Publications

  1. Tan, K.C.; Pham, T.X.; Lee, Y.; Lee, J.-Y.; Balunas, M.J.* Identification of apocarotenoids as chemical markers of in vitro anti-inflammatory activity for spirulina supplements. J. Ag. Food Chem., 2021, 69, 12674-12685. Link
  2. Clark, K.E.; Capper, A.; Liu, W.-T.; Fenner, A.M.; Almanza, A.; Della Togna, G.; Herrera, L.; Johns, T.; Dorrestein, P.C.; Paul, V.P.; Capson, T.L.; Balunas, M.J.* Sequestration and cyanobacterial diet preferences in the opisthobranch molluscs Dolabrifera nicaraguana and Stylocheilus rickettsi. Front. Mar. Sci., 2021, 8, 766282. Link
  3. Caraballo-Rodríguez, A.M.; Puckett, S.P.; Kyle, K.E.; Petras, D.; da Silva, R.; Nothias, L.-F.; Ernst, M.; van der Hooft, J.J.J.; Tripathi, A.; Wang, M.; Balunas, M.J.; Klassen, J.L.*; Dorrestein, P.C.* Chemical gradients of plant substrates in an Atta texana fungus garden. mSystems, 2021, 6, e00601-21. Link
  4. Jin, Y.; Schladetsch, M.A.; Huang, X.; Balunas, M.J.; Wiemer, A.J.* Stepping forward in antibody-drug conjugate development. Pharmacol. Ther., 2021, in press. Link
  5. Balunas, M.J.; Cragg, G.M.; Gibbons, S.; Mata, R. Professor A. Douglas Kinghorn. A lifetime career dedicated to outstanding service to natural product sciences. J. Nat. Prod., 2021, 84, 549-552. (editorial) Link
  6. Hagan, A.K.; Lesniak, N.A.; Balunas, M.J.; Bishop, L.; Close, W.L.; Doherty, M.D.; Elmore, A.G.; Flynn, K.L.; Hannigan, G.D.; Koumpouras, C.; Jenior, M.L.; Kozik, A.J.; McBride, K.; Rifkin, S.B.; Stough, J.M.A.; Sovacool, K.L.; Sze, M.A.; Tomkovich, S.; Topcuoglu, B.D.; Schloss, P.D.* Ten simple rules to increase computational skills among biologists with code clubs. PLoS Comput. Biol., 2020, 16, e1008119. Link
  7. Suria, A.M.†; Tan, K.C.†; Kerwin, A.H.; Gitzel, L.; Abini-Agbomson, L.; Bertenshaw, J.M.; Sewell, J.; Nyholm, S.V.*, Balunas, M.J.* Hawaiian bobtail squid symbionts inhibit marine bacteria via specialized metabolite production, including new bromoalterochromides, BAC-D/D'. mSphere, 2020, 5, e00166-20. †These authors contributed equally. Link
  8. Samples, R.M.; Balunas, M.J.* Bridging the gap: Plant-endophyte interactions as a roadmap to understanding small molecule communication in marine microbiomes. ChemBioChem, 2020, 21, 2708-2721. Link
  9. Maloney, K.N.*; Botts, R.T.; Davis, T.S.; Okada, B.K.; Maloney, E.M.; Leber, C.A.; Alvarado, O.; Brayton, C.; Caraballo, M.; Chari, J.V.; Chicoine, B.; Crompton, J.C.; Davis, S.R.; Gromek, S.M.; Kurnianda, V.; Quach, K.; Samples, R.M.; Shieh, V.; Sultana, C.M.; Tanaka, J.; Dorrestein, P.C.; Balunas, M.J.; McFadden, C.S.* Cryptic species account for the seemingly idiosyncratic secondary metabolism of Sarcophyton glaucum specimens collected in Palau. J. Nat. Prod., 2020, 83, 693-705. Link
  10. Puckett, S.P.†; Samples, R.M.†; Schloss, P.D.; Balunas, M.J.* Metabolomics and the microbiome: Characterizing molecular diversity in complex microbial communities. In Comprehensive Natural Products III: Chemistry and Biology; Liu, H.-W. and Begley, T.P., Eds.; Elsevier: London, 2020; pp 502-518. †These authors contributed equally. Link
