Biotechnology has touched this field of marine resource exploitation as it has so many other fields. The earth's surface is predominantly covered by water, and by this fact alone, one can say that the biodiversity of aqua-systems is much greater than that on the land. The contribution of this marine biodiversity to alleviate the food security pressures on the vast population of the Indian peninsula has till now been disappointing. The great potential of the seas is waiting to be exploited.

The oceans offer abundant resources for research and development, yet the potential of this domain as the basis for new biotechnologies remains largely unexplored. Indeed, the vast majority of marine organisms (primarily microorganisms) have yet to be identified. Even for known organisms, there is insufficient knowledge to permit their intelligent management and application.

Oceanic organisms are of enormous scientific interest, for two major reasons. First, they constitute a major share of the Earth's biological resources. Second, marine organisms often possess unique structures, metabolic pathways, reproductive systems, and sensory and defense mechanisms because they have adapted to extreme environments ranging from the cold polar seas at minus 2 degrees C to the great pressures of the ocean floor, where hydro-thermal fluids spew forth. Most major classes of the Earth's organisms are primarily or exclusively marine, so the oceans represent a source of unique genetic information.

Indian research institutes carrying out research in oceanic biodiversity have come out with path breaking technologies for the exploitation of these riches. However, the transfer of these technologies to the industry to translate them into commercial success stories have been far and few.

Research in varied aspects of marine biotechnology have thrown up a number of fantastic technologies.

Institutes like the Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Mumbai, a part of the ICAR is striving to disseminate knowledge about marine biotechnologies in India. Other institutes undertaking the task of generating knowledge in this field are the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, the Bose Institute in Calcutta, etc.

Apart from the food which can be derived from the marine environment, biotechnology has helped us exploit the vide variety of microorganisms from the marine waters. Many bioactive substances from the marine environment already have been isolated and characterized, several with great promise for the treatment of human diseases. The compound manoalide from a Pacific sponge, for example, has spawned more than 300 chemical analogs, with a significant number of these going on to clinical trials as anti-inflammatory agents.

To promote sustainable technology development, the Government of India should support research leading to new methods for discovery. One approach would be to focus on learning about natural functions, regulation, and production of substances generated by marine organisms, in order to identify potentially important agents. Refined test systems should be developed in order to identify selective agents produced by marine organisms.

Rapidly developing assay technology can facilitate exploration of the bioactivity of newly discovered compounds. These assay methods, which employ specific receptors for known physiological agents, require only minute amounts of a test substance and can be automated. (Traditional chemical tests require considerable amounts of test material and laborious measurement processes.) The new tools will make it feasible to test newly discovered compounds rapidly by the hundreds, for a wide spectrum of biological activities.

Enzymes produced by marine bacteria are important in biotechnology due to their range of unusual properties. Some are salt-resistant, a characteristic that is often advantageous in industrial processes. The extracellular proteases (enzymes that break down proteins) are of particular importance and can be used in detergents and industrial cleaning applications, such as in cleaning reverse-osmosis membranes. Vibrio species have been found to produce an unusual detergent-resistant, alkaline serine exoprotease. This marine bacterium also produces collagenase, an enzyme with a variety of industrial and commercial applications, including the dispersion of cells in tissue culture studies.

Other research has demonstrated the presence in algae of unique haloperoxidases (enzymes catalyzing the incorporation of halogen into metabolites). These enzymes could become valuable products, because halogenation is an important process in the chemical industry. Japanese researchers have developed methods to induce a marine alga to produce large amounts of the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which is used in enormous quantities for a range of medical, cosmetic, and food applications.

An unusual group of marine microorganisms from which enzymes have been isolated, can grow at temperatures over 100 degrees C and therefore require enzyme systems that are stable at high temperatures. Thermostable enzymes offer distinct advantages, many still to be discovered, in research and industrial processes. Thermostable DNA-modifying enzymes, such as polymerases, ligases, and restriction endonucleases, already have important research and industrial applications.

Recent research has demonstrated that marine biochemical processes can be exploited to produce new biomaterials. For example, a corporation in Chicago is commercializing a new class of biodegradable polymers modeled on natural substances that form the organic matrices of mollusk shells. Equally exciting are the mechanisms used by marine diatoms, coccolithophorids, mollusks, and other marine invertebrates to generate elaborate mineralized structures on a nanometer scale (less than a billionth of a meter in size).

Nanometer-scale structures can have unusual and useful properties. Research that will enhance understanding and allow engineering of the processes for creating these bioceramics, promises to revolutionize the manufacturing of medical implants, automotive parts, electronic devices, protective coatings, and other novel products.

Several sponge and nudibranch species produce terpenes, a broad class of aromatic compounds used in solvents and perfumes and known to deter feeding by fish. Extracts derived from these same sponge and nudibranch species also demonstrated powerful insecticidal activity against two species, grasshoppers and the tobacco horn worm.

Aquaculture, which long has been practiced in Asia and is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, Europe, and South America, will benefit tremendously from the use of new biotechnological tools and processes. With worldwide seafood demand projected to increase 70 per cent in the next 35 years, and harvest from capture fisheries stable or declining, aquaculture will have to produce seven times as much seafood as it generates now to supply global demand by 2025. The use of modern biotechnology to intervene in the rearing process and enhance production of aquatic species holds great potential not only to meet this demand, but also to improve competitiveness in aquaculture.

The major research issues in aquaculture are similar to those for other agricultural sectors, but the knowledge base for aquaculture is comparatively meager. Development of this knowledge is a particular challenge due to the diversity of cultured aquatic species and the systems for their production. Government support for biotechnology research in this area will expand the knowledge base and yield significant dividends.

The application of biotechnology promises significant benefits to both producers and consumers of aquacultural products. The use of genetically enhanced organisms may improve production efficiency through improvements in growth rates, food conversion, disease resistance, and product quality and composition. The application of biotechnology to aquaculture also may help conserve wild species and genetic resources and provide unique models for biomedical research.