Dr. Slattery's research interests include chemical ecology and natural products chemistry of marine and freshwater bacteria, algae, and invertebrates. Chemical ecology is a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field (due in part to the pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications of this research) focused on the ecological roles of the myriad of chemical compounds produced by various organisms. Aquatic habitats (marine and freshwater) account for over 75% of the surface area of the planet and provide diverse ecosystems which can be mediated by chemical signals. For instance, predator-prey interactions, competition, symbioses, reproduction, and larval settling cues often involve novel functionalized metabolites and highly specific target receptor systems. The allocation of secondary metabolites to specific structures within the organisms, such as growth or reproductive regions, and biogeographic variability implies the compounds are produced at a cost to the individual and may be a nutrient dependent phenomenon. In understanding the ecophysiological factors which effect production of these bioactive compounds, and the costs imposed at both the organismal and population levels, we can determine the best ways to assure availability of novel natural products that might prove valuable as pharmaceutical, antifoulant, or pesticide products.

An additional aspect of this research involves the development of bioassays to test the physiological mechanisms of secondary metabolite bioactivity. Using either cellular or molecular techniques (i.e., mitotic condition, enzyme inhibition, or RNA expression) we can determine the specific mode of action for isolated metabolites of interest. These results provide relevant information of an ecological as well as a pharmacological nature. For instance, if we can determine the cellular target of a novel metabolite in a natural system we might better understand potential pharmaceutical roles for these compounds. Moreover, these mechanism-based assays can drive development of highly selective biosynthetic analogs that may prove to be easier and/or more cost efficient to produce.

Vegetative or clonal organisms such as bacteria, algae, and many invertebrates, provide exceptional models to examine costs of metabolite production and the factors which influence metabolite synthesis and/or transformation. Individuals of a select genet can be effectively manipulated in laboratory and field experiments designed to induce production of bioactive compounds so that true ecophysiological responses, and not individual variability, are measured. My research over the past five years has focused on population of soft corals from Antarctica and the tropical Pacific which are clonal, contain bioactive compounds (typically terpenes) of ecological importance, and show temporal, biogeographic, and ontogenetic variability in secondary metabolite production. My current field studies involve manipulations of grazing pressure, interspecific competitive interactions, UV light, and depth distribution to determine the ecophysiological effects on compound production. Ongoing research, to clarify the evolutionary significance of secondary metabolite synthesis, is focused on diverse groups of bacteria, algae, and invertebrates collected in various aquatic ecosystems from the depths of Monterey Bay, CA using either scuba or submersible technologies.