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In this article we will discuss about the applications of marine biotechnology.
Applications of biotechnology are found in health care, environmental remediation and the production of energy, food and fine chemicals. Bioprocess engineering has been the key to success in the commercialisation of biotechnology, especially with respect to biopharmaceuticals.
In marine biotechnology, both new and existing biotechnological techniques are developed and applied to organisms from marine sources. For marine biotechnology, bioprocess engineering represents the link between discovery and commercialisation. The world’s oceans represent one of the largest untapped biological resources.
Appropriately, the United Nations has designated 1998 as the ‘Year of the Ocean’ in recognition of the importance of oceans to the wellbeing of this planet and the need for proper use of their resources for sustainable development.
Oceanic organisms are of enormous scientific interest, for two major reasons:
First, they constitute a major share of the Earth’s biological resources.
Second, marine organisms often possess unique structures, metabolic pathways, reproductive systems, and sensory and defence mechanisms because they have adapted to extreme environments ranging from the cold polar seas at 2°C to the great pressures of the ocean floor, where hydrothermal fluids spew forth.
Most of the major classes of the Earth’s organisms are primarily or exclusively marine, so the oceans represent a source of unique genetic information. The diversity of marine life points to a myriad of new bio-products waiting to be discovered and developed commercially through engineering research and a systems approach that spans activities from the identification of new marine bio-products through production, separation, formulation and delivery.
Numerous potential pharmaceuticals (e.g. bryostatin, halichondrin), valuable biopolymers (e.g. chitin), compounds that can be used in the anti-fouling industry (as an alternative to toxic chemicals like organotins), products for the food industry (poly-unsaturated fatty acids) and products for the cosmetic industry (e.g. phycobiliproteins) have been found in and isolated from marine organisms.
In addition, marine microorganisms can be used to produce energy (biohydrogen). In order to stimulate research that leads to commercial exploitation of these natural resources, marine organisms need to be cultivated in vitro for the rational and sustainable exploitation of the sea as a source of food and natural products.
In recent years increasing funds have been devoted to marine biotechnology research; the United States, for example, spent some $55 million in 1995. Develop a fundamental understanding of the genetic, nutritional, and environmental factors that control the production of primary and secondary metabolites in marine organisms, as a basis for developing new and improved products.
Identify bioactive compounds and determine their mechanisms of action and natural function, to provide models for new lines of selectively active materials for application in medicine and the chemical industry.
Develop bioremediation strategies for application in the world’s coastal oceans, where multiple uses-including wastewater disposal, recreation, fishing, and aquaculture- demand prevention and remediation of pollution; and develop bioprocessing strategies for improving sustainable industrial processes.
Use the tools of modern development, growth, and overall well-being of cultivated aquatic organisms; and promote the interdisciplinary development of environmentally sensitive, sustainable systems that will enable significant commercialisation of aquaculture.
Improve understanding of microbial physiology, genetics, biochemistry, and ecology in order to provide model systems for research and production systems for commerce, and to contribute to understanding and conservation of the seas.