The Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR) in Portugal explains why marine biotechnology is entering a new era.

The Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR) is a non-profit research and advanced training institution hosted by the University of Porto. Its mission is to develop exceptional and quality research, promote technological development and support public policies in the area of marine and environmental sciences. CIIMAR is a multidisciplinary institution, organised into three thematic lines: global changes and ecosystem services, aquaculture and seafood safety, and marine biotechnology.

Objectives

The main objective of the marine biotechnology line is to strengthen and consolidate CIIMAR knowhow and competences in the area of marine biotechnology, specifically on the use of marine organisms (e.g. cyanobacteria, bacteria, fungi and others) and other bioactive products that may have pharmacological, nutraceutical, cosmeceutical, antifouling and other important industrial applications. With that objective in mind, the H2020 Twinning project ‘BLUEandGREEN’ aims to increase CIIMAR’s performance in the area of marine biotechnology. This is being done through a consortium joining CIIMAR with four internationally leading counterparts at the EU level: the University of Helsinki, Finland; the University of Bergen, Norway; GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany; and Fundación MEDINA, Spain. These collaborative efforts will force CIIMAR to step up by raising researchers’ professional standards, enhancing networking in research and technological sectors, and involving industry which will influence research planning and thus contribute to economic growth. BLUEandGREEN will be a complementary transdisciplinary effort of the five partners that will add to the raising of CIIMAR’s scientific and technological standards in biorefinery approaches based on marine resources and biotechnology.

The network enhancement of BLUEandGREEN will enforce cluster dynamics and will be done in close interaction with industrial partners to contribute to regional, national and EU Blue Growth strategies, and especially to the economic growth of the marine biotechnology industry. The objectives will be attained through the implementation of short-term staff exchanges and expert visits, short-term training and workshops, a summer school and an international conference. Stakeholders’ surveys will be performed at regional, national and international levels, together with the development of contacts with the objective of preparing market-oriented projects in collaboration with companies. This will help to dismantle trade barriers, increase the ways of communication among partners, and promote knowledge enhancements and its conversion into business. The breaking of these barriers will definitely provide an important contribution to economic growth. Located in the north of Portugal, which is considered a peripheral region, CIIMAR will influence change in the country’s economic landscape towards marine biodiversity and biotechnology, giving new opportunities for regional development and job creation.

A variety of expertise

CIIMAR’s multidisciplinary expertise in marine biotechnology includes geneticists, biologists, microbiologists, chemists, biochemists and pharmacists. Its easy access to coastal Atlantic ecosystems (including Madeira and the Azores islands) puts CIIMAR in a privileged position for marine micro-organism sampling and culture. The existing culture collection at CIIMAR (World Federation of Culture Collections – WDCM 1089) is an important research infrastructure because it holds more than 950 strains of isolated micro-organisms. Direct natural samples and any biomass produced are used for the molecular biology approach where genomic DNA is extracted for next generation sequencing to allow the characterisation of large-scale informative phylogenetic markers for species identification. The gene mining of selected strains for clusters of genes, including NRPS and PKS, also takes place.

To confirm that a predicted cluster is responsible for the production of the targeted compound, selected genes involved in critical transformations are cloned into E. coli, overexpressed as tagged versions and then purified for the recombinant enzymes. Bioactivity-guided isolation is performed and products are subjected to a detailed spectroscopic and spectrometric analysis for the definition of their chemical structures. Products that are promising for human health are discovered through a diversified series of assays which are used to screen such bioactivities as: anticancer; antimicrobial; antiparasitical; antifungal; hypolipidemic and anti-obesity; anti-oxidant; anti-inflammatory; anti-hypertensive; antidiabetes; and anti-ageing.

In addition, a larvicidal screening assay is used to detect potential environmentally friendly insecticides. The antifouling potential, using different substrates to mimic ship hulls, ropes, boilers and other industrial applications, is assessed by using biofilm forming bacteria, microalgae, hydroids and the larvae of barnacles and mussels. Green chemistry involving microwaves and solid-phase catalysis, as well as high throughput purification processes, solid supported re-agents and scavengers, are employed. The mechanisms of action, especially those involved in the anti-tumour, hypolipidemic and larvicidal bioactivities, are studied using in vitro and in vivo models.

Infrastructure

CIIMAR’s headquarters are located in new infrastructures at the heart of the maritime industry and services in the northern region of Portugal (Leixões Harbour). The centre features well-equipped facilities for research, training and services with state-of-the-art laboratories, technology platforms, a capacity for pilot scaling-up product development assays, and large cultivation and experimental facilities. CIIMAR is located close to the Natura 2000 site ‘Litoral Norte’. The site comprises three estuaries and important subtidal and intertidal ecosystems, including large areas of rocky shores with a rich diversity of benthic organisms, many of them at the southern or northern limits of their distributions. There are 19 reported habitat types of Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive, three of which are priority habitats. The area is also important for the conservation of migrating birds and fish species, and two narrow endemic species in sand dunes. These systems provide an excellent opportunity to study the changes in distribution of organisms that have their distribution borders here (e.g. kelp forests).

CIIMAR research and technological infrastructures include: micro-organisms culture collection; DNA bank; macroalgae, invertebrates and fish cultures; genomics and proteomics; biorefinery unit; ecotoxicology unit; analytical chemistry; and hyperbaric chambers and scientific diving.

The multidisciplinary efforts of CIIMAR in marine microbiology allowed the recent submission of two patents (antimalarian and antimicrobial activities). Recent national (NOVELMAR) and European (NOMORFILM) research projects allowed CIIMAR to increase the knowledge on the potential of marine micro-organisms as sources of added-value products for marine biotechnology. This is also a great opportunity for young researchers to start or strengthen their careers in an innovative and friendly environment.

Acknowledgments

BLUEandGREEN – Boosting scientific excellence and innovation capacity in biorefineries based on marine resources (grant agreement no. 692419 Horizon 2020), NOMORFILM – Novel marine molecules against biofilm – Application to medical devices, (Grant agreement no. 634588 Horizon 2020), NOVELMAR – Novel marine products with biotechnological applications (INNOVMAR NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000035).

Vitor Vasconcelos, PhD
Director
Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research – CIIMAR
Porto, Portugal
+351 223401817
vmvascon@fc.up.pt
www.ciimar.up.pt
www.ciimar.up.pt/BLUEandGREEN

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