Squishy Sea Squirts At Heart Of Research

WEDNESDAY 7 JULY, 2010

Squishy Sea Squirts At Heart Of Million Dollar Research Project

Squishy sea squirts hanging off the local wharf may not seem like ‘close family’ but their evolutionary relationship with vertebrates, including humans, along with their ecology lie at the heart of a research project which has just won $1.05 million funding for a scientist at Nelson-based Cawthron Institute.

Sea squirts make their living by filtering vast volumes of seawater and extracting from it bacteria and plankton. To do this they have evolved mechanisms to detect and breakdown any toxic chemicals that are present in their diet. The immense complexity, and huge variety, of such natural marine toxins mean they have long been regarded as a rich source of potential drugs.

Dr. Andrew Fidler, a chemical ecologist, aims to re-constitute the essential elements of the sea squirt toxin detection mechanism. Using this it may then be possible to screen marine samples for chemicals that, although partially toxic, could ultimately prove beneficial to humans.

Dr Fidler’s ideas have won $1.05million in financial support from the government’s New Economy Research Fund (NERF), which supports innovative research with long term commercial potential. The funding will be spread over three years.

Cawthron Manager of Aquaculture and Biotechnology, Danette Olsen, describes the proposed research as not only scientifically groundbreaking but also potentially lucrative.

“The challenge for many decades has been to come up with detection methods that are both simple and robust, as well as being generic enough to cast a wide net to detect chemicals of interest. Current methods used for screening the marine environment are like looking for the proverbial ‘needle in a haystack’ and have a very low chance of success. However if this research is successful it could lead to a cost effective screening methodology that may open up this whole area.”

It is hoped any tests developed will be commercialised and licensed internationally for use in both microalgal biotoxin detection and in large-scale drug candidate screening programmes.

Cawthron already has an established reputation for innovation and excellence in detecting marine microalgal biotoxins. Danette Olsen says the project provides an opportunity for the Institute to also establish a niche within the biotechnological field of environmental biosensors and position New Zealand as early entry player in this emerging field.

Dr Andrew Fidler will be working with Prof. Ken McNatty of Victoria University and Dr. Patrick Holland of the Cawthron Institute.

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