Inés Mazarrasa

Global unbalance in seaweed production, research effort and biotechnology markets

Exploitation of the worlds oceans is rapidly growing as evidenced by a booming patent market of marine products including seaweed, a resource that is easily accessible without sophisticated bioprospecting technology and that has a high level of domestication globally. The investment in research effort on seaweed aquaculture has recently been identified to be the main force for the development of a biotechnology market of seaweed-derived products and is a more important driver than the capacity of seaweed production. Here, we examined seaweed patent registrations between 1980 and 2009 to assess the growth rate of seaweed biotechnology, its geographic distribution and the types of applications patented. We compare this growth with scientific investment in seaweed aquaculture and with the market of seaweed production. We found that both the seaweed patenting market and the rate of scientific publications are rapidly growing (11% and 16.8% per year respectively) since 1990. The patent market is highly geographically skewed (95% of all registrations belonging to ten countries and the top two holding 65% of the total) compared to the distribution of scientific output among countries (60% of all scientific publications belonging to ten countries and the top two countries holding a 21%), but more homogeneously distributed than the production market (with a 99.8% belonging to the top ten countries, and a 71% to the top two). Food industry was the dominant application for both the patent registrations (37.7%) and the scientific publications (21%) followed in both cases by agriculture and aquaculture applications. This result is consistent with the seaweed taxa most represented. Kelp, which was the target taxa for 47% of the patent registrations, is a traditional ingredient in Asian food and Gracilaria and Ulva, which were the focus of 15% and 13% of the scientific publications respectively, that are also used in more sophisticated applications such as cosmetics, chemical industry or bioremediation. Our analyses indicate a recent interest of non-seaweed producing countries to play a part in the seaweed patenting market focusing on more sophisticated products, while developing countries still have a limited share in this booming market. We suggest that this trend could be reverted by promoting partnerships for R and D to connect on-going efforts in aquaculture production with the emerging opportunities for new biotech applications of seaweed products.

Rapid growth of seaweed biotechnology provides opportunities for developing nations

591 10. Tao, L. et al. J. Clin. Exp. Pathol. 26, 397–401 (2010). 11. WHO Global Health Observatory Data Repository. (2012). 12. China National Health and Family Planning Commission. (2012). 13. Yip, W.C. et al. Lancet 379, 833–842 (2012). 14. Le Deu, F., Parekh, R., Zhang, F. & Zhou, G. Healthcare in China: Entering uncharted waters. (McKinsey & Co., 2012). 15. Insinga, R.P., Dasbach, E.J. & Elbasha, E.H. Pharmacoeconomics 23, 1107–1122 (2005). 16. Balabanova, D., McKee, M. & Mills, A. (eds.) ‘Good Health at Low Cost’ 25 Years On: What Makes a Successful Health System? (London, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 2011). China’s healthcare spending is projected to grow from

Habitat characteristics provide insights of carbon storage in seagrass meadows

357 billion in 2011 to

The role of coastal plant communities for climate change mitigation and adaptation

1 trillion in 2020 (ref. 14). We would argue that semi-mandatory HPV vaccination to initially cover low-income communities with high burdens of cervical cancer would be a good use of the resources made available in the healthcare reform package9,10,12,13. If the price of HPV vaccines continues to be prohibitory, a semi-mandatory vaccination strategy may also be attractive to other developing countries with a large HPV burden, such as India. It has been estimated that direct medical costs for HPV-related diseases are at least

Impact of seagrass loss and subsequent revegetation on carbon sequestration and stocks

4 billion annually in the United States15. We believe these costs are much higher in China owing to the much larger population and higher burden of HPV-related diseases (Table 1). Accordingly, introducing HPV vaccines in China, sooner rather than later, will undoubtedly have an immediate and dramatic impact on public health. In this context, adoption of our semi-mandatory HPV vaccination strategy may provide one good example of how to achieve “good health at low cost” in developing countries16.

Seagrass meadows as a globally significant carbonate reservoir

Seagrass meadows provide multiple ecosystem services, yet they are among the most threatened ecosystems on earth. Because of their role as carbon sinks, protection and restoration of seagrass meadows contribute to climate change mitigation. Blue Carbon strategies aim to enhance CO2 sequestration and avoid greenhouse gasses emissions through the management of coastal vegetated ecosystems, including seagrass meadows. The implementation of Blue Carbon strategies requires a good understanding of the habitat characteristics that influence Corg sequestration. Here, we review the existing knowledge on Blue Carbon research in seagrass meadows to identify the key habitat characteristics that influence Corg sequestration in seagrass meadows, those factors that threaten this function and those with unclear effects. We demonstrate that not all seagrass habitats have the same potential, identify research priorities and describe the implications of the results found for the implementation and development of efficient Blue Carbon strategies based on seagrass meadows.