S8: Harvesting the Parvome

Monday, July 25, 2011: 8:30 AM
Grand Couteau, 5th fl (Sheraton New Orleans)
Julian Davies, Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

The Parvome refers to the humongous number of bioactive small molecules in the Biosphere; they are found in all living things. There is no shortage of potential antibiotics! The difficulty lies in isolating these molecular riches. Rapid advances in genome sequencing and other modern technologies are revealing information on the biology of low molecular weight natural products; biological approaches will soon provide the means to detect a wide range of bioactive compounds from Nature. Is a new era in drug discovery about to begin?