Marine Natural Porduct Research

About the Project

The ocean accounts for 70% of the total surface area of​​the Earth. In terms of animals, among the 34 animal phyla discovered so far, marine life accounts for 33 phyla. These disparate proportions show that the ocean has preserved the Earth. most of the world's biological diversity. Due to their relatively special growth environment, organisms in the ocean are affected by various physical and chemical factors such as seawater pressure, ocean currents, and waves, seawater temperature, light intensity, dissolved oxygen in the water, chemical elements in the water, etc. Their evolutionary patterns and lifestyles are quite different from those of terrestrial organisms. Therefore, using marine biological resources to explore new drugs is our main research direction.

Currently, a variety of secondary metabolites with diverse activities have been identified in marine organisms, including seaweeds, corals, ascidians, sponges, and even marine microorganisms. In addition to isolating the chemical components of marine organisms and analyzing their structures, studying the biosynthetic pathways of marine natural products, synthesizing marine natural products, and analyzing the relationship between activity and structure are also the main research directions. The current research topics are marine natural products from endophytic fungi, mangrove fungi, and actinobacteria.

In my lab, I have two Laminar Flow Hoods, which are used to purify bacterial strains from marine microorganisms (coral, sponge). And I have six incubators for fermenting microorganisms. There are 14 rotavapor systems, one MPLC, and six HPLCs in my lab. Those instruments are used for chromatography experiments. In my institute, we have a 400 MHz NMR, UV, IR, CD, LC-MS, and a polarimeter, which are used to provide all chemical data to identify the structure of marine natural products.

For the PhD program, please check https://mbr.nsysu.edu.tw/p/404-1260-369398.php?Lang=en

You will know the requirements and procedure for the application.

Funding Notes

The PhD students receive a scholarship (15000 NT dollars per month), and the tuition is free.