Special Report: Advancing marine biodiscovery at NUI Galway

The temperate nutrient-rich waters of the Atlantic Ocean provide Europe with a priceless living laboratory of marine organisms and habitats. The untapped potential for the discovery of compounds from this natural source for use in novel biomedicines, amongst other applications, is becoming increasingly evident.

A recent survey carried out by the Atlantic Blue Tech Project of 76 companies in the marine biotechnology sector indicates that marine biotechnology in the European Atlantic area is diverse, dynamic and growing fast https://vimeo.com/120041717 . The survey also shows that industry-university engagement and co-operation is one of the main drivers for innovation in this area, especially in health, cosmetics and food products and processes.

One of Europe’s most westerly universities, the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway), is a focus for marine biodiscovery research and a prime location for marine science in Ireland. Its western approaches provide access to marine organisms and habitats from the pristine Atlantic Ocean, rich in biodiversity. Researchers at the university’s Ryan Institute for Environment, Marine and Energy Research http://www.ryaninstitute.ie have invested decades of research into the taxonomy and ecology of marine organisms. Added to this is a capacity to culture experimental organisms, ranging from deep-sea bacteria and fungi within the School of Natural Sciences to algae, marine invertebrates and fish at a state-of-the-art aquaculture facility at Carna Research Station, situated on the shores of the Atlantic. Coastal and deep-sea explorations through the Irish national research vessels are yielding exciting data from new, previously unexplored habitats.

 

The Biodiversity and Bioresources Research Cluster at the University’s Ryan Institute (http://www.ryaninstitute.ie/research/biodiversity-and-bioresources/) has developed an integrated and multidisciplinary approach to marine biodiscovery focusing on key targets in drug-resistant cancers, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and biofouling organisms, and screening widely for novelty via extensive collaborations in Europe and the US.

 

For example, sponges, the simplest of the animals and the most ancient, have been battling a chemical warfare on their competitors and enemies for 600 million years. These sedentary organisms are under investigation at NUI Galway as a prime source of novel drugs, therapeutics and other compounds of interest. Their skeletons are being examined for potential applications in fibre optics, tissue engineering, novel drug delivery systems and as models for investigating skeletal growth in humans. Many other marine organisms have the potential to improve human health and the economy: for example, barnacles act as inspiration for novel underwater adhesive development in surgical applications, or in marine antifouling, while jellyfish neurotoxins may provide inspiration for a new range of analgesics.

 

Extracts from marine organisms collected on and off the Irish coastal shelf are being purified by chemists at the Marine Biodiscovery Laboratory in the School of Chemistry at NUI Galway. Purified compounds are put through a suite of assays in microbiology and fungal biotechnology laboratories and through specific anticancer assays in the School of Pharmacology. Cellular and genetic pathways responsible for bioactivity, and variations in their chemistry are assessed through state-of-the-art approaches in cell biology, metabolomics, genomics, expression and functional studies. Viable production systems and pathways, e.g. next-generation biorefineries, are considered paramount to further product development. Through this collaborative and systems biology approach from organismal biology through to the ‘omics’, we provide an holistic and inclusive approach that is guaranteed to provide high impact results and novel applications.

Biodiscovery is the first stage of the opportunity for blue growth, yet it is expensive and yields products slowly, making the industry reluctant to provide resources to support these efforts. Funding agencies are also slow to commit funds to the essential first steps of discovery – collection, identification and screening of organisms – focusing instead on the greater impact of projects further along the discovery pipeline, where an application has already been shown. It is often left to academic laboratories to fund early stage discovery projects out of other funds, and, in the climate of low funding availability and budget cuts, this is now much more difficult. Given the myriad organisms and millions of different possible chemicals and products, it will only take time and effort to find the golden egg. By applying a more synergistic approach, we are finding other golden eggs along the way, understanding key elements of organismal interactions that answer basic science questions, as well as finding applications. Investment from industry and funding agencies into early stages of biodiscovery can have far-reaching benefits above and beyond the original goal.

The location, expertise, facilities and cohesive research environment at NUI Galway make it an ideal location for participation in pan-European networks. While the economic climate in Ireland has proven difficult for participation in research infrastructure networks such as EMBRC, MIRRI, and EMSO, emphasis on blue growth at the national and EU level, and the confirmation of the importance of this sector to the national economy will be conducive to renewed engagement opportunities with those initiatives. Indeed, biodiscovery at NUI Galway has received national funding during the financial downturn from the Irish Marine Institute (Beaufort Biodiscovery Programme), Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council.

Given the necessity to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to marine biodiscovery research, interactions and structured exchanges with other institutions at the transnational level is an important requirement to capitalise on the national investments in research capacity and capabilities realised with the Irish Marine Research Strategy and Marine Action Plan, since 2007. Our marine biodiscovery researchers are already participating in a number of joint funding applications at national and international levels. NUI Galway is dedicated to supporting local industry innovation through our knowledge and technology offer and is fully engaged in co-operative industry-university education programmes. The agencies, industry and university realise the need to work together to seize this important opportunity towards a regional specialisation strategy which, in turn, will improve global competitiveness of Irish and EU industries in the biodiscovery sector.

Professor Grace McCormack, Professor Bill Baker, Dr Ilaria Nardello and Dr Anne Marie Power
Ryan Institute
School of Natural Sciences
National University of Ireland Galway

tel: 353 (0)91 492321

http://www.nuigalway.ie/faculties_departments/zoology/mccormack/