Dr. Francis Sakai-Kawada and Dr. Jon Awaya publish on bioactive pigments in marine sponges

Friday, December 18, 2020, 6:39pm by jenni

Dr. Francis Sakai-Kawada and Dr. Jon Awaya have recently published in the Frontiers Journal on the bioactive pigments of marine sponges in Hilo,

Hawai’i. Interest in bioactive pigments stems from their ecological role in adaptation, as well as their applications in various consumer products. The production of these bioactive pigments can be from a variety of biological sources, including simple microorganisms that may or may not be associated with a host. This study is particularly interested in the marine sponges, which have been known to harbor microorganisms that produce secondary metabolites like bioactive pigments. In this study, marine sponge tissue samples were collected from Puhi Bay off the Eastern shore of Hilo, Hawai‘i and subsequently were identified as Petrosia sp. with red pigmentation.

Read their article, “Characterization of Prodiginine Pathway in Marine Sponge-Associated Pseudoalteromonas sp. PPB1 in Hilo, Hawai‘i” in Frontiers Journal.

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