Uncovering the ocean’s hidden treasures through bioprospecting

Bioprospecting is the exploration of natural sources for small molecules that could be developed into commercially valuable natural products. Currently, most natural products have resulted from terrestrial organism-focussed bioprospecting. Yet, considering that the marine environment covers more than 70% of the Earth and is still largely unexplored, marine organisms represent an untapped resource for sustainable exploration and may reveal a variety of molecules with biotechnological applications.

Protecting marine biodiversity to maintain its potential for future generations

Marine ecosystems are under threat from pollution, climate change and overfishing, which can lead to the loss of invaluable species and their unique bioactive properties. Protecting these ecosystems and maintaining the natural reservoir of bioactive compounds have the potential to revolutionise not only medicine, but also other areas like aquaculture and food production. There is a critical need to preserve biodiversity to ensure a good future for upcoming generations.

What types of applications could marine bioactive natural products have?

Genomics

Genomics is like reading the instruction manual of life – it’s the study of an organism’s complete set of DNA, including all its genes. In marine microbes, this DNA holds the blueprint for creating unique and valuable compounds, like natural medicines or eco-friendly materials.

By using advance DNA sequencing, scientists may find new genetic combinations (called gene clusters – BGCs) that produce useful substances. It’s like searching for treasure maps inside tiny ocean organisms and unlocking nature’s secrets for health, agriculture, and more!

Biomass Production

Biomass production is like farming tiny ocean superheroes! Scientists collect marine microbes – tiny organisms like bacteria or algae – and grow them in special tanks or bioreactors under carefully controlled conditions, just like how farmers grow crops (but on a much smaller scale).

These microbes are nature’s tiny factories. When given the right nutrients, light and temperature, they multiply rapidly, creating biomass – a dense, living material full of useful compounds. This biomass can be turned into things like biofuels, natural medicines, or eco-friendly plastics.

Chemical Extraction

Think of chemical extraction as making a strong cup of tea from marine biomass – instead of tea leaves, we use tiny ocean organims, and instead of flavour, valuable natural compounds are extracted.

Scientists take the biomass and break it down to release such compounds, using special liquids called solvents. These extracted substances could either become: 1) new medicines to fight diseases; 2) natural alternatives to plastic packaging; or even 3) cleaner fuels for a greener future.

The best part? EUREMAP’s methods work for small lab experiments all the way up to large industrial batches. Partner universities and research teams bring their expertise to make this process efficient and effective, helping turn ocean microbes into tomorrow’s breakthroughts.

Bioassays and Bioprofiling

Imagine finding a mysterious key (in this case a new compound) – bioassays help us discover what doors it can open. In this step several marine compounds are tested, it’s like giving nature’s molecules a job interview: can they fight germs? protect cells? stop cancer? help plants grow? and so on.

The star performers might become tomorrow’s medicines or eco-friendly crop protectors, so they need to get a full “background check” (that’s bioprofiling) to understand exactly how they work, in order to further on capitalise on their biomechanisms.

Chemical Profiling

Think of chemical profiling as creating a detailed ID card for each marine compound we discover. Scientist use powerful tools to decode the exact molecular makeup of these natural substances – like reading their unique fingerprints.

This process reveals everything about a compound’s structure and properties. Through which we can answer with precision if this specific molecule is similar to any other known molecules or if it has some special potencially useful feature.

The knowledge we gain builds a drowing library of marine compounds. This database becomes a treasure map for future discoveries, potencially leading to new medicines, sustainable materials, or green chemestry solutions.

Purification and Structure Elucidation

Think of purification like panning for gold in a muddy river. We start with a mix of marine compounds and carefully separate them until we isolate the pure, valuable molecules. Once we remove the “dirt” we get the “gold nuggets” of bioative compounds.

Then scientists have to investigate the unique structure of each molecule, this strcuture elucidation reveals exactly how the compound is built at the atomic level, helping them to understand its potencial uses.

The pure, well-understood marine compounds become the foundation for future applications. By perfecting nature’s designs the building blocks for a greener future easily uncover themselves.

Purification and Structure Elucidation

Nature provides incredible molecular blueprints, but sometimes we can improve them. Think of it like renovating a house – we might keep the core structure (semi-synthesis) or build semething entirely new inspired by nature’s designs (synthesis).

Scientists carefully modify marine-derived molecules to make them more effective, stable, or suitable for specific applications. This molecular craftsmanship could lead to better medicines, sustainable materials, and innovative solutions that combine nature’s wisdom with human creativity.