Sponge 'Hemimycale mediterranea' (CEAB).In the last decades, marine sponges have emerged as a source of biomedical compounds like antimicrobial or antitumoral molecules. But a big drawback is that sponges have very small concentrations of these substances, so small that there is not even enough for clinical essays.
So, to explore the “pharmacy of the sea”, experts say, we need to find out alternative ways for obtaining the molecules and avoiding, therefore, the over-exploitation of marine ecosystems.
Until now, the strategy of growing these molecules in laboratories has not been productive enough. The reason is that active molecules are not produced by the sponges, but by the bacterial symbionts which live inside the sponge. These bacteria depend totally on the sponge to survive, and it is extremely difficult to reproduce the natural conditions for the sponge to live in the lab.
Active molecules are not produced by the sponges, but by the bacterial symbionts that live in the sponge
An alternative way is the genomic tools. Blue Pharm Train is a European project aimed at developing genomic tools for the synthesis of these molecules. The project, led by the Wageningen University, will finish this year. Up to 18 partners are involved in the project, with the Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes of the CSIC among them, and it is funded by the European Union, with near 4 million euros.
The Blue Pharm Train is developed under the Marie Sklodowska Curie Networks program and has granted 15 docs and post-doc students, whose have been trained in the use of genomic tools. The goal is to transfer these techniques to the industrial sector, therefore the companies could cultivate in the laboratory molecules isolated from marine sponges. In turn, this should be a way of developing a sustainable system for using the marine resources, preserving them at the same time.
“Sponges are very primitive animals, a successful association with bacteria, which are an essential part of the animal: up to 50% of the volume of the whole organism are these bacteria which live in symbiosis with the sponge”, explains Maria Jesus Uriz, a CSIC scientist at the Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB).
Sponges, together with coral, are the oldest known animals, therefore studying them can shed light on the origin of animal life on the Earth. Also, sponges and corals are pioneers of the “chemical war” between living organisms, because as they cannot move they had necessarily to develop this type of defenses. Sponges and corals have survived for millions of years, thanks to their symbionts, which produce hundred of substances.
Scientists search and isolate the genes which are responsible for the production of bioactive molecules in the sponges
What we do, explains Maria Jesús Uriz, researcher at the CEAB, is to isolate the genes which are responsible for the production of bioactive molecules. Afterwards we test the genes, to confirm they really express the molecules of interest, and we introduce the genes in E.coli. If the strategy is successful, the molecules can be produced in the lab by E.coli bacteria. “We have obtained interesting results in the case of some species of sponges, for obtaining antiviral molecules and compounds to fight psoriasis”, adds Uriz.
Scientists of the CEAB-CSIC have been researching in this area since the 80’s, involved in several European projects and in cooperation with companies, mainly PharmaMar, the first company in the world to produce and commercialize an antitumoral drug of marine origin.
In 2017, two more projects aimed at the prospection of these marine resources will begin, both with the CEAB-CSIC being involved: the projects Atles and Sponges, aimed at exploring and assessing the marine resources for technological applications and establishing a European regulation about their use.
In the Atlas project, several expeditions in 12 areas in the North Atlantic will be developed, to explore the deepest ocean. The project has 24 partners from 12 countries from Europe and Nort-America, and a budget of 9 million Euros. It is funded by the European Union.
Similarly, the project SponGES, will develop a sustainable strategy to explore sponges from the North-Atlantic, to guarantee the preservation of the marine ecosystems. SponGES has a consortium of 18 partners, from Europe and North-America, and a budget of 10 million euros (9 of them funded by the European Union in the frame of Horizon 2020 program).