Acronym BLUEBIO
Category
Marine Biotechnology
Title Bioactive marine natural products in our environmentally changing planet Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator NA Coordinator email NA
Coordinator institution
UB - University of Barcelona (Spain)
Institutions involved
NA
Start year 2016 End year 2019 Funding (€) € 318,230 Website NA Summary The BLUEBIO project aims to analyze the variability, the production and the bioactivity of natural products from selected marine benthic organisms from different areas of the planet: antarctica, mediterranean and tropics. In order to do that, we start over the background of our previous projects in all these geographical areas, and especially in the most remote one, antarctica. Bluebio will study six selected groups of organisms (algae, sponges, cnidarians, molluscs, bryozoans, and tunicates), for which one species of a single genus will be selected. The project is divided into three objectives: 1) to analyze the variability of the natural products of the 18 selected organisms (6 from each area) and their symbionts; 2) to study the production of compounds in selected species; and 3) to establish the bioactivity of the molecules in their environment and their possible pharmaceutical use. Among the factors that generate variability in the production of the metabolites, we will analyze here the temperature, the predation pressure, and the symbiont microorganisms. For studying the production of natural compounds, biosynthetic experiments and transcriptomics will be done for a selection of species. In order to analize bioactivity, experiments agains macro- and micropredators, toxicity, and antimicroorganisms will be carried out. To evaluate the potential pharmaceutical activity, antitumoral, antiimflammatory, antimicrobial, antifungical, antiplasmodial assays, and against neurodegenerative diseases, will be done. All these assays will be carried out in collaboration with different companies and research groups. The project includes two scientific cruises at each one of the selected zones, with different lengths depending on the zone, to collect the samples and doing the experiments. The results of the project will provide key information regarding production of bioactive molecules at each one of this areas (polar, temperate, tropical) in similar organisms, and their variability, according to the changes that happen around them (temperature, presence of predators, existence of microsymbionts). This information is crucial to foreseen possible changes in the production of these molecules, and in the survival of these species, in function of the impact of climate change in our planet. Our hypothesis is that these factors will have a direct effect on the biological and chemical diversity in most of the studied species, and this will be more pronounced in the most vulnerable areas (antarctica). This project represents a new challenge for our research team, and it is continuation of our previous antarctic projects. Bluebio is a multidisciplinary project, challenging our current knowledge in the field of marine ecology at different levels, trying to provide the scientific bases to tackle the problems of our society, such as knowledge and conservation of biological and chemical diversity in marine benthic ecosystems, making it easier to manage them and improving their protection.
Keywords
Bioactive compounds;
Bioprospecting;
Human health;
Mollusc;
Shellfish;
Algae;
Drug discovery;
Pharmaceuticals;
Sponge;
Marine Region
76
Not associated to marine areas
0
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