Algalbiotechnology:facts,fiction andfutureprospects

JohnGDay
Project supported by the INTERREG IVA Programme managed by SEUPB

Coordination Centre: Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, Scotland T: +44 (0)1631 559000 F: +44 (0)1631 559001 E: biomara@sams.ac.uk W: www.biomara.org

WhybotherwithAlgae?
Algae are debatably the most diverse group of organisms on earth

WhybotherwithAlgae?
Algae are responsible for the oxygen in every second breath you take They form the basis of the food chain for approx 70% of the worlds biomass Without algae the world dies!

Ifalgaearesuchabigdeal,how comeweneverhearaboutthem?

Algalexploitation: Historicalperspective
Seaweed being harvestedin 19thcentury foruseasa fertiliser

KelpBurning:abiotechnologyprocessfromthe 18th &19th centuriestoproducesoda,potash& iodine

Phycocolloids
Agar 7,500tonnesofagar withawholesalevalue ofUS$250million. Alginates >$120MexcludingChina

Carrageenan >50,000tonnesin 2007/8withavalueof overUS$600million (excludingChina)

Alginate:ANaturalChemical withDiverseUses
Alginatesarejellylikecarbohydrates usedforwaterretention,gelling, emulsifyingandstabilising. Usedinfood,drink,cosmetics,medical andchemicalindustries Currentlytherearesome250 applications

ISPAlginatesPlant,Girvan

Girvanoneoftheworldslargestalginateplant

Nori a $1 billion Industry

More than 20 species are used in everyday cookery in Japan, six of them since the 8th century. Seaweed accounts for some 10% of the Japanese diet Most important food species in Japan are Nori (Porphyra species), Kombu (Laminaria species), and Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida)

Seaweed Products

What about Microalgae?

Historical use of algae:

Food-supplement in central Africa & Central America

Spirullina /Arthrospira

Aquaculture a multibillion $ Industry

Chaetoceroscalcitrans Isochrysissp.(Tahitian) Nannochlorisatomus PavlovalutheriCCAP Rhinomonasreticulata var. reticulata Skeletonemacostatum Tetraselmischui Thalassiosira pseudonana

Current uses of microalgae

Witchcraft Dietary supplements Health foods Neutraceuticals Pigments & specialist chemicals

Microalgae&cyanobacteria COMMERCIALLY exploitedand grownatlargescale

Chlorellaspp Aphanizomenonflosaquae Arthrospira/Spirullina spp Dunaliellasalina Haematococcuspluvialis Cryptothecodiniumcohenii

Production systems: Open

Production systems: closed

FutureProspects Industrial needs

Pharmaceutical Newbioactivemoleculeswithnovelmodesofaction/ chemicalstructure (newchemicalscaffolds). Needfornewdrugs(emergingdiseases/drug resistance) Nutraceuticals Functionalfoods(Fattyacids microalgae) heart health,obesitycontrol,immunohealth. Probiotics (animalandhuman) Antioxidants Industrial Biofuels Newsourcesofenzymes biotransformationof chemicals .NewCosmetics(cosmoceuticals)

Futureproductareas
Biofuels Foods Bioactives/ Pharmaceuticals Novelenzymes Specialistchemicals Greenfertilizers Greeninsecticides Bioremediation

Bioactives:pharmaceuticals

They are, as yet, a largely unexploited biotechnological treasure store

Constraints
Technological constraints
Production systems engineering problems Downstream processing/ product extraction/purification/formulation Production strain productivity Production strain stability

Can you protect your IP?

Yes Can you afford to defend challenges to your patents? No Can you protect your know-how by some other method? Do not forget the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) & the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)! Are you a BioPirate?

Futureprospects
Algal production- parallels with penicillin production: March 14, 1942 the first patient was treated for streptococcal septicaemia with U.S.-made penicillin used half of the total supply produced. By Spring of 1944 the USA to produce 2.3 million doses in time for the invasion of Normandy.

$1000/Kg

$100/Kg

$10/Kg

$1/Kg

c/Kg

Realitycheck:
Marketdrivenortechnologydriven? Productioneconomics Investment

Conclusions:
Theremustbeamarketneed. ProductionmustbereliableANDCOSTEFFECTIVE. Thetechnologymustberobustandreliable. Ideallythetechnologyshouldbeaplatformfora suiteofproducts. Thetechnologyshouldbeprotectable.

Getitrightand.$