Integrative analysis of bioactive compounds from frogs, plants and microorganisms from the Brazilian biodiversity

Living organisms have been used as source for different traditional medicines from several ethnic groups since antiquity. In recent years, one of the greatest challenges within the field of natural products is to understand its functioning for future rational applications. Mass spectrometry methodologies are important strategies for investigating the complex chemistry of natural products. During the last years, the increasing power of informatics for data analysis has increased our capacity to inventory many biological systems [1]. In our laboratory, for instance, we have investigated neuroactive and antimicrobial compounds from skin secretions of anuran amphibians [2]. We have found that some components of the rich secretion can be associated with chemical communication between frogs at intra and interspecific levels [2], [3]. In this talk we will present and discuss the potential relevance of plants and bacteria as a source of chemical signals in frogs, which represent one component of the vast Brazilian Biodiversity.

• References

• 1 Aksenov AA, Silva R, Knight R, Lopes NP, Dorrestein PC. Global chemical analysis of biology by mass spectrometry. Nature Rev Chem 2017; 7 (1–7): 0054.
• 2 Brunetti AFE, Lyra ML, Melo WGP, Andrade LE, Palacios-Rodriguez P, Prado BM. et al. Symbiotic skin bacteria as a source for sex-specific scents in frogs. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2019; 116: 2124-2129.
• 3 Brunetti AE, Carnevale Neto F, Vera MC, Taboada C, Pavarini DP, Bauermeister A. et al. An integrative omics perspective for the analysis of chemical signals in ecological interactions. Chem Soc Rev 2018; 47: 1574-1591.