2026/06/03 by Affif Grazette, Baruch Rinkevich, Shirley Pomponi +10 · 1 voice
Energy · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Medicine · #Algal biology and biofuel production #Seaweed-derived Bioactive Compounds #Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis
paper · pdf · doi:10.3897/rio.12.e196757
openalex publication_date 2026/06/03 · openalex created_date 2026/06/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/22
One of the major accomplishments of the 20 th century is the advancement of pharmaceuticals to treat a variety of diseases and metabolic disorders. Traditionally, nature has served as the primary source for new pharmaceuticals, with over 50% of marketed drugs either derived directly from natural sources or synthesised using natural products as templates or starting materials. The ocean is home to more than 200,000 described species of marine invertebrates, representing every phylum, including twelve phyla that are exclusively marine. More than 15,000 novel marine-derived chemicals have been reported, many of which have potential pharmaceutical applications. Many of these compounds occur in marine organisms at very low concentrations and their often complex molecular structures make them difficult to be chemically synthesised, which has created a bottleneck in their development as drugs. Scientists have spent decades, without success, working to develop alternative supply options, including in vitro culturing of marine invertebrates or cell cultures. The objective of BLUES is to expand the potential to produce valuable and unique bioactive compounds from marine invertebrates by developing novel in vitro cell culture systems for four phyla of marine invertebrates (Porifera, Cnidaria, Echinodermata, Chordata) and optimising production yields as an alternative to wild harvesting and chemical synthesis. The goal is to design a pathway towards industrial bioprocesses using cell lines as a chassis to produce unique, high-value, marine bio-based compounds. The novel bioprocesses will solve the supply bottleneck for increased availability of bioactive compounds, but also for a higher level of sustainable alternatives, contributing to the development of circular processing and a circular economy. The BLUES project is supported by the Horizon Europe, European Union research initiative, project number: 101134820.