2. Bioprospecting: What Is It?
2.1 What does bioprospecting mean and what does it involve?
The term bioprospecting can have a range of meanings.2 Some explanations can have a relatively narrow perception of bioprospecting, while others can be very broad. As the name implies, bioprospecting is a form of "prospecting" but, unlike prospectors looking for gold, a bioprospector is looking for something of value in biological material. In more formal terms and taking a broad view, bioprospecting is the search for and gathering of biological material that will then be examined for features of potential value. The "examination" or research phase of a bioprospecting activity is sometimes called biodiscovery.
Our working definition of bioprospecting, which is further elaborated on in the last section of this discussion document, is:
Bioprospecting is the collection of biological material and the analysis of its material properties, or its molecular, biochemical or genetic content, for the purpose of developing a commercial product. Bioprospecting policy excludes the later steps in the chain of product development.
Typically, only small biological samples are needed for bioprospecting activities. Bioprospecting does not usually include the subsequent activity of bioprospectors or researchers obtaining larger quantities of biological material for their research. An example of this would be the harvesting of a certain species to obtain greater quantities of a natural product that has biological activity.3
Biological material for bioprospecting activities can come from two main sources: directly from its natural environment, or from a collection. If biological material is collected from its natural environment, it could be taken from a number of ecosystems, namely terrestrial, freshwater or marine.4 If the biological material has already been taken from its natural environment and placed in a collection, for example, a zoo, an aquarium or a culture collection, this can be an alternative source of interesting material for bioprospecting activities.5
Bioprospecting activities have provided humanity with many very valuable products and commercial applications, for example, the discovery of natural products that can be used as medicines. These natural products can also be a crucial starting point for making related products that have improved medicinal properties. Approximately 57 per cent of the top 150 prescription drugs sold in the United States are derived from natural resources.6 Other examples of important products and applications that have arisen from bioprospecting activities include cosmetics, industrial lubricants, adhesives and micro-organisms to make industrial processes cleaner and more efficient. At present, there is particular international interest in:
- developing new methods to process lignin, cellulose, other carbohydrates and/or oils to produce biofuels;
- discovering novel and more active medicines;
- using biotechnology to create starting materials for industrial processes; and
- nutritional supplements and other "natural health and wellness" products.
Paclitaxel – a medicinal compound from the Pacific yew tree
Paclitaxel (Taxol®) is a naturally occurring compound found in the Pacific yew tree (Taxus brevifolia). Paclitaxel is biologically active, and it is used as a medicine to treat, amongst other ailments, ovarian, breast and lung cancer. This medicine was first brought to market in 1993, and quickly became a top-selling pharmaceutical. In 2000, sales peaked at nearly US $1.0 billion.
The journey of discovery to reach this point was long and it involved a number of different research groups. In 1958, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) commissioned botanists in the Department of Agriculture to collect samples of over 30,000 plants that would be then tested for anti-cancer activity. It wasn't until 1963 that a researcher discovered that the bark from the Pacific yew tree had anti-cancer properties. Later, in 1967, researchers isolated the bioactive compound paclitaxel as responsible for the valuable medicinal properties. In the years that followed, an enormous amount of research and development went into discovering more about paclitaxel, for example, what it looked like chemically, why it was biologically active and how it could be produced in large quantities without harvesting the slow-growing Pacific yew trees.
Sources: K. C. Nicolau, W. M. Dai, R. K. Guy, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 1994, 33, 15–44 and references cited therein; M. McCarthy, The Lancet, 2002, 359(9323), 2092.
Figure 1: A possible research project involving bioprospecting
→ Full size version of Figure 1 [149KB JPEG]
A research project involving bioprospecting may include many steps, as shown in Figure 1. The natural product paclitaxel is a real-life example of such a research project. Research projects of this kind can have the following features:
- The boundaries between the various steps and activities can be quite blurred and can also occur in a different order to that shown in Figure 1.
- They can be very interdisciplinary and require a wide range of skills and expertise from many different people.
- The original sample of biological material can pass through the hands of many different researchers and research organisations as the various project steps are carried out.
- They can be quite time-consuming. For example, in the crop protection sector, 2–14 years of research and development are needed, whereas in the pharmaceutical sector, over 15 years may be necessary.
Bioprospecting projects can be expensive. Collecting samples and screening for biologically active natural products (bioactives) or other interesting properties requires a high level of training and significant investment. The statistical chance of finding a valuable commercial application is relatively low (Appendix 1). However, if such a discovery is made, benefits can be considerable. An example of a promising discovery made in New Zealand is given below.
Peloruside A – a promising new bioactive compound
Peloruside A is a novel potential anti-cancer compound that was jointly discovered at Victoria University of Wellington and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). The development of Peloruside A is being conducted in collaboration with American-based organisations UT Southwestern Medical Center and Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc. This bioactive compound was first found in a marine sponge originating from Pelorus Sound (South Island). Peloruside A is one of the few compounds being assessed as a second generation cancer therapy agent. It has superior properties to the existing treatment drug, paclitaxel (see page 5 for a discussion of paclitaxel).
