几种西沙短指软珊瑚功能分子的结构多样性及其多内涵生物学功能

Soft corals are important resources of marine functional molecules. The genus Sinularia has been attracting special attention over the years, for its notable species diversity, and particularly the most diverse chemical structures and biological functions of active materials. But the further study of this genus is facing serious obstacles due to the taxonomic obsessions that the spicules morphology (morphological identification criterion) between some species is so similar that there are increasing similar or unidentified speices. Recently, some studies suggested that chemotaxonomy had a unique role in the species identification in some single genus. Xisha area which is in the South China Sea far from the mainland and has relatively intact ecosystem, could be the ideal place for Siunlaria biological research. Thus, from a new perspective of chemotaxonomy, this project selects several characteristic Siunlaria soft corals of Xisha Islands, to deeply study the chemical diversity and biological functions: find chemotaxonomic marker molecules of the different selected soft corals, and obtain novel molecules with high bioactivities. This is a new research idea of multiple connotations for marine functional molecules, and the research will be great significant for development, utilization, and protection of marine resources in the open ocean of our country.

软珊瑚是海洋生物功能分子的资源宝库。Sinularia属短指软珊瑚是所有软珊瑚中物种多样性、活性物质结构和功能多样性最丰富的属，多年来一直是研究者特别关注的对象。但在传统形态分类上，由于该属软珊瑚很多物种作为鉴别主要依据的骨针形态异常相似，一些物种仅能鉴定到属一级水平，严重限制了相关研究的深入开展。近来一些研究表明，化学分类学在生物种间单位的鉴别方面显示出独特作用。我国西沙海域远离陆地，生态系统保存相对完整，软珊瑚种类丰富，是开展Siunlaria属软珊瑚研究的理想场所。本项目以我国远海西沙群岛丰富的软珊瑚资源为研究对象，拟选择几种特征Siunlaria属软珊瑚，从化学分类学的新视角，深度研究其功能分子的结构多样性和生物学功能，探寻不同候选物种的化学分类标记分子，同时发现新颖结构的高活性功能分子，尝试海洋功能分子多内涵研究新思路。项目研究对于探索我国远海资源的的合理开发和保护具有重要意义。

Sinularia属软珊瑚是海洋新颖结构功能分子的优势资源之一，我国西沙群岛拥有丰富的软珊瑚资源和突出的生境特异性.通过本项目的实施,课题组已系统完成五种西沙群岛Sinularia属软珊瑚的化学成分研究，阐明了五种软珊瑚的化学多样性：Sinularia multiflora（降碳西松烷二萜,甾醇），Sinularia notanda（西松烷二萜），Sinularia cf. molesta（裂环愈创木烷型倍半萜, 西松烷二萜），Sinularia sp. I（倍半萜，西松烷二萜），以及Sinularia sp. II（甾醇，西松烷二萜）。从中共分离纯化鉴定了各类软珊瑚天然产物145个，发现新化合物21个，新骨架化合物1个。针对较复杂结构功能分子的结构鉴定问题，建立和发展了量子化学计算辅助方法，成功解决了部分复杂结构的绝对构型问题。针对已获得的单体化合物，采用MTT和SRB法进行了较系统的抗肿瘤活性筛选和评价，8个化合物显示强的抗肿瘤活性。培养硕士研究生2名，博士研究生4名.发表SCI研究论文10篇。