there is at least one anti-cancer agent, dolastatin, which was originally isolated from our common sea hare. They collected tons of them to get dolastatin, until someone figured out that the dolastatin was not made by the sea hare, but was made by the cyanobacteria that the sea hare ate.
(plus they have eaten cyano in my tank)
papers:
where they find the anti-cancer agent in sea hares:
Biochem Pharmacol. 1992 Jun 23;43(12):2637-45.
Dolastatin 15, a potent antimitotic depsipeptide derived from Dolabella auricularia. Interaction with tubulin and effects of cellular microtubules.
Much later after they figured out it was from the cyanobacterial diet (note quoted section I pulled from the article below the reference)
ASAP J. Nat. Prod., ASAP Article, 10.1021/np070346o
Web Release Date: March 25, 2008
Copyright © 2008 American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy
Isolation and Structure Determination of Malevamide E, a Dolastatin 14 Analogue, from the Marine Cyanobacterium Symploca laete-viridis⊥
"Cyanobacteria belonging to the genus Symploca (Oscillatoriaceae) have recently emerged as productive sources of structurally interesting and biologically active natural products. . .Several of these compounds are close analogues of the dolastatins, which were first reported from the sea hare Dolabella auricularia.9
In fact, dolastatin 10,10 one of two D. auricularia isolates to reach phase II clinical trials as an investigational anticancer agent,11 was more recently isolated from a Symploca species.12 The cyanobacterial origin of sea hare isolates (especially from Lyngbya and Symploca spp.) has been reviewed by Luesch and co-workers.
. Whatever you do, don't bother with medications--they work quickly, but you'll regret it in the long run--if you don't remove the cause, it will come back, and the medications will mess with other things in the tank.
