medicines and medical appliances. Society needs many more of these quick-acting substances on which to base tests for human toxins and pathogens.

As I forecasted in 1983, the merger of genetic engineering with marine science created an opportunity for ocean research to provide products to improve humanity. Despite the advances in the identification and screening of organisms for biologically active compounds, production of sufficient amounts of the compounds depends on a number of factors. One is the ability to chemically synthesize the compound. Another is the ability to raise the organism in culture. A third is the ability to harvest the organism from its natural environment. All three of these issues can be seen in relation to the marine invertebrate Bugula neritina.

For example, it has long been hypothesized that B. neritina, a brown bryozoan animal, is not the true source of the antitumor compound bryostatin. Recent data from Scripps Oceanographic Institute indicated that the bacterium Candidatus endobugula sertula, which lives inside B. neritina, may be the agent producing this drug. If the gene is isolated from the bacterium, then biotechnology may provide a means for large-scale production of bryostatin for cancer treatment. Currently, modest production of bryostatin is achieved by limited mariculture.

Integrated mariculture systems allow land-based production of valuable bivalves, including Mercenaria mercenaria, the hard clam, a seafood of choice for many of us. Providing the proper environmental conditions— pH, temperature, oxygen, lack of toxins, or pollutants—while removing waste products like ammonia and organic and inorganic carbon, is a challenge that engineers are solving for improved productivity in aquaculture facilities. The challenges in developing mariculture are not solely for biologists.

Genetic engineering methods allowed cloning of genes from coelenterates to create products for cell biology research. Green fluorescent protein is a useful marker for tracking calcium in cells. The process has been “humanized” and cloned into mammalian expression vector systems.

Researchers in the Extreme 2001 Expedition, a deep-sea investigation, announced in Fall 2001 that they succeeded in conducting the first-ever DNA sequencing experiments at sea. Genomes of the inhabitants of superhot, hydrothermal vents almost 2 miles deep in the Pacific Ocean were sequenced. These organisms may yield new products ranging from pharmaceuticals to heat-stable, pressure-resistant enzymes for food processing or hazardous-waste cleanup.

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)