Julia Kubanek Associate Professor Office: 2242 ES&T Phone: 404-894-8424 Fax: 404-894-0519 E-mail Julia Kubanek Research Group web site Biology web site

B.S., Queen's University; Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Postdoctoral, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Blanchard Fellowship - 2005; PECASE Award - 2004; NSF CAREER Award - 2002

Research Interests

Chemical ecology; Chemical communication/ chemical signaling; marine natural products chemistry; secondary metabolism; harmful algal blooms; plankton ecology

Chemical Ecology

Most organisms use chemical signals to assess their environment and to communicate with others. Chemical cues for defense, mating, habitat selection, and food tracking are known to be crucial, widespread in occurrence, and structurally and functionally diverse. Yet, our understanding of chemical signaling is patchy, especially in marine environments. Processes such as oceanic primary production affect global climate, human health, and our sustainable use of environmental resources. Understanding the interactions between marine organisms and how marine ecosystems function is an important scientific goal that can be tackled with both biological and chemical approaches. Research in Professor Julia Kubanek's laboratory explores mechanisms of chemical communication and signaling in aquatic environments. Using both chemical and biological experimentation in the laboratory and at field sites around the world, we examine the ecological roles and consequences of plant and animal natural products. Ongoing projects include: (1) harmful algal bloom toxin function and effects on food webs and competitors; (2) pheromones and sex attraction of zooplankton, crabs, and lobsters; (3) chemical defenses of tropical organisms against marine pathogens; (4) drug discovery based upon new natural products from coral reef organisms in Fiji; (5) freshwater community structure mediated by plant antifeedant chemical compounds.

Selected Publications

Stout E. P., Hasemeyer A., Lane A. L., Davenport T., Engel S., Hay M. E., Fairchild C. R., Prudhomme J., Le Roch K., Aalbersberg W., Kubanek J. (2009) Antibacterial neurymenolides from the Fijian red alga Neurymenia fraxinifolia. Organic Letters, 11:225-228

Prince E. K., Myers T. L., Naar J., Kubanek J. (2008) Competing phytoplankton undermines allelopathy of a bloom-forming dinoflagellate. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 275:2733-2741

Myers TL, Prince EK, Naar J, Kubanek J (2008) Loss of waterborne brevetoxins from exposure to phytoplankton competitors. Harmful Algae, 7:762-771.

Kubanek J, Snell TW (2008) Quorum sensing in rotifers. In Chemical Communication Among Bacteria Winans SC, Bassler BL (Eds.), ASM Press, Washington DC, pp.453-461.

Prince EK, Myers TL, Kubanek J (2008) Effects of harmful algal blooms on competitors: allelopathic mechanisms of the red tide dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. Limnology & Oceanography 53: 531-541

Padove Cohen SA, Hatt H, Kubanek J, McCarty NA (2008) Reconstitution of a chemical defense signaling pathway in a heterologous system. Journal of Experimental Biology 211:599-605

Lane AL, Stout EP, Hay ME, Prusak AC, Hardcastle K, Fairchild CR, Aalbersberg W, Kubanek J (2007) Callophycoic acids and callophycols from the Fijian red alga Callophycus serratus. Journal of Organic Chemistry 72:7343-7351

Kubanek J, Snell TW, Pirkle C (2007) Chemical defense of the red tide dinoflagellate Karenia brevis against rotifer grazing. Limnology & Oceanography 52:1026-1035

Lane AL, Kubanek J (2007) Secondary metabolite defenses against pathogens and biofoulers. In Algal Chemical Ecology, Amsler CD (Ed.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp.229-243.

Fuller MD, Thompson CH, Zhang ZR, McMaster D, French RJ, Pohl J, Kubanek J, McCarty NA (2007) State-dependent inhibition of CFTR chloride channel by a novel peptide toxin. Journal of Biological Chemistry 282:37545-37555

Parker JD, Burkepile DE, Collins DO, Kubanek J, Hay ME (2007) Stream mosses as chemically-defended refugia for freshwater macroinvertebrates. OIKOS 116:302-312

Prince EK, Lettieri L, McCurdy KJ, Kubanek J (2006) Fitness consequences for copepods feeding on a red tide dinoflagellate: deciphering the effects of nutritional value, toxicity, and feeding behavior. Oecologia 147:479-488