8 Marine Biotechnology
289
use (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach/reach_intro.htm) which will
increase the emphasis of finding new enzymes and processes that will allow for a
more efficient and less polluting chemical industry.
8.2 How Genomics Impacts on the Various Fields
of Marine Biotechnology
Until now marine genetic resources have been scarcely valorised with only 135 relevant patents found in an “indicative” survey between 1973 and 2007 (Leary et al.
2009). One reason for this limited number of patents is that hitherto, research for
new compounds from the marine environment has been either fortuitous, large scale
or guided by physiological or ecological knowledge, an example of the latter being
searches for bioactive compounds in organisms that are rarely predated, epiphytised, or grazed (Sennett 2001). An increased knowledge in genomics will provide
us with a powerful guide to the genetic basis of the complex metabolic activities
in the marine environment and will allow for a multitude of discoveries and the
development of commercial products.
Many marine microorganisms are difficult to keep in culture, making it difficult
to exploit them for the production of new products. Metagenomics on organisms or
communities that are presently difficult or impossible to culture can give insights
into physiological mechanisms that are difficult to obtain with other methods (see
below). Indeed, the coupling of metagenomics with an appropriate screen can prove
to be a powerful tool in modern day biotechnology. The high demand for biocatalytic enzymes has generated a wide range of specific and useful screens that can
be easily exploited using libraries of marine origin, one of the most common being
a screen for esterase function. Using marine metagenomic libraries from the South
China Sea and Arctic sediment four novel esterases have been identified and characterised in the last year alone (Jeon et al. 2009, Chu et al. 2008). Hydrolytic
enzymes, such as esterases, are useful biocatalysts because of their extensive
versatility for industrial application: they generally have broad substrate specificity
and are stereoselective.
Increased genomic knowledge can facilitate gene discovery, making it easier
to go from protein to sequence (and vice versa). If, for example, an interesting
biological activity has been found and the corresponding protein or enzyme has
been purified it is much simpler, with a known genome, to find the relevant gene.
Comparison of a gene of known function with sequences in the same or other
organisms allows similar genes to be identified. This provides access to a diversity of genes encoding a protein of interest. For example, recently a new family
B DNA polymerase from Thermococcus thioreducens (an archaeon isolated from
the Rainbow hydrothermal vent field) was cloned, expressed, purified and characterised. This novel DNA polymerase was shown to perform well under a range of
PCR conditions, being faster, more stable and more accurate than many commonly
used enzymes (Marsic et al. 2008). Conversely, the absence of a gene in an organism
289
use (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach/reach_intro.htm) which will
increase the emphasis of finding new enzymes and processes that will allow for a
more efficient and less polluting chemical industry.
8.2 How Genomics Impacts on the Various Fields
of Marine Biotechnology
Until now marine genetic resources have been scarcely valorised with only 135 relevant patents found in an “indicative” survey between 1973 and 2007 (Leary et al.
2009). One reason for this limited number of patents is that hitherto, research for
new compounds from the marine environment has been either fortuitous, large scale
or guided by physiological or ecological knowledge, an example of the latter being
searches for bioactive compounds in organisms that are rarely predated, epiphytised, or grazed (Sennett 2001). An increased knowledge in genomics will provide
us with a powerful guide to the genetic basis of the complex metabolic activities
in the marine environment and will allow for a multitude of discoveries and the
development of commercial products.
Many marine microorganisms are difficult to keep in culture, making it difficult
to exploit them for the production of new products. Metagenomics on organisms or
communities that are presently difficult or impossible to culture can give insights
into physiological mechanisms that are difficult to obtain with other methods (see
below). Indeed, the coupling of metagenomics with an appropriate screen can prove
to be a powerful tool in modern day biotechnology. The high demand for biocatalytic enzymes has generated a wide range of specific and useful screens that can
be easily exploited using libraries of marine origin, one of the most common being
a screen for esterase function. Using marine metagenomic libraries from the South
China Sea and Arctic sediment four novel esterases have been identified and characterised in the last year alone (Jeon et al. 2009, Chu et al. 2008). Hydrolytic
enzymes, such as esterases, are useful biocatalysts because of their extensive
versatility for industrial application: they generally have broad substrate specificity
and are stereoselective.
Increased genomic knowledge can facilitate gene discovery, making it easier
to go from protein to sequence (and vice versa). If, for example, an interesting
biological activity has been found and the corresponding protein or enzyme has
been purified it is much simpler, with a known genome, to find the relevant gene.
Comparison of a gene of known function with sequences in the same or other
organisms allows similar genes to be identified. This provides access to a diversity of genes encoding a protein of interest. For example, recently a new family
B DNA polymerase from Thermococcus thioreducens (an archaeon isolated from
the Rainbow hydrothermal vent field) was cloned, expressed, purified and characterised. This novel DNA polymerase was shown to perform well under a range of
PCR conditions, being faster, more stable and more accurate than many commonly
used enzymes (Marsic et al. 2008). Conversely, the absence of a gene in an organism