BLUE BIOTECHNOLOGY The deviating color
OUTLINE INTRODUCTION APPLICATIONS and MARINE BIOTECH IN THE PHILIPPINE CONTEXT Ø Sandfish: Profitable Sea Cucumbers Also Supply Bioremediation Ø Industrial Production of Microalgal Cell-Mass and Bioactive Constituents from Green Microalga Botryococcus braunii Ø UP Marine Science Institute DEVELOPMENTS and CHALLENGES
What does MARINE refer to? Marine is an adjective for things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology. In scientific contexts, the term almost always refers exclusively to saltwater environments, although in other contexts (e.g., engineering) it may refer to any (usually navigable) body of water.
INTRODUCTION Blue biotechnology is concerned with the application of molecular biological methods to marine and freshwater organisms. It involves the use of these organisms, and their derivatives, for purposes such as increasing seafood supply and safety, controlling the proliferation of noxious water-borne organisms, and developing new drugs.
Ø Marine biotech, or blue biotech as it is known, is unique among all the colours of biotech, because it is defined by its source not by its market. Ø The other biotech s; red biotech is medical, white biotech is industrial, green biotech is agricultural, are all defined by the application or market.
Lifted from: Background Paper, OECD Global Forum on Biotechnology, Vancouver, 30-31 May 2012.
Why does it matter? What s in a name? Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products, or any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives there of, to make or modify products or processes for specific use So blue biotech should redefine itself and think about the application, the end use, the market.
What is associated with marine biotechnology? Marine environment Marine Renewable Energy Bio-engineering of marine micro-organisms Genomics and meta-genomics, molecular biology in life Sciences The use of marine algae Cultivation of marine organisms Food products Health Marine nanotechnology
APPLICATIONS and MARINE BIOTECH IN THE PHILIPPINE CONTEXT
Sandfish: Profitable Sea Cucumbers Also Supply Bioremediation
Sandfish ü high value culture species Attractive exportable commodities mostly destined for Hong Kong as delicacies and ingredients in traditional medicine US $300-500/kg Top Producers: Asia-Pacific Countries Philippines identified as hot spot by FOA prior to 2007 Asia Pacific has 36 out of 52 sea cucumber species that are commercially exploited worldwide Experts: Resource Management is URGENT
Sandfish Technologies A. Culture Technology of Holotburia scabra First achieved by Vietnam s Research Institute of Aquaculture No. 3 Refined by the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) in the Philippines COLLABORATING PARTNERS A. University of the Philippines B. Australian Center for International Agricultural Research B. Bioremediators bioremediation -the use of either naturally occurring or deliberately introduced microorganisms or other forms of life to consume and break down environmental pollutants, in order to clean up a polluted site.
ü Sandfish being deposite-feeding detrivores, they can be bioremediators in earthen ponds or in marine cages. ü They can subsist on uneaten feeds and feces excreted by cultured fish and shrimps. Philippine Government road map for the conservation and sustainable utilization of sea cucumbers Emphasis: ü more research and development to refine and commercialize seed production ü Involvement of coastal communities in growout culture trials for stock enhancement or sea ranching as part of the holistic resource management program
Industrial Production of Microalgal Cell- Mass and Bioactive Constituents from Green Microalga Botryococcus braunii
PROBLEM: lack of alternative fuels SITUATION: ü High-demand of alternative energy ü Depletion of fossil fuels energy crisis ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION: Energy production from photosynthetic microorganisms such as algae
Botrayococcus bryunii ü For biofuel production ü Contains 70% hydrocarbons in the biomass on the dry weight basis ü Accumulates other bioactive compounds such as ether lipids, fatty acids, exo-polysaccharides and carotenoids for industrial applications Recent Studies involved: 1. Effect of various culture conditions on biomass, hydrocarbon, lipids and fatty acid production in B. bryunii 2. Cultivation of B. bryunii in raceway ponds and photobioreactors 3. Downstream processing of hydrocarbons, bioactive molecules and their use in various applications 4. Biological activities of B. bryunii extracts with special reference to carotenoids
Marine Science Institute One of seven academic institutes of UP College of Science in Diliman, Quezon City. Originally established as Marine Sciences Center (MSC) on March 28, 1974 Changed its name to Marine Science Institute on April 23, 1985 It s now tasked to pursue research, teaching, and extension work in marine biology, marine chemistry, physical oceanography, marine geology, and related disciplines.
