Ocean's 'twilight zone' has microbial DNA that are helping in life-saving drug discovery

Our planet still has tons of secrets and mysteries in store. Despite the far-reaching scientific advancements, there's always something new to learn about the planet Earth every day. We don't need to go looking for hope for a better future—Mother Nature has the solution. In the deepest, darkest parts of the oceans lie a rich source of microbial DNA which could be our light at the end of the tunnel. As per the recent study published in Frontiers in Science, these marine microbes genes might help us innovate life-saving drugs and more.

After nearly 15 years of analyzing samples from all five oceans on our planet and from the Mediterranean Sea, scientists have built a database of the DNA representing various microbes like bacteria, viruses and fungi. There have been previous attempts at DNA sequencing which were disrupted by factors like time, cost or the DNA's conditions. However, this time technological advancements like supercomputing, Artificial Intelligence and shotgun DNA sequencing came in handy. As per the study, a global ocean genome was developed by analyzing 2012 marine metagenome samples through the KAUST Metagenome Analysis Platform (KMAP). So, the KMAP Global Ocean Gene Catalog now holds 317.5 million gene clusters sequenced.

Speaking to Nature News, the study's co-author Carlos Duarte, a marine ecologist at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia said, "Genes and proteins derived from marine microbes have endless potential applications. We can probe for new antibiotics, we can find new enzymes for food production. If they know what they’re searching for, researchers can use our platform to find the needle in the haystack that can address a specific problem." What surprised the researchers was that the ocean's "twilight zone" which is too deep for sunlight to penetrate, was abode to fungi gene clusters. Because many life-saving drugs were developed from fungi genomes, this discovery was groundbreaking.

The insights from gene sequencing can not only aid drug development but also drive innovation in the energy and agriculture sector, as per an AAAS press release. With the genome catalog, researchers can better understand ocean health and the impact of pollution and climate change on marine life. This one-of-a-kind attempt to develop a global ocean genome atlas has created endless possibilities in various domains. But this was just the first step. A much more comprehensive catalog will evolve out of this initiative where every marine species gene cluster will be documented.

The study's lead author, Elisa Laiolo, a marine biologist at KAUST, stated in the press release, "Our analysis highlights the need to continue sampling the oceans, focusing on under-studied areas, such as the deep sea and the ocean floor. Also, since the ocean is forever changing–both due to human activity and to natural processes – the catalog will need continual updating." The scientists are expecting some hurdles to the further development of the catalog which may be due to international ordinances. However, they believe that progressive technologies and the indispensable benefits of this global ocean genome atlas may catalyze future enhancements.