• Develop whole-genome and EST arrays to determine gene-expression patterns of model organisms as rapid screens for bioactivity and drug discovery.

• Develop environmental genome microarray chips to identify function or coregulation of genes from the environment.

• Determine the potential usefulness of a centralized microarray facility to make reagents, develop and disseminate informatics tools, and provide training to the marine biotechnology community. Reduce redundant funding of array development and nonstandardized hybridization techniques that will prevent cross-experiment comparisons.

• Ensure that the “exploratory” data generated in both genome sequencing and functional genomic studies are available to expedite and enable hypothesis-driven science. Include the development and maintenance of useful public databases and improved training of the scientific community.

Well beyond the obvious providers of food, the world’s seas have always been bountiful providers of special materials valued for human health and pleasure. Access to this resource historically has been hindered by the apparent hostility of the seawater environment to manufactured materials and engineering concepts of terra firma. In spite of the extraordinary potential of the marine environment for new biomaterials, the environmental risks and exploration costs have been prohibitive.

In the past decade, new tools of biotechnology have been introduced that are producing extraordinary new products and assays based on the new understanding of genetic factors and their expression as complex biological molecules. Applying these tools to the marine environment provides opportunities to unlock similar micro-molecular vaults of marine biomedical products so that they can join other macro-biomaterials already harvested from the sea for thousands of years.

Marine biomaterials are a heterogeneous group of organic-, ceramic-, and polysaccharide-based polymers that hold promise for a variety of new approaches to the treatment of disease (see White and White, p. 79, and Laurencin, p. 83 in this report). The marine environment is home to

Front Matter (R1-R12)

Executive Summary (1-2)

Biomedical Applicaions of Marine Natural Products: Overview of the 2001 Workshop (3-28)

Environmental Aspects of Marine Biotechnology: Overview of the 1999 Workshop (29-36)

Keynote Address (37-44)

Session 1: Drug Discovery and Development (45-64)

Session 2: Genomics and Proteomics (65-68)

Session 3: Biomaterials and Bioengineering (69-86)

Session 4: Public Policy, Partnerships, and Outreach (87-100)

Appendix A: Committee and Staff Biographical Sketches (101-105)

Appendix B: National Research Council Project Oversight Boards (106-108)

Appendix C: 2001 Marine Biotechnology Workshop: Biomedical Applications of Marine Natural Products - Agenda (109-113)

Appendix D: 2001 Marine Biotechnology Workshop: Biomedical Applications of Marine Natural Products - Participants (114-115)

Appendix E: 1999 Marine Biotechnology Workshop: Opportunities for Advancement of Environmental Marine Biotechnology - Participants (116-118)