Accordingly, marine organisms have progressed beyond use as a mere food
resource, allowing for the development of a marine organism industry with
potentially enormous value added.
The history of marine biotechnology is not a long one. It was with the discovery
of nucleic acid material containing the unusual sugar arabinose in the Caribbean
sponge Tethya crypta in the 1950s that the buried potential of marine organisms
first came to notice (Carroll and Crews 2009). (Ara-A and Ara-C are used clinically
even today as anti-cancer and anti-viral treatments.) In 1967, a symposium titled
“Drugs from the Sea” was organized for the first time in the United States, calling
attention to the development of pharmaceuticals derived from marine organisms
and leading to the establishment of marine natural science as a research field
(Fusetani 2000).
In addition to this marine natural science research, research in marine biotechnology as a more expanded field took place in the 1980s. The true emerge of the
term “marine biotechnology” came with the 1989 organization of the first International Marine Biotechnology Conference (IMBC) in Japan.
A model of success in marine biotechnology research and development came
with the U.S. Sea Grant program, which has a history of more than half a century
since its beginnings in 1965. It was a research, education, and training network
program organized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) to develop and preserve the coastal ecosystem, with around 32 coastally
located universities participating. Today it is seen as having generated a substantial
return on its rather small investment. Ultimately, its major research focus was on
applying to marine organisms the modern biotechnology methods found in
molecular biology and genetic engineering.
Since 2000, South Korea has operated its own Sea Grant program along the
same lines. University consortium-centered, network-style Sea Grant project teams
were established according to local characteristics, with the goal of healthy and
sustainable use of the oceans. A marine biotechnology project attempted by the
Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in 2004 was the basis for the first real
development of South Korean marine biotechnology.
By examining the marine biotechnology research findings from the U.S. Sea
Grant project and marine biotechnology strategies suggested in Europe, it may be
possible to answer the question of how to conduct efficient research in the field with
limited funds and resources going ahead, while providing a reference on how and in
what fields marine organisms might be applied in biotechnology under South
Korea’s current practical conditions (Tables 1.1 and 1.2).
Marine biotechnology can be classified into four types: marine organism source
technology, marine food resource development technology, marine new materials
development technology, and marine ecosystem and environment preservation
technology.
Marine biotechnology is thus a future-oriented, knowledge-based industry in
which the world’s major corporations are making a priority of investing, as well as
an environmentally friendly, energy-conserving industry that is optimal for
1.2 Biotechnology, Past and Present
3
resource, allowing for the development of a marine organism industry with
potentially enormous value added.
The history of marine biotechnology is not a long one. It was with the discovery
of nucleic acid material containing the unusual sugar arabinose in the Caribbean
sponge Tethya crypta in the 1950s that the buried potential of marine organisms
first came to notice (Carroll and Crews 2009). (Ara-A and Ara-C are used clinically
even today as anti-cancer and anti-viral treatments.) In 1967, a symposium titled
“Drugs from the Sea” was organized for the first time in the United States, calling
attention to the development of pharmaceuticals derived from marine organisms
and leading to the establishment of marine natural science as a research field
(Fusetani 2000).
In addition to this marine natural science research, research in marine biotechnology as a more expanded field took place in the 1980s. The true emerge of the
term “marine biotechnology” came with the 1989 organization of the first International Marine Biotechnology Conference (IMBC) in Japan.
A model of success in marine biotechnology research and development came
with the U.S. Sea Grant program, which has a history of more than half a century
since its beginnings in 1965. It was a research, education, and training network
program organized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) to develop and preserve the coastal ecosystem, with around 32 coastally
located universities participating. Today it is seen as having generated a substantial
return on its rather small investment. Ultimately, its major research focus was on
applying to marine organisms the modern biotechnology methods found in
molecular biology and genetic engineering.
Since 2000, South Korea has operated its own Sea Grant program along the
same lines. University consortium-centered, network-style Sea Grant project teams
were established according to local characteristics, with the goal of healthy and
sustainable use of the oceans. A marine biotechnology project attempted by the
Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in 2004 was the basis for the first real
development of South Korean marine biotechnology.
By examining the marine biotechnology research findings from the U.S. Sea
Grant project and marine biotechnology strategies suggested in Europe, it may be
possible to answer the question of how to conduct efficient research in the field with
limited funds and resources going ahead, while providing a reference on how and in
what fields marine organisms might be applied in biotechnology under South
Korea’s current practical conditions (Tables 1.1 and 1.2).
Marine biotechnology can be classified into four types: marine organism source
technology, marine food resource development technology, marine new materials
development technology, and marine ecosystem and environment preservation
technology.
Marine biotechnology is thus a future-oriented, knowledge-based industry in
which the world’s major corporations are making a priority of investing, as well as
an environmentally friendly, energy-conserving industry that is optimal for
1.2 Biotechnology, Past and Present
3