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Marine
Life:
The Basis for New Agricultural and Industrial Products
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The
problems:
In industry, where can new sources of catalysts and materials
be found? In shipping, what could provide nontoxic solutions to
the marine biofilms that slow the speed of ships? In agriculture,
what can replace hazardous pesticides with environmentally safe
products that maximize crop yields?
Potential
solutions: The
enzymes and proteins produced by marine organisms are expected
to lead to answers to questions that plague multiple fields. Enzymes
from marine bacteria have wide-ranging and unusual properties,
and, as such, promise many possible uses. Extracellular proteases
can be useful in detergents and industrial cleaning applications;
other enzymes are salt resistant, which is advantageous in industrial
processes.
For decades,
researchers have looked for a solution to the problem of marine
organisms coating ships and underwater equipment. Yet other marine
plants and animals produce natural substances that protect them
from biofouling; using the tools of biotechnology, scientists
are hoping to reproduce these protective films. Other researchers
have been attempting to duplicate the adhesives produced by mussels
and barnacles; such "bioadhesives" could adhere to wet
or dry industrial surfaces or to living tissue for medical applications.
Other research is geared towards anticorrosive coatings and self-cleaning
surfaces for industrial and medical uses (1).
The
structures of marine life are another source of new materials.
One corporation is commercializing a new class of biodegradable
polymers modeled from the natural substances forming the organic
matrices of mollusk shells (see below). Equally exciting are the
mechanisms mollusks, marine diatoms, and other marine invertebrates
use to generate elaborate mineralized structures on a nonometer
scale (less than a billionth of a meter in size). Such minute
structures have unusual properties that could prove useful in
the manufacturing of medical implants, automotive parts, and electronic
devices (2).
On
our farms, natural marine products have the potential to replace
synthetic products with natural fertilizers and pesticides with
greater specificity and fewer harmful side effects (see below).
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New Developments |
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The
first two products described below have reached completion or near completion.
The last project, still in the developmental stage, illustrates the
wide-ranging possibilities and unusual possibilities for industrial
products through marine biotechnology. More research projects from the
30 regional Sea Grant programs can be found in our Research
Table.
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Polyaspartic
acid from the Eastern oyster has agricultural, industrial, and potential
medical uses.
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New
Company Based on Uses of Shell Protein
The
discovery of polyaspartic acid from the protein shell matrix of
the Eastern oyster led to a new private multimillion-dollar company,
based on the many anticipated uses for polyaspartic acid. Used
as a biodegradable soil additive, polyaspartic acid helps plants
absorb additional nutrients from the soil, giving farmers greater
crop yields with smaller amounts of fertilizer. Used on offshore
drilling platforms, it is reducing mineral growth on equipment.
More than two dozen patents have been obtained on possible products,
and the Mayo Clinic of Rochester also is studying medical possibilities.
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Crab
shell waste is being transformed into an agricultural amendment.
Photo: J. Adam Frederick, Maryland Sea Grant Extension Program
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Help for Potato Crops From Crab Shells
The
discovery of commercial uses for chitosan, the main byproduct of chitin
in the crab's shell, is reducing the problem of crab-shell waste produced
by the crabbing industry. In Washington, researchers supported by Sea
Grant are exploring chitosan's ability to inhibit the growth of potato
blight through reduced gene expression. As potatoes are among Washington's
top five commodities, this project is striving for market acceptance
of a chitosan application to potato leaves.
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High-performance Materials from Sponge Skeletons
Still in development,
the discoveries from this project could lead to a new class of high-performance
materials for microelectronics, biochips and packaging materials. The
glass-like skeletons of California's marine sponges are made up of an
intricate array of microscopic silica needles. Collaborating with industry
partners, California Sea Grant-supported scientists are characterizing
the proteins, genes, and molecular mechanisms that control the synthesis
of these silica nanocomposites. The project's scientists have discovered
that the proteins which direct the polymerization of silica compounds
in these sponges also catalyze and direct the production of titanium
oxide. Titanium oxide is used in solar cells, industrial photo-catalysts,
electronic devices and health-care products. The newly discovered protein
is the first enzyme that has been discovered to control the nano-structure
of this important industrial compound. (Excerpt from
California
Sea Grant web site.)
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References
1. Benedict, Christine.
The commercialization of a biopolymer extracted from the marine mussel,
Mytilus Edulis. In: Committee on Marine Biotechnology: Biomedical Applications
of Marine Natural Products. Marine biotechnology in the twenty-first
century problems, promise, and products. Washington DC: National Academy
Press; 2002. 69-78. Available at http://www.nap.edu.
2. National Science
and Technology Council, Committee on Fundamental Science, Biotechnology
for the 21st Century: New Horizons. Washington, DC, 1995 Available from:
US Government Printing Office, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328.
Stock No. 038-000-00590-1.
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