POPART

PrOspection and Protection of the bioactive chemodiversity of ARcTic diatoms

Coordination

Johann Lavaud

Project type

International

Funding

Isblue Emergence

Project duration

Start Date

26/04/2024

End Date

26/04/2024

Links

Polar diatom microalgae synthesize metabolites, some of them unique, that are of growing interest for human health uses and blue biotechnology applications in the Nordic countries, and beyond. Due to their chemodiversity with a broad spectrum of bioactivities, polar diatoms are a unique yet largely underestimated emerging bioressource, because they are invisible and difficult to access. The Arctic Ocean is the most impacted by ongoing climate change; its many effects are having a negative impact on diatoms and their metabolites. The decrease/loss of this bio-/chemodiversity is a major issue in the protection of the polar marine biome. Currently, environmental and sea protection laws are not adapted to the protection of marine microorganisms. The transdisciplinary framework of this project, combining biology and law sciences, proposes to explore in parallel 1) the bioactivities of metabolites synthesized by Arctic diatoms; 2) new legal strategies to protect the bio-/chemodiversity of Arctic diatoms.

The team

Contributors

Betty Queffelec, UMR 6308 AMURE-Aménagement des Usages des Ressources et des Espaces marins et littoraux, UBO-Université de Bretagne Occidentale.

Nathalie Bourgougnon, LBCM-Laboratoire de Biotechnologie et Chimie Marines, UBS-Université de Bretagne Occidentale.

Christophe Brunet et Clementina Sansone, Département de Biotechnologies marines, SZN-Station Zoologique de Naples, Italie.