Subterranean Marvels: New Publication from the Caesar lab!

A new review paper on the natural products potential of cave microorganisms has just come out in Natural Product Reports as part of their Emerging Investigators Collection!

Caves have long been thought of as lifeless and unchanging--but what organisms are hidden in the darkness? And what new molecules might they make? This figure adapted from a figure made by Lexie and Ashley as part of the JMU Chemistry REU program's "Visual Communication" workshop

This post is a long time coming! I am so proud to announce that my group has just published a review paper titled "Subterranean marvels: microbial communities in caves and underground mines and their promise for natural products discovery." You can access it free of charge here!

In the summer of 2023, I was invited to be part of Natural Product Reports' "Emerging Investigators" collection, and was told to choose a topic that interested me. I immediately had the idea to compile a review on the natural products-producing potential of cave microorganisms, given the focus of my group's research. And let's just say, I learned so much! We recruited help of some of our amazing microbiology collaborators (Paris Salazar-Hamm and Jennifer Hathaway) to provide perspective on microbial communities themselves, and then we delved into the natural products that have been discovered from the underground (nearly 100 compounds, including more than 30 compounds that are unique to subterranean environments), their biological activities (so many! Antimicrobial, antifungal, cytotoxic, bioremediative, you name it...), and the challenges that must be overcome and the considerations that must be taken to explore these delicate ecosystems.

I am especially proud of how my students came together to help put this manuscript together. A huge congratulations to Frances, Shyleigh, Ashley, and Evelyn for their contribution to this beast of a manuscript (267 references!) Couldn't have done it without them!!