Research
BluePharmTrain has the following key objectives:
· Establish routines for the isolation of sponge-specific microorganisms by integrating novel high-throughput cultivation strategies and state-of-the-art genomics and transcriptomics.
· Establish sponge cell cultures of target species by translating ecology into technology.
· Develop heterologous expression tools for sponge-derived bioactives.
· In addition, we aim to provide a fundamental understanding of the sponge holobiont.
Ultimately, fulfilling these objectives should lead to the development of an extensive technology platform that is applicable for obtaining a wide variety of bioactive compounds from physiologically distinct sponges, in our case exemplified by avarol (D. avara), brominated isoxazoline alkaloid (A. aerophoba), barrettin and dihydrobarrettin (G. barretti) and yet unidentified polyketides (H. simulans).
In this context, the following scientific challenges can be discerned:
* Culture the unculturables
* Target the unknown
* Developing new knowledge pertaining to the symbiotic network in marine sponges
* A sustainable approach towards exploitation of the marine environment