The discovery of novel chemical compounds from deep-sea marine organisms often takes us to new and exciting locations. One of the first steps in planning such an expedition is to thoroughly review the scientific literature about a new target site. This includes reviewing surveys and literature on the biology and geology of a region by environmental consulting firms, government agencies, such as the Minerals Management Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and U.S. Geological Survey, and various research institutions. This will help us determine whether an area is worth spending precious time and funds to explore.rnrnOur research expeditions have taken us throughout the Caribbean; to the eastern Atlantic, including the Azores, Canary Islands, Cape Verde and western Africa; to the Pacific Ocean, including the Galapagos Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, and Australia; and to the Indian Ocean, to the Seychelles and Thailand. Our target organisms are often associated with hard-bottom habitat and include sponges, octocorals, bryozoans, tunicates, and algae. Detailed bathymetric charts are also useful in determining whether the \"right\" bottom type is present to provide essential habitat for benthic organisms. Little is known about the deep-sea environment in most of the places we have explored, so we always have to start with our best guess. rnrnOver the past quarter-century, more than 10,000 compounds have been reported from marine-derived organisms. These compounds encompass a wide variety of chemical structures including acetogenins, polyketides, terpenes, alkaloids, peptides and many compounds of mixed biosynthesis. A number of excellent books and reviews document the diversity of both structures and bioactivities that have been observed for marine-derived compounds At least 12 marine-derived compounds are currently under clinical investigation for use as anticancer agents. These include ecteinascidin, from the tunicate Ecteinascidia turbinata, which is in Phase III clinical trials; aplidine, from the ascidian Aplidium albicans, which is in Phase II trials; dolastatin, from the sea hare Dolabella auratium, which is in Phase I trials; and bryostatin, from the bryozoan Bugula neritina, which is in Phase I/II trials.rn
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