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Marine Genetic Resources and Bioprospecting in the Western Indian Ocean 30 Marine Genetic Resources and Bioprospecting in the Western Indian Ocean Rachel Wynberg Opposite page: Nudibranchs are of interest in bioprospecting programmes and have been the source of dolastatins, under investigation for their anti- tumour activity. © Hendrik Martens / Shutterstock. INTRODUCTION sions of the recently adopted Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Over the last few decades, increasing attention has been Benefits Arising from their Utilisation, an agreement under given to the commercial potential of exploiting marine the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The con- genetic and associated natural product resources for a range cept of “access and benefit sharing” (ABS) originated as a of industries including pharmaceuticals, food and bever- legal expression in the 1992 CBD arising from the unequal age, cosmetics, agriculture and industrial biotechnology distribution of biodiversity throughout the world, the (eg de la Calle 2009, Arrieta and others, 2010, Arnaud- desire of biodiversity-poor but technology-rich industrial- Haond and others, 2011, Global Ocean Commission 2013, ised countries to have continued access to these resources, Martins and others, 2014). Furthermore, scientific and and the determination of biodiversity-rich but technology- technological developments in molecular biology, genom- poor developing countries to benefit from the exploitation ics, and bioinformatics, have led to exciting new possibili- of their resources (Reid and others, 1993, Wynberg and ties; whilst technological advances in observing and Laird 2007). An agreement was reached requiring user sampling the deep ocean have opened up previously unex- countries to share benefits with provider countries, which plored areas to scientific research (Global Ocean Commis- in turn were required to facilitate access to their genetic sion 2013). Since initial reports in the 1950s, some 23 570 resources. The Nagoya Protocol, which came into force in natural products have been reported from marine organ- 2014, aims to create greater legal certainty for both provid- isms, growing at a rate of 4 per cent per year (Arrieta and ers and users of genetic resources by establishing clear and others, 2010, Leal and Calado 2015). Only a small number transparent procedures for access to genetic resources; and of these products have reached the commercialised phase, by helping to ensure the sharing of benefits once genetic yet marine bioprospecting provides significant economic resources leave the provider country through its new obli- opportunities with the global market for marine biotech- gations related to compliance. In the high seas, natural nology products alone projected to reach US$ 4 900 million resources are considered to be the “common heritage of by 2018 (Global Industry Analysts Inc. 2013). humankind” and are subject to special rules under the At the same time, the legal framework for marine United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNC- genetic resources has become increasingly complex, char- LOS). Specialised ABS rules for these resources have not acterised by a multiplicity of legal regimes and national yet been developed. and international laws. Marine genetic resources found What do these developments mean for countries of the within the EEZ are subject to national laws, and to provi- Western Indian Ocean (WIO), whose territorial waters con- Western Indian Ocean 397 FinalRESOCR.indd 397 15/09/16 13:11 VI . Assessment of otherOther humanHuman activities Activities and and the the marine Marine environment Environment tain many marine genetic resources that are of growing were a major focus of marine natural product research, but interest to industries? With the exception of South Africa, bioprospecting efforts have since focused on microorgan- most research, development and commercialisation of isms and marine invertebrates (Leal and others, 2013). marine genetic resources is currently located outside of the Increasing research is also focused on the potential of WIO region, as is the ownership of associated intellectual marine microalgae, especially in the food and cosmetics property rights. A suite of challenging issues face policy- industries (Martins and others, 2014). makers attempting to implement the Nagoya Protocol and Natural products are produced by many marine organ- ensure compliance with various other legal instruments. isms as a chemical defence against predation, or as a These include questions relating to ownership and benefit response to inter-species competition for limited resources flows from the commercialisation of marine genetic (Davies-Coleman and Sunasee 2012). A taxonomic analysis resources; how research and development in WIO coun- of