  11. Wang, M.; Jarmusch, A.K.; Vargas, F.; Aksenov, A.A.; Gauglitz, J.M.; Weldon, K.; Petras, D.; da Silva, R.; Quinn, R.; Melnik, A.V.; van der Hooft, J.J.J.; Caraballo Rodríguez, A.M.; Nothias, L.F.; Aceves, C.M.; Panitchpakdi, M.; Brown, E.; Di Ottavio, F.; Sikora, N.; Elijah, E.O.; Labarta-Bajo, L.; Gentry, E.C.; Shalapour, S.; Kyle, K.E.; Puckett, S.P.; Watrous, J.D.; Carpenter, C.S.; Bouslimani, A.; Ernst, M.; Swafford, A.D.; Zúñiga, E.I.; Balunas, M.J.; Klassen, J.L.; Loomba, R.; Knight, R.; Bandeira, N.; Dorrestein, P.C.* MASST: A web-based basic mass spectrometry search tool for molecules to search public data. Nat. Biotechnol., 2020, 38, 23-26. Link
  12. Kerwin, A.H.†; Gromek, S.M.†; Suria, A.M.; Samples, R.M.; Deoss, D.J.; O’Donnell, K.; Frasca, S., Jr.; Sutton, D.A.; Wiederhold, N.P.; Balunas, M.J.*; Nyholm, S.V.* Shielding the next generation: symbiotic bacteria from a reproductive organ protect bobtail squid eggs from fungal fouling. mBio, 2019, 10, e02376-19. †These authors contributed equally. Link
  13. van Santen, J.A.; Jacob, G.; Singh, A.L.; Aniebok, V.; Balunas, M.J.; Bunsko, D.; Carnevale Neto, F.; Castaño-Espriu, L.; Chang, C.; Clark, T.N.; Clearly Little, J.L.; Delgadillo, D.A.; Dorrestein, P.C.; Duncan, K.R.; Egan, J.M.; Galey, M.M.; Haeckl, F.P.J.; Hua, A.; Hughes, A.H.; Iskakova, D.; Khadilkar, A.; Lee, J.-H.; Lee, S.; LeGrow, N.; Liu, D.Y.; Macho, J.M.; McCaughey, C.S.; Medema, M.H.; Neupane, R.P.; O'Donnell, T.J.; Paula, J.S.; Sanchez, L.M.; Shaikh, A.F.; Soldatou, S.; Terlouw, B.R.; Tran, T.A.; Valentine, M.; van der Hooft, J.J.J.; Vo, D.A.; Wang, M.; Wilson, D.; Zink, K.E.; Linington, R.G.* The Natural Products Atlas: An open access knowledge base for microbial natural products discovery. ACS Cent. Sci., 2019, 5, 1824-1833. Link
  14. Tayler, N.M.; Boya, C.A.; Herrera, L.; Moy, J.; Ng, M.; Pineda, L.; Almanza, A.; Rosero, S.; Coronado, L.M.; Correa, R.; Santamaría, R.; Caballero, Z.; Duran-Archibold, A.A.; Tidgewell, K.J.; Balunas, M.J.; Gerwick, W.H.; Spadafora, A.; Gutiérrez, M.; Spadafora, C. Analysis of the antiparasitic and anticancer activity of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L. ARECACEAE) from the natural reserve of Punta Patiño, Darién. PLoS One, 2019, 14, e0214193. Link
  15. Trexler, S.; Nguyen, E.; Gromek, S.M.; Balunas, M.J.; Baker, B.L. Electrocardiographic effects of hawthorn (Crataegus oxycantha) in healthy volunteers: A randomized controlled trial. Phytother. Res., 2018, 32, 1642-1646. Link
  16. da Silva, R.R.; Wang, M.; Nothias, L.-F.; van der Hooft, J.J.J.; Caraballo-Rodríguez, A.M.; Fox, E.; Balunas, M.J.; Klassen, J.L.; Lopes, N.P.; Dorrestein, P.C. Propagating annotations of molecular networks using in silico fragmentation. PLoS Comput. Biol., 2018, 14, e1006089. Link
  17. Sung, A.A.†; Gromek,S.M.†; Balunas, M.J.* Upregulation and identification of antibiotic activity of a marine-derived Streptomyces sp. via co-cultures with human pathogens. Mar. Drugs, 2017, 15, 250. †These authors contributed equally. Link
