published the first scientific paper linking dolastatin 10 to marine cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, collected from the Pacific Ocean. Since then, his research team has spent more than two decades collecting and analyzing cyanobacteria around the world with his collaborator Valerie Paul, Ph.D., from the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, Florida. The samples used in the latest study were harvested in the tropical waters of the Florida Keys. Findings from the experiment will be used to produce new medicines in the fight against cancer.

Read more: Decoding the Genes Behind Dolastatin 10 Paves the Way for New Cancer Therapeutics.