COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Civil War Submarine Search Begins 



In August, 

 researchers began 

 searching for 

 secrets of a Civil 

 War marvel — the 

 submarine USS Al- 

 ligator— off North 

 Carolina's coast. 



Launched 

 in 1862, the 

 Alligator was the 



U.S. Navy's first submarine, but it was lost in 

 stormy conditions off Cape Hatteras in 1863. 



Now, scientists with the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 

 Office of Naval Research and East Carolina 

 University are searching for the Alligator. 



Based on Ocracoke Island, the search 



was launched from 

 the Navy's 108- 

 foot survey ship, 

 YP-679, also known 

 as the Afloat Lab. 



"It is like 

 finding a Wright 

 Brothers' airplane. 

 If one were ever 

 lost," says Tim 

 Runyan, director of 

 ECU's Maritime Studies Program. 



Researchers used a side-scan sonar that 

 transmitted images to the lab and a magnom- 

 eter to scan the ocean floor to detect metal. 



To find out more about the submarine, 

 visit the Web: www.sanctuaries.noaa.gov/alligator 

 or www.nauticus.org/MHCalligator.htm — A.C. 



Antibiotics from Fish May Fight Diseases 



Peptides previously isolated from hybrid 

 striped bass may have implications for controlling 

 certain viral diseases in fish as well as in humans, 

 according to research results published recently 

 in Virology. 



"The peptides were highly inhibitory to 

 channel catfish virus, as well as certain amphibian 

 viruses," says Ed Noga, the study's co-investigator 

 and North Carolina Sea Grant researcher at 

 the North Carolina State University College of 

 Veterinary Medicine. 



The peptide antibiotics or "piscidins" 

 originally were isolated from mast cells — a 

 highly common, tissue immune cell found in fish 

 and other vertebrates, including humans. 



"The results suggest that piscidins may 

 be an important defense for fish against viral 

 infections, which are among the most serious 

 diseases in aquaculture. They also have the 

 potential to fight viral infections in humans, 

 particularly the herpes viruses." 



V. Gregory Chinchar of the University of 

 Mississippi Medical Center led the study. In 

 addition to Noga, co-investigators were Umaporn 

 Silphaduang, a former NC State veterinary 

 medicine graduate student; Locke Bryan of 

 the University of Mississippi Medical Center; 



David Wade of Rutgers University; and 

 Louise Rollins-Smith of Vanderbilt University 

 Medical Center. 



Earlier work by other researchers found 

 that viruses can be sensitive to other types 

 of antimicrobial peptides besides piscidins, 

 according to Noga. 



This new study expands the range of 

 target compounds that may help protect against 

 such diseases. 



In an earlier North Carolina Sea Grant 

 study researchers found that piscidins 

 possessed potent broad-spectrum antibacterial 

 activity, which included activity against multi- 

 antibiotic resistant fish and human pathogens. 

 That was the first time that researchers had 

 isolated a peptide antibiotic from mast cells of 

 any animals. 



"The next step is to determine the specific 

 role that piscidins play in defending fish 

 against viral infections, as well as finding out 

 if piscidins can effectively treat viral disease in 

 an animal model," Noga says. 



The study was funded by North Carolina 

 Sea Grant, the National Science Foundation 

 and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 



-A.G. 



Oceans Centers 

 Planned 



The National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 

 and its partners have created three new 

 research centers for lakes, oceans and 

 human health. 



The centers will be in South Carolina, 

 Michigan and Washington. 



At the South Carolina center in 

 the Hollings Marine Lab in Charleston, 

 researchers will address fundamental 

 questions about the quality and safety of 

 coastal waters and seafood. They also will 

 develop new biotechnological methods 

 to enhance NOAA's ability to identify and 

 characterize chemical and microbial threats 

 to marine ecosystems and humans. 



Another center will be at the Great 

 Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory 

 in Ann Arbor, Mich., where scientists will 

 develop technology for predicting the 

 formation of toxic algal blooms, beach 

 closings and water quality in the Great 

 Lakes basin. One of the center's partners is 

 the NOAA Beaufort Laboratory. 



Researchers at the third center in 

 the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in 

 Seattle will investigate infectious diseases, 

 biotoxins and chemicals that affect human 

 health through seafood. 



To learn more about the new centers, 

 visit the Web: www.ogp.noaa.gov/mpe/ohi. 



-A.G. 



COASTWATCH 3 



