SEABIOTECH

From sea-bed to test-bed: harvesting the potential of marine microbes for industrial biotechnology

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'SeaBioTech is a 48-month project designed and driven by SMEs to create innovative marine biodiscovery pipelines as a means to convert the potential of marine biotechnology into novel industrial products for the pharmaceutical (human and aquaculture), cosmetic, functional food and industrial chemistry sectors. SeaBioTech will reduce barriers to successful industrial exploitation of marine biodiversity for companies more accustomed to ‘terrestrial’ biotechnology. SeaBioTech directly addresses five key challenges to remove bottlenecks in the marine biodiscovery pipeline, leading to (1) improvements in the quality of marine resources available for biotechnological exploitation, (2) improvement in technical aspects of the biodiscovery pipeline to shorten time to market, and (3) developing sustainable modes of supply of raw materials for industry. The two last challenges centre on enabling activities to enhance the marine biodiscovery process: first, clarification of legal aspects to facilitate access to marine resources, their sustainable use, and their secure exploitation; second, to create an improved framework for access to marine biotechnology data and research materials. To achieve its goals, SeaBioTech brings together complementary and world-leading experts, integrating biology, genomics, natural product chemistry, bioactivity testing, industrial bioprocessing, legal aspects, market analysis and knowledge exchange. The expertise assembled within the consortium reflects the industry-defined needs, from the SME partners’ initial definition of market and product opportunities to their ultimate proof-of-concept demonstration activities. SeaBioTech will have significant impact on research and technology, on innovation, on European competitiveness and on economic growth. It will provide a model to accelerate the development of European biotechnology into a world leading position.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Biodiversity in the world's oceans is much greater than that on land, but surprisingly little is known about our planet's underwater biological resources. An EU-funded project is therefore studying the potential of marine microbes for industrial biotechnology.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The aim of the project 'From sea-bed to test-bed: Harvesting the potential of marine microbes for industrial biotechnology' (http://spider.science.strath.ac.uk/seabiotech/index.php (SEABIOTECH)) is to scour the seas for compounds that can be developed into new pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foods and industrial chemicals. A standardised sampling process was used to collect microbes from hydrothermal vents off the coast of Iceland and deep-sea basins in the eastern Mediterranean. Other microorganisms were collected from previously unsampled areas of the Scottish coast.

Project partners, which include small and medium-sized enterprises, are identifying and overcoming the main hurdles facing successful exploitation of marine microbes for industrial biotechnology. This involves improving the quality of marine resources available for biological exploitation and an improvement in technical aspects to shorten time to market. SEABIOTECH will also develop ways to sustainably manufacture products on an industrial scale.

Researchers created a centralised databank to store genomic, chemistry and bioactivity information on the collected microbes and from existing collections. They also sequenced 13 genomes from bacteria collected from around hydrothermal vents. Genomes were also sequenced for bacteria isolated from seawater and from a marine sponge species (Petrosia ficiformis).

The study showed that studying the metabolites present in the bacteria that live in sponges can aid in their selection and speed up the discovery of new drugs. The microorganism Vibrio splendidus was found to act strongly against Mycobacterium marinum, a free-living bacteria that causes opportunistic infections in humans.

SEABIOTECH will play a significant role in helping to ensure Europe's position as a world leader in biotechnology. It will also contribute to European legislation guiding the sustainable exploitation of marine genetic resources, in accordance with the Nagoya Protocol.