Bioprospecting and biotechnology in Antarctica

Bioprospecting may be defined as the search for new or better bioproducts or technological processes from biological sources. In particular, bioprospecting relies on provision of a bioresource, a supply of novel biodiversity. Molecules derived from natural products, particularly those produced by plants and microorganisms, have an excellent record of providing novel chemical structures for development as new pharmaceuticals. Many of the world's most successful and valuable pharmaceuticals have been derived directly, or indirectly, from natural product sources eg. acetylsalicilic acid (aspirin) from willow bark and penicillin from the fungus Penicillium. The screening of microbial natural products continues to represent an important route to the discovery of novel bioactive and therapeutic chemicals. Of increasing interest is the evaluation of the potential of lesser-known and/or new microbial taxa. There is, therefore, an opportunity within Australia to make important contributions in the field of biotechnology through the acquisition and screening of Antarctic and other novel microbiota.