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Marine Microorganisms and Exosymbionts

The Marine Microorganisms and Exosymbionts collection contains a very diverse number of species that encompass four separate Kingdoms of life: Animals, Bacteria, Eukaryotes, and Fungi. All are either microorganisms isolated from the ocean, or exosymbionts of these organisms. Exosymbionts are organisms that contain smaller organisms living inside of them symbiotically. The most prevalent stocks in the collection are cyanobacteria (50 species) and actinobacteria (1500 strains).

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The collection also contains sea sponges, fungi, slime mold, tunicates, and sea slugs, leading to a repository with vast taxonomic breadth. Although seemingly disparate in terms of biological classifications, all of these organisms have something in common: they are all contributors to the study of microbiology, marine ecology, and natural product chemistry. The mutual relationship between endosymbiontic microorganisms and their hosts often leads to the production of many bioactive metabolites, including known as well as new substances, possessing a wide variety of biological activities.

The University of California houses the most extensive repository of these biodiverse marine microorganisms anywhere in the world. There are thousands of live microorganisms and related exosymbionts, and at least 3000 pure compounds isolated by the associated laboratories. Throughout the entire UC system, it is estimated that there are over 50,000 fractions of extracted samples.

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