Coral reef ecosystems are the most biologically diverse and complex ecosystems on the earth. The Hawaiian coral reefs offer different micro-ecological niches for diverse marine biota and provide economic and environmental services to millions of people. However, the reef ecosystems are highly susceptible to invasion by exotic species. Substantial shipping and/or other anthropogenic activities have introduced over hundreds of alien marine species (e.g. sponges and algae) into the ecosystems. Some of these marine species are very invasive and have been recognized as one of the most significant disturbances to the native ecosystems. Our lab is interested in using modern systems microbiology and synthetic biology principles and approaches to study ecology and biotechnology of microflora associated with marine eukaryotic organisms in the Hawaiian coral reef ecosystems. One of our foci is studying microbial diversity of bacteria and fungi associated with alien sponges. This talk will discuss our new findings on diversity and pharmaceutical potential of microbes associated with invasive sponge species.
Presenter:
Dr. Guangyi Wang, P.h.D., Associate Professor,
Department of Oceanography
University of Hawaii
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
11:00 a.m.
Pacific Ocean Science & Technology Building 723
Refreshments will be served after the seminar in POST 121
The Pacific Research Center for Marine Biomedicine (PRCMB) is a newly established center at the University of Hawaii dedicated to trans-disciplinary research designed to gain new knowledge about the profound impacts of the ocean on human health. The Center is funded by the National Science Foundation (OCE04-32479) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P50ES012740).
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