Decoding the ocean's microbiological secrets for marine enzyme biodiscovery.

A global census of marine microbial life has been underway over the past several decades. During this period, there have been scientific breakthroughs in estimating microbial diversity and understanding microbial functioning and ecology. It is estimated that the ocean, covering 71% of the earth's surface with its estimated volume of about 2 × 1018 m3 and an average depth of 3800 m, hosts the largest population of microbes on Earth. More than 2 million eukaryotic and prokaryotic species are thought to thrive both in the ocean and on its surface. Prokaryotic cell abundances can reach densities of up to 1012 cells per millilitre, exceeding eukaryotic densities of around 106 cells per millilitre of seawater. Besides their large numbers and abundance, marine microbial assemblages and their organic catalysts (enzymes) have a largely underestimated value for their use in the development of industrial products and processes. In this perspective article, we identified critical gaps in knowledge and technology to fast-track this development. We provided a general overview of the presumptive microbial assemblages in oceans, and an estimation of what is known and the enzymes that have been currently retrieved. We also discussed recent advances made in this area by the collaborative European Horizon 2020 project 'INMARE'.

Access to and use of marine genetic resources: understanding the legal framework.

With the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol in 2010, an additional legal instrument under the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), the legal landscape surrounding the access to and utilization of genetic resources will change. This is likely to impact working procedures for scientists, turning pre-existing ethics into legal obligations. The aim of this article is to inform scientists on the global access and benefit-sharing framework which has been set by the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol, focusing specifically on their application to marine genetic resources for which the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) also has relevance.

nanor, a novel zygotic gene, is expressed initially at the midblastula transition in zebrafish.

A novel, developmentally regulated gene, nanor, was identified by suppression subtractive hybridization. It is first expressed following the midblastula transition (MBT), a critical developmental stage in the early vertebrate embryo when the zygotic genome is activated. The nanor cDNA (626bp) includes a complete open reading frame but neither the gene nor the deduced amino acid sequence shows significant similarity to any known gene or protein. Nanor encodes a 175 amino acid putative protein with a protein kinase C and three casein kinase II phosphorylation sites, an N-myristoylation site and an NFX-type zinc-finger domain, indicating a potential role in transcriptional regulation. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR, Northern blot, and in situ hybridization analysis revealed that nanor expression is developmentally regulated. It is initially expressed after the MBT at the sphere stage and during epiboly it is expressed in the forerunner cells. At 24 h post-fertilization, expression is solely anterior.