  18. Juliano, S.A.; Pierce, S.; deMayo, J.A.; Balunas, M.J.; Angeles-Boza, A.M. Exploration of the innate immune system of Styela clava: Zn2+ binding enhances the antimicrobial activity of the tunicate peptide clavanin A. Biochem., 2017, 56, 1403-1414. Link
  19. deMayo, J.A.; Maas, K.R.; Klassen, J.L.; Balunas, M.J.* Draft genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. AVP053U2 isolated from Styela clava, a tunicate collected in Long Island Sound. Genome Announc., 2016, 4, e00874-16. Link
  20. Gromek, S.M.; deMayo, J.A.; Maxwell, A.T.; West, A.M.; Pavlik, C.M.; Zhao, Z.; Li, J.; Wiemer, A.J.; Zweifach, A.; Balunas, M.J.* Synthesis and biological evaluation of santacruzamate A analogues for anti-proliferative and immunomodulatory activity. Bioorg. Med. Chem., 2016, 24, 5183-5196. Link
  21. Gromek, S.M.; Sung, A.A.; Klassen, J.L.; Balunas, M.J.* Draft genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. strain PTY087I2 isolated from Styela canopus, a Panamanian tunicate. Genome Announc., 2016, 4, e00856-16. Link
  22. Gromek, S.M.†; Suria, A.†; Fullmer, M.S.; Garcia, J.L.; Gogarten, J.P.; Nyholm, S.V.*; Balunas, M.J.* Leisingera sp. JC1, a bacterial isolate from Hawaiian bobtail squid eggs, produces indigoidine and differentially inhibits vibrios. Front. Microbiol., 2016, 7, 1342. †These authors contributed equally. Link
  23. Zhao, Z.; deMayo, J.A.; West, A.M.; Balunas, M.J.*; Zweifach, A.* Development of an enhanced phenotypic screen of cytotoxic T lymphocyte lytic granule exocytosis suitable for use with synthetic compound and natural product collections. J. Biomol. Screen, 2016, 21, 556-566. Link
  24. Tao, G.; Balunas, M.J.* Current therapeutic role and medicinal potential of Scutellaria barbata in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western research. J. Ethnopharmacol., 2016, 182, 170-180. Link
  25. Doucette, J.; Zhao, Z.; Geyer, R.J.; Barra, M.M.; Balunas, M.J.; Zweifach, A. Flow cytometry enables multiplexed measurements of genetically-encoded intramolecular FRET sensors suitable for screening. J. Biomol. Screen, 2016, 21, 535-547. Link
  26. Fenner, A.M.; Engene, N.; Spadafora, C.; Gerwick, W.H.; Balunas, M.J.* Medusamide: A Panamanian cyanobacterial depsipeptide with multiple β-amino acids. Org. Lett. 2016, 18, 352-355. Link
  27. Ku, C.-S.; Kim, B.; Pham, T.X.; Yang, Y.; Wegner, C.J.; Park, Y.-K.; Balunas, M.J.; Lee, J.-Y. Blue-green algae inhibit the development of atherosclerotic lesions in apolipoprotein E knockout mice. J. Med. Food 2015, 18, 1-8. Link
  28. Shao, C.-L.; Linington, R.G.; Balunas, M.J.; Centeno, A.; Boudreau, P.; Zhang, C.; Engene, N.; Spadafora, C.; Mutka, T.S.; Kyle, D.E.; Gerwick, L.; Wang, C.-Y.; Gerwick, W.H. Bastimolide A, a potent antimalarial polyhydroxy macrolide from the marine cyanobacterium Okeania hirsuta. J. Org. Chem. 2015, 80, 7849-7855. Link
  29. Gromek, S.M.; West, A.W.; Balunas, M.J.* Off the beathen path: Natural products from extreme environments. In Marine Biomedicine: From Beach to Bedside; Baker, B.J., Ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2015; Chapter 12, pp 341-378.
