Funded by: UP-EMERGING INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH (EIDR) PROGRAM
Implementation Period: Dec2012-Jan2014 | Program Leader: Arturo O. Lluisma, PHD
The genomes of organisms contain a wealth of information that can be exploited for the benefit of society, such as those that can be used for the development of biotechnological/biomedical products. As the center of marine and terrestrial biodiversity, the Philippines is rich with genomic resources that can be tapped for the development of such products. This project thus aimed at generating genomic data (genome, metagenome, or transcriptome sequences) from selected microbial, marine and terrestrial organisms found in the Philippines and identifying genes that encode enzymes or other gene products with biotechnological potential. The key accomplishments of the project include the sequencing of the venom duct transcriptome of 11 Conus species and identification of a diversity of putative conopeptides (which are potential drug leads); the genome sequence of a bacterial isolate (Streptomyces sp.) that produces bioactive compounds; metagenomes of an extremophilic microbial community (hot spring) and metagenomic characterization of the microbial community; and the genome of a Vibrio species isolated from an important aquaculture organism (milkfish). Four research articles have been published out of the data generated by the project, and additional manuscripts describing the findings of the studies are in preparation.