John P. Berry
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My research focuses on toxins and otherwise bioactive natural products from marine and freshwater algae, specifically including isolation and characterization of novel compounds, and toxicological characterization of known toxins. Currently, this research includes screening of isolates of Cyanobacteria (i.e. “blue-green algae”) from the Florida Everglades for identification of potentially novel bioactive compounds, and subsequent bioassay-guided fractionation, purification and chemical characterization of these compounds. Additionally, I am utilizing the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model to investigate the toxicity of algal toxins. This includes, in particular, zebrafish embryogenesis, as a model of vertebrate development, to investigate possible developmental toxicity (e.g. inhibition of developmental pathways, embryogenic malformations) associated with toxins from harmful algal blooms.
Berry, John P., Gantar, M., Gawley, R. E. and Rein, K. S. (2003) Bioactive metabolites from a Lyngbya species isolated from periphyton of the Florida Everglades. Proc. Xth Intl. Conf. On Harmful Algae, in press.
Berry, John P., Reece, K. S., Rein, K. S., Baden, D. G., Haas, L. W., Ribeiro,
W., Shields, J. D., Snyder, R. V., Vogelbein, W. K. and Gawley, R. E. (2002)
Are Pfiesteria species toxicogenic? Evidence against production of icthyotoxins
by Pfiesteria shumwayae. Proc Nat Acad Sci 99 (17): 10970-10975.
Berry, John P., Laux, M., and Rodriguez, E. (2002) Inhibition of protein tyrosine
kinase and induction of apoptosis by oxindole alkaloids from Uncaria tomentosa.
J Med Sci. 2(3): 110-114.
Laux, M. T., Berry, John P., Flanders, J. A. and Rodriguez, E. (2002) Recent
advances in the study of cancer and phytomedicine: A review. Rev. Latinoam.
Quim. 30 (3): 103-127.