Kjersti Lie Gabrielsen, presentasjon for Kvaløya vgs, 05.03.2013
Biobank of Arctic Marine Organisms
Concarneau, October 4th 2013Kjersti Lie Gabrielsen
Marbank
• a national marine biobank/public collection • collects, preserves and catalogues marine organisms from
Norwegian waters • established in close cooperation with the Norwegian
Ministry of fisheries and coastal affairs and marine research institutions in Norway
Marbank Objective
The biobank offers Ex situ access to Marine Genetic Resources (MGRs) for research and exploitation purposes
Marine organisms are collected from their natural habitat and kept alive or conserved in the biobank
→ safe an easy access to quality assured samples
→ opportunity for researchers that do not have the ability to collect MGRs in situ
Tromsø; Top of Europe!Tromsø
•Extreme light conditions
•Variation in ice‐conditions •Low temperatures (‐1.8 to 8⁰C)
Largely unexplored!
→ Good potential for finding interesting and unique genes, molecules and biological processes in the marine organisms
The Arctic marine environment is unique:
An impressive biological diversity …
©Bjørn Gulliksen, UiT …from Magdalenafjorden, Spitzbergen
The Barents Sea – the major passage for waters from the Norwegian Sea entering the Arctic Ocean
O.J.Lønne-06
Tromsø
Algae bloom in the Barents Sea
50 °40 °30 °20 °10 °
100 °90 °80 °70 °60 °50 °40 °30 °20 °10 °0 °-10 °
70 °
70 °
-10
°0
°
60 °
70 °
80 °
90 °
80 °
Benthic Biomass
Sampling area> 1000 stations
Vertebrates
Microalgae
Fungi
Invertebrates
Macroalgae
Bacteria
The Marbank Collection
Taxonomic sample Frozen org. /isolate Genetic material
Water extract Organic extract
Norway’s national strategy on marine biopropecting
The Government’s vision:
“Marine bioprospecting
– a source of new and viable wealth creation”
Among others, the Government will:
– regulate MGRs– make MGRs more accessible to researchers, industry and international participants
New regulations for the access to and exploitation of Norwegian genetic material
Based on the Nature Diversity Act, the Marine Resources Act and international conventions (CBD and Nagoya protocol)
Need permission to collect and exploit;• Sustainable collection of MGRs• Benefit sharing; royalty on sales
The Directorate will give permission to access and exploit marine biodiversity within Norwegian jurisdiction
General principles:• International prospectors are welcome:• Simple management and enforcement
– Scope for the access?– Types and amount of material?– Collecting where and when?
• Fee structure with focus on sales• No royalty until revenue has been made• Standard agreement period, 20 years• Partnerships (transfer to third party) requires permission
Public collections need no application for collecting MGR from nature.Mandate to sign contracts for exploitation of genetic material from their repository (e.g. Marbank)
Norway’s national strategy on marine biopropecting
The Government’s vision:
“Marine bioprospecting
– a source of new and viable wealth creation”
Among others, the Government will:
– regulate MGRs– make MGRs more accessible to researchers, industry and international participants
Marbank is coordinating the establishment of a network of marine collections in Norway
The Norwegian Marine Biobank
Network
Academia
Industry
A national pool of marine samples
• Secure all marine samples and make them visible and available for research and exploitation
• Give safe and easy access to the samples
• ”One‐stop shop”
→ Increased use of the material→ Increased possibility for finding commercially interesting genes, molecules and biological processes in Norwegian MGR
National Database with web‐portal
Samples and associated information will be made available for national and international academia and industry
Optional: Information about existing bioactivity data associated with the physical sample
Marbank as a “trusted source” of MGR
• Provides access to a wide variety of marine samples
• Defined ownerships and origin of samples
• All samples legally collected and quality assured
• Clear terms of access to samples• Reporting regime according to Norwegian and international legislation
” Drugs from the Arctic Seas ?”