Source: Potential anticancer discovery heads to development [link to Victoria Link Limited website]
2.2 Why is New Zealand of potential interest to bioprospectors?
New Zealand has unique and diverse flora and fauna that have evolved as the result of a long period of geographical isolation, evolution without carnivorous terrestrial mammals, and across the wide range of latitudes covered by our country. In addition, New Zealand has a large marine area7 and a number of geothermal areas and aquatic hydrothermal vents that may contain particularly novel life forms.
Factors that make a country's biological resources attractive to bioprospectors include the:
- degree of biological diversity;
- degree of endemism, that is, the extent to which species are only found within that country; and
- level of taxonomic knowledge about the species present.
In general terms, New Zealand's indigenous biological resources (Appendix 2) have a:
- moderately low degree of biological diversity with the exception of more highly diverse marine invertebrates;
- high degree of endemism, that is, many species in New Zealand can only be found here; and
- varied (but generally low) level of taxonomic knowledge about the species present.
The chance of finding novel bioactives may be highest in New Zealand's marine invertebrates and terrestrial plants. Commercial bioactives are already being developed from these groups. A number of novel compounds have also been isolated from marine macroalgae, and the chances of finding more appear good. However, a lack of taxonomic knowledge hampers bioprospecting in macroalgae and in some other groups (such as micro-organisms).
Novel products derived from a micro-organism
Products derived from a micro-organism originally found by New Zealand scientists in a volcanic vent are being launched into the billion dollar global DNA extraction market. One of these products can be used to extract human DNA from crime scene samples and thereby help tackle the major international crime sample DNA testing backlog. US law enforcement and criminal forensic laboratories in 50 American states suggest that there are untested samples from more than 500,000 crime cases – 250,000 of them being unsolved rapes and homicides since 1982.
Where could these new products have a competitive edge over current market offerings? New Zealand's ZyGEM Corporation market these products as being able to extract DNA from smaller samples at three times the speed, and at a considerably lower cost. In addition, DNA samples can be processed in a single unopened tube. This permits automated procedures to be used while avoiding the potential danger of samples infecting staff, as well as chances of the sample becoming contaminated.
Source: ZyGEM News [link to ZyGEM website]
2.3 Bioprospecting in New Zealand: the current situation
The main New Zealand-based bioprospecting agencies operating in this country are government Crown Research Institutes, universities and private biotechnology companies. Through these domestic agencies, a proportion of benefits are already captured in New Zealand.
A number of foreign biotechnology companies have also shown an interest in bioprospecting in New Zealand, often in collaboration with local agencies.
It is difficult to quantify the extent to which New Zealand may be missing out on any potential benefits arising from bioprospecting, with reasons including that:
- the New Zealand bioprospecting sector is relatively diverse and small;
- there is a lack of co-ordinated information gathering about this activity;
- it is possible that biological material is being taken from New Zealand without our knowledge; and
- the inherent nature of prospecting makes it difficult to gauge the magnitude of undiscovered benefits that might be found in New Zealand's biological resources.
2.4 Does bioprospecting pose a risk to New Zealand's environment, heritage and culture?
It is important that bioprospecting activities are ecologically sustainable given that bioprospectors will use elements of New Zealand's biological diversity (biodiversity).8 In addition, it is also important that these activities do not endanger New Zealand's historical and cultural sites, for example, archaeological or wähi tapu areas.
For bioprospecting activities to be ecologically sustainable, bioprospectors need to:
- use the components of biodiversity in a way and at a rate that does not lead to the long-term decline of biodiversity;
- not impair the ability of the target population to reproduce, repopulate an area or colonise;
- minimise or avoid disturbances to areas of habitat important to threatened species; and
- leave the ecosystem in a state where the function of its natural variability is unaffected.
In general, any activity in the environment can potentially cause harm. Concerning bioprospecting activities, factors that could influence the level of environmental impact include how a sample site is accessed, how a sample is taken, how often a sample is taken and the size of the sample relative to the abundance of the biological resource.
The development of bioprospecting policy would recognise the need to avoid, remedy or mitigate any potential environmental or ecological impacts resulting from these activities. In addition, the potential impacts of bioprospecting activities on archaeological or wähi tapu sites would require an assessment of effects, and application to the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (Pouhere Taonga).
If bioprospecting is undertaken sensitively, the damage from taking samples directly from the natural environment (in situ) should be low because:
- only very small samples are usually required; and
- the source site does not normally need frequent access. If repeated access was necessary, further permissions may need to be sought from the access provider.
Sensitivity, guidance and monitoring of activities are especially necessary in relation to threatened species as well as to rare and threatened ecosystems.
The potential risks associated with bioprospecting for biological material are managed by a number of legislative frameworks, for example, the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and the Historic Places Act 1993, depending on the access provider to these resources (see section 4).
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