Course: SAT 170 Introductory Biotechnology

Unit 13 Learning Module

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Medical Applications and Biomaterials

Sponges important in the field of marine biotechnology as they produce a variety of important products including pharmaceuticals, like the chemotherapy Cytarbine discussed in this unit.

The mussels and clams shown here are examples of the very diverse group of organisms known as mollusks.
Several medical applications of marine biotechnology are currently in practice with several more expected to take hold in the near future. Examples of such medical applications are the isolation of pharmaceuticals agents from marine organisms as well as materials that can be used as biomaterials. Recall from unit 12 that a biomaterial is one that interacts with material that interacts with or comes in contact with living material.

Marine-derived pharmaceuticals are a rapidly growing industry that is expected to provide a vast array of new pharmaceutical drugs. Currently there are many drugs on the market and several others going through various stages of pre-clinical and clinical trials. The majority of the investment for research and development on new marine derived pharmaceuticals is based on a group of organisms known as sponges. Sponges are sessile (immobile or fixed in one place), multicellular animals which lack well defined body structures. Instead, these organisms have large pores in their tissues which allow water to easily flow through their body structures providing the needed nutrients and removing wastes for the organism. Fish comprise the next largest investment for the identification and isolation of new marine-derived pharmaceutical compounds. Tunicates, mollusks and fungal organisms are also significant contributors to these marine-derived pharmaceuticals. Like sponges, tunicates are sessile organisms. As their name implies, these organisms have a firm outer layer which covers their barrel shaped bodies. Molluscs, or mollusks, are an incredibly diverse group which includes organisms such as squids, octopus, clams, oysters and mussels. Amongst the marine-derived pharmaceuticals that have been developed for therapeutic purposes are antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, pain killers and even anti-psychotic drugs. Cytarbine is an example of a chemotherapy agent that was derived from sponges and is used primarily for the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma.

Marine organisms have also proven to be a valuable source of biomaterials. The wet-setting adhesive properties exhibited by the proteins of some marine organisms can be used to increasing binding of implant devices with body tissues, thus enhance the biocompatibility of those devices. This is important as most of our body sites contain, or are saturated with, bodily fluids. The antifouling properties discussed previously can also be useful for such implanted devices as they can be used to prevent the biofouling that occurs as microorganisms in the body adhere to these devices. Additionally, the biopolymers of marine organisms can serve as scaffolds for the generation of organs via tissue engineering. Recall from unit 8, that a scaffold provides the template of an organ or tissue over which cells are encouraged to grow.

We previously described the use of AGFP as a mechanism to increase the cold tolerance and frost resistance of crops to improve crop yield. We also described the use of algae and microalgae as a source of biofuel, which would have agricultural impacts by reducing the pressure for more land to grow biomass for biofuel.

Other agricultural applications of marine biotechnology include the isolation and development of fungicides, which can be used to reduce the impact caused by agricultural damage and losses due to fungal organisms.

A variety of genes used to genetically engineer crops with certain characteristics have also been isolate from marine organisms, such as the AGFP gene previously discussed. Additionally, nearly twenty percent of crops are affected by soil salinity. Aquatic organisms that live in seawater or brackish water have a relatively high tolerance for salt. Researchers have been able to identify the genes that confer this tolerance and transfer them to other organisms creating genetically engineered organisms that are salt tolerant.
Notice the barrel shaped structure of tunicate organisms, like the one shown here. Like sponges, significant investments have been made to studying the compounds produced by these organisms.

Plants of saltwater marshes exhibit a high tolerance for salt. Such traits could be important for the genetic manipulation of crops to help them grow in soil with higher levels of salinity.