New species of zoanthids aren’t described all that often, but it turns out that we should be paying more attention to this understudied group of reef animals. One of thefour new zoanthid species describedfrom southern Florida, aPalythoaspecies, has been discovered to synthesize one of the highest concentrations of Palytoxin known to date.
It has long been common knowledge that many different corals produce bioactive compounds with pharmaceutical properties,many soft corals of theSinularia和Sarcophytongenera have long been the subject of intense research in this field. We already know thatPalytoxin is really dangerousto human health but now it turns out that this unique chemical has exceptional anti-cancer properties as well.
Recently, French coral crusaders珊瑚生物群落was awarded a patent for an extraction method of Palytoxin and in its application to treating cancer cells. While our current state of chemical synthesis is quite advanced, Palytoxin turns out to be extremely difficult to synthesize in the lab and its study will depend on obtaining natural Palytoxin from zoanthids like the highly potent Palythoa from South Florida.
对于海洋生物来说，这是一个非常好消息，因为它在我们在这个全球生态系统中所承受的所有压力下增加了保护海洋环境的另一层推理。更好的是，我们感到非常自豪的是，这一发现源于珊瑚形态学海洋水族馆的探索好奇心，并且在海洋中有许多不同类型的Zoanthids，下一个医学上重要的息肉可能已经在您自己的礁石罐中增长。[[CoreMore]
