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2.1.1 Discovery, bioprospecting and R&D- the blue components of the value chain Bioprospecting is the search for interesting and unique genes, molecules and organisms from the marine environment with features that may be of benefit for society and have value for commercial development in a number of applications such as drugs/pharmaceuticals, industrial products/enzymes, fine chemicals, ingredients in food and feed, environmental bioremediation, petroleum and energy exploitation, and cosmetics. Organisms may be microscopic (bacteria, Archaea and other microbes; viruses; microalgae) or macroscopic (seaweeds, invertebrates such as sponges, sea-slugs, starfish; vertebrates such as shark, fishes, mammals, whales). Bioresources may include known genes from known organisms or meta-genomes, the totality of genetic material from samples containing unidentified organisms. Living organisms may also be harvested i.e. sourced en masse, such as seaweeds, fish etc., but if their characteristics and uses are known, there is no element of bioprospecting. Bioprospecting can involve the collection of organisms as well as the subsequent screening for a specific molecule or activity of interest. An alternative to prospecting directly for bioactives is to search for DNA sequences encoding activities of interest, either from single organisms or by mining metagenomic sequencing data derived from marine organisms. Such approaches can help bypass a number of steps required in molecule screening. Marine bioprospecting has tended to target macro-organisms such as corals and sponges because of their evolutionary diversity, but significant efforts have also targeted the deep ocean, particularly around hydrothermal vents because of the largely untapped biodiversity and unknown adaptations present in such extreme conditions. Current interest in bioprospecting in the oceans has been fuelled by the integration of high-throughput DNA sequencing methods to evaluate marine microorganism diversity and their gene repertoires. Such genomic data can provide a useful starting point to identify new enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Figure 2.2 The web of linkages from marine bioresources to industrial use12 Basic & strategic research Microbes *Viruses Bacteria Protozoa Algae Fungi Archaea Processes Infection *Biofilm formation *Bioactive production Genetic manipulation Energy transformation Biofuels Energy companies The main risks at this level of bioprospecting (see Figure 2.2 above) are that too many novel organisms and molecules will be found, creating a bottleneck in screening, selecting and identifying 12 Acknowledgments to Dr P Williamson, UK NERC Industrial take-up Applications Aquaculture & food products Environmental & human health Monitoring Remediation Pharmaceuticals Cosmetics & natural products Biocatalysis Chemical industry Societal needs Industry Food industry Wastewater & waste disposal companies Pollution remediation companies Pharma, cosmetics & healthcare co’s 6 Study in support of Impact Assessment work on Blue Biotechnology

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