DEVELOPMENTS and CHALLENGES
Specific Opportunities: Exploration of the sea and of its biota is still far from completed. Although the oceans contain much greater biodiversity than is found on land, efforts to exploit this biodiversity by identifying new chemical compounds have hardly begun: at present, there are some ***20,000 marine-derived natural products compared with more than 155,000 natural, terrestrial products.
Some successful stories from the sea The isolation of C-nucleosides from the Caribbean sponge, Cryptotheca crypta, four decades ago, provided the basis for the synthesis of cytarabine, the first marine-derived anticancer agent to be developed for clinical use. Trabectedin (also known as ecteinascidin 743) is an anti-tumor drug. It is marketed by under the brand name Yondelis. It is approved for use in Europe, Russia and South Korea for the treatment of advanced soft tissue sarcoma. It is also undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of breast, prostate, and pediatric sarcomas. Trabectedin is a metabolite of the sea squirt Ecteinascidia turbinata. Ziconotide is the active ingredient of the commercial pain killer Prialt. Ziconotide is a synthetic derivative of ω-conotoxin, a peptide toxin produced by Conus magus, a species of cone snail. Prial is used to alleviate severe chronic pain but is neither an opioid nor a NSAID, these being the two main classes of analgesics (painkillers). Unlike opioids prialt does not appear to be addictive or cause respiratory depression.
Some successful stories from the sea Glycolipid and glycoprotein antigens using carriers such as keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) together with a saponin adjuvant, QS-21. Adjuvants containing squalene (MF59). Using Archaeal gas vesicles for vaccines: Genetically manipulated halophilic Archaea may be induced to produce vesicles with any protein on their surface. The theory is that injecting such gas vesicles into humans would elicit the production of antibodies to attack the virus antigens. This would open the possibility of vaccine creation for almost any disease, even an emerging one. Gas vesicle delivery system would be unlike anything currently in use and far more versatile.
CHALLENGES: Marine vs Terrestrial What are the benefits of utilising marine bioresources for biodiscovery? Benefits need to be clearly stated to justify potential additional costs.
Grand Challenges Food: High quality, healthy, nutritionally complete, sustainable production Energy and industrial feedstocks: algal biofuels, sustainable platform chemicals from marine bioresources Human health: new pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, nutrition and personal care Environment: monitoring, remediation Materials and industrial processes: biomimetic and biocompatible materials, novel enzymes for greener processes
Issues to be Resolved Many issues must be resolved before Blue Biotechnology can realise its full potential: Access to very deep specimens Clarification of UNCLOS for IP protection Sustainable supply Increased understanding of physiology of marine species Culturing marine microorganisms Generic molecular methods for marine species Sustainable aquaculture of algae, fish, shellfish for food, fuels and high value products and processes. Integrated facilities Policy
The Supply Problem Main hurdle to the sustainable supply of high value products from marine resources. Several possibilities exist, but all have hurdles to overcome: Recollection Aquaculture Culture/fermentation Chemical synthesis/semisynthesis Heterologous expression
Blue Sea Science Need for improved understanding of basic physiology and ecology of marine species Need for improved marine species genetic information: Phyletic coverage Marine microorganisms Host/symbiont relationships Marine microorganisms/viruses A major effort is needed to develop culture conditions for marine microorganisms
Improved Molecular Methods for Marine Species Most molecular tools were developed for terrestrial species. To translate these methods to marine species we need to develop: Marine specific vectors for cloning Marine specific hosts Bioinformatics many marine species have genes with no homology to those currently in databases