  30. Gromek, S.M.; Balunas, M.J.* Natural products as exquisitely potent cytotoxic payloads for antibody-drug conjugrates. Curr. Top. Med. Chem. 2014, 14, 2822-2834. Link
  31. Carneiro, V.M.T.; Avila, C.M.; Balunas, M.J.; Gerwick, W.H.; Pilli, R.A. Coibacins A and B: Total synthesis and stereochemical revision. J. Org. Chem. 2014, 79, 630-642. Link
  32. Pavlik, C.M.; Wong, C.Y.B.; Ononye, S.; Lopez, D.D.; Engene, N.; McPhail, K.L.; Gerwick, W.H.; Balunas, M.J.* Santacruzamate A, a potent and selective histone deacetylase inhibitor from the Panamanian marine cyanobacterium cf. Symploca sp. J. Nat. Prod. 2013, 76, 2026-2033. Link
  33. Gerwick, L.; Boudreau, P.; Choi, H.; Mascuch, S.; Villa, F.A.; Balunas, M.J.; Malloy, K.; Teasdale, M.E.; Rowley, D.C.; Gerwick, W.H. Interkingdom signaling by structurally related cyanobacterial and algal secondary metabolites. Phytochem. Rev. 2013, 12, 459-465. Link
  34. Balunas, M.J.* Attempting to solve the disconnect between humans and nature with plant-based drugs. Ecol. 2013, 94, 262-263. Link
  35. Balunas, M.J.; Grosso, M.F.; Villa, F.A.; Engene, N.; McPhail, K.L.; Tidgewell, K.; Pineda, L.M.; Gerwick, L.; Spadafora, C.; Kyle, D.E.; Gerwick, W.H. Coibacins A-D, antileishmanial marine cyanobacterial polyketides with intriguing biosynthetic origins. Org. Lett. 2012, 14, 3878-3881. Link
  36. Balunas, M.J.*; Kinghorn, A.D. Natural product compounds with aromatase inhibitory activity: An update. Planta Med. 2010, 76, 1087-1093. Link
  37. Balunas, M.J.; Linington, R.G.; Tidgewell, K.; Fenner, A.M.; Ureña, L.D.; Kyle, D.E.; Gerwick, W.H. Dragonamide E, a modified linear lipopeptide from Lyngbya majuscula with antileishmanial activity. J. Nat. Prod. 2010, 73, 60-66. Link
  38. Deng, Y.; Balunas, M.J.; Kim, J.-A.; Lantvit, D.D.; Chin, Y.-W.; Chai, H..; Sugiarso, S.; Kardono, L.B.S.; Fong, H.H.S.; Pezzuto, J.M.; Swanson, S.M.; Carcache de Blanco, E.J.; Kinghorn, A.D. Bioactive 5,6-dihydro-α-pyrone derivatives from Hyptis brevipes. J. Nat. Prod. 2009, 72, 1165-1169. Link
  39. Balunas, M.J.; Su, B.; Riswan, S.; Fong, H.H.S.; Brueggemeier, R.W.; Pezzuto, J.M.; Kinghorn, A.D. Isolation and characterization of aromatase inhibitors from Brassaiopsis glomerulata (Blume) Regel. Phytochemistry Lett. 2009, 2, 29-33. Link
  40. Balunas, M.J.; Su, B.; Brueggemeier, R.W.; Kinghorn, A.D. Xanthones from the botanical dietary supplement mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) with aromatase inhibitory activity. J. Nat. Prod. 2008, 71, 1161-1166. Link
  41. Balunas, M.J.; Su, B.; Brueggemeier, R.W.; Kinghorn, A.D. Natural products as aromatase inhibitors. Anticancer Agents Med. Chem. 2008, 8, 646-682. Link
  42. Chin, Y.-W.; Balunas, M.J.; Chai, H.B.; Kinghorn, A.D. Drug Discovery from Natural Sources. In Drug Addiction. From Basic Research to Therapy; Rapaka, R.S., Sadée, W., Eds.; Springer/AAPS Press, New York, 2008; pp 17-39. (content appeared previously in AAPS J.)
  43. Balunas, M.J.; Jones, W.P.; Chin, Y.-W.; Mi, Q.; Farnsworth, N.R.; Soejarto, D.D.; Cordell, G.A.; Swanson, S.M.; Pezzuto, J.M.; Chai, H.-B.; Kinghorn, A.D. Relationships between inhibitory activity against a cancer cell line panel, profiles of plants collected, and compound classes isolated in an anticancer drug discovery project. Chem. Biodivers. 2006, 3, 897-915. Link
  44. Chin, Y.-W.; Balunas, M.J.; Chai, H.B.; Kinghorn, A.D. Drug discovery from natural sources. AAPS J. 2006, 8, E239-E253. Link
  45. Balunas, M.J.; Su, B.; Landini, S.; Brueggemeier, R.W.; Kinghorn, A.D. Interference by naturally occurring fatty acids in a non-cellular, enzyme-based aromatase bioassay. J. Nat. Prod. 2006, 69, 700-703. Link
  46. Balunas, M.J.; Kinghorn, A.D. Drug discovery from medicinal plants. Life Sci. 2005, 78, 431-441. Link
  47. Balunas, M.J.; Kimmerer, R.W. 2002. The restoration potential of goldthread, an Iroquois medicinal plant. Ecol. Restor. 2002, 20, 59-60. Link