CULTIVATION OF MARINE SPONGES FOR METABOLITE PRODUCTION - APPLICATIONS FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY

The world's oceans harbour a large diversity of living organisms. As t ropical rainforests have been searched for natural drugs, these marine organisms are being screened for useful products, and a number have b een found in marine sponges. These are often produced only in trace am ounts, and so a large quantity of sponges must be collected to obtain sufficient amounts of the target compounds. Hence, sustainable product ion of these compounds requires alternatives to harvesting sponge biom ass directly from the sea, including the biotechnological production o f sponge metabolites.