Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
9.2 New scientific research on, and commercial uses of,
marine genetic resources
The exploration of the deep seabed is still a recent endeavour, which started at the end of
the 19th century with the British research vessel
Challenger
(1872-1876). However, it was
not until 1977 that hydrothermal vents were discovered, with the help of the submersible
Alvin, during a survey of the Galapagos Rift in the eastern Pacific Ocean at depths of more
than 1000 metres. Today, a host of research activities are undertaken to study the ecology,
biology, and physiology of the deep-sea and seabed ecosystems and species, including large
scientific collaborations such as the Census of Marine Life, which culminated in the public-
ation of its significant findings in 2010, as well as the Tara expeditions (Tara Expeditions,
In spite of these programmes, very little of the deep sea and seabed has been explored
thus far, owing primarily to the costs associated with deep-sea research and technological
constraints. It is estimated that less than 0.1% of abyssal plains and less than 200 of an es-
timated 30,000 seamounts have been studied (Kitchingman and Lai,
2004
).
While it appears that the majority of the research activities related to the deep sea and
seabed are not directly of a commercially oriented nature, they help to generate the scientif-
ic information necessary for applied research on marine genetic resources. The involvement
of commercial interests in sampling from the deep sea and open ocean, where it exists, is
often limited to contributing to the funding necessary for research dives carried out by na-
tional scientific research organizations or academic institutions and/or research collabora-
tion in laboratories once samples have been collected (Leary,
2007
). Commercial develop-
ments may also be based on organisms that have been deposited in culture collections by re-
search institutions, and sourced from there by other entities for further study. Investigations
of the unusual characteristics of organisms from the deep sea and seabed have already res-
ulted in a number of patented inventions covering a diverse range of applications, from the
development of enzymes for industrial processes to pharmaceuticals and skincare products