new marine natural products discovered between 1990 tries can be further stimulated; sustainable use of marine and 2009 for invertebrates, indicated that the Phylum Por- genetic resources, and minimising the threat of overexploi- ifera was the most abundant at 48.8 per cent, followed by tation; how the movement of marine genetic resources can Cnidaria (28.6 per cent); Echinodermata (8.2 per cent), be tracked and monitored; and guidance with regard to the Chordata (6.9 per cent) and Mollusca (5.8 per cent). exploitation of marine genetic resources in the high seas. Research points increasingly to symbiotic microbes as the This chapter provides an overview of these questions, source of the secondary metabolites of these larger organ- beginning with a description of the potential value of isms, biosynthesizing the natural products associated with marine genetic resources and the industries that utilise their hosts (especially those found in sponges) (Marris them; current research and development activities in the 2006, Molinsky and others, 2009). This has led to a signifi- WIO region; and the central issues requiring attention by cantly increased research focus on marine microbes (Arri- policy-makers and decision-makers. eta and others, 2010). Indeed, prokaryotes contribute 42 per cent of marine genes included in a patent analysis THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF MaRINE (Arrieta and others, 2010) and with the majority of microbes BiopROSPECTING unexplored there is high potential for the development of useful products. Marine bioprospecting, the exploration of biological mate- rial in the marine environment for commercially valuable RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIAL genetic and biochemical properties, is a rapidly expanding APPLICATIONS research and commercial activity. Whereas bioprospecting in the terrestrial environment can be traced back centuries, A wide range of products include marine genetic resources, collecting and screening commercially valuable samples from those domesticated for food through to high-value from the marine environment, dependent on the develop- cosmetic markets and high-end pharmaceuticals engi- ment of technological advances such as SCUBA diving, is neered for human health. Not all of these can be character- as recent as the 1950s (Molinsky and others, 2009). ised as being produced as a result of bioprospecting, and The marine environment presents important eco- uses range from the direct incorporation of seaweed in food nomic opportunities due to high levels of biodiversity and supplements, for example, through to the use of bioactive endemism, holding promise of biologically active chemical ingredients in creams, lotions and ointments as cosmeceu- entities for the development of novel natural products ticals, and the isolation of active compounds for the phar- (Davies-Coleman and Sunassee 2012, Leal and others, maceutical industry. Investments in marine bioprospecting 2012, Martins and others, 2014). There is particular interest are typically extremely costly and risky due in part to the in marine species that live in extreme environments, such high costs of sampling in cases where this occurs in the as hydrothermal vents, seamounts, cold seeps and subma- deep sea, the low chances of success, and the significant rine trenches (“extremophiles”), which trigger organisms regulatory hurdles for product approval. For example, it to adopt new biosynthetic pathways that generate interest- took more than three decades for Prialt®, the first ing compounds (Greiber 2011, Davies-Coleman and pharmaceutical based on a marine source – the poison Sunassee 2012). In the 1970s and 1980s, marine macroalgae released by a tropical marine cone snail to paralyse its prey 398 Regional State of the Coast Report FinalRESOCR.indd 398 15/09/16 13:11 30. Marine genetic resources and bioprospecting in the western Indian Ocean 60 40 % of patents 20 0 Biofuel Cosmetics Environment Human health Food industry BiotechnologiesBioremediation Genetic engineering Molecular andAgriculture cell biology & aquaculture Application Figure 30.1. Synthesis of the uses proposed in the claims or description of 460 patents deposited at the International Patent Office and associated with genes isolated in marine organisms. Source: Arrieta and others, 2010. – to be approved in the United States as a treatment for ucts used in the pharmaceutical, food supplement, and chronic pain (Marris 2006, Molinsky and others, 2009). Par- personal care markets; the organisms they are extracted adoxically, commercial supplies of Prialt®, a small from; and the status of their development. polypeptide, were obtained through standard pharmaceutical The considerable costs involved in marine bioprospect- manufacturing processes and exploitation of the natural
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