Genetic prospecting
Genetic prospecting, also known as bioprospecting, involves the collection, research, and utilization of biological and genetic materials to derive scientific and commercial benefits. This practice is crucial for discovering economically valuable genetic and biochemical resources from nature. A significant number of traditional medicines relied upon by over 80 percent of the global population are derived from local plants or animals, and approximately 25 percent of prescription drugs in the United States contain ingredients sourced through genetic prospecting. The industry generates over $2 billion annually, highlighting its economic importance.
Indigenous knowledge plays a vital role in identifying potential resources, particularly from biodiverse regions like rainforests. However, genetic prospecting also raises ethical concerns, particularly regarding "biopiracy," which refers to the unauthorized appropriation of genetic resources without the consent of local communities or governments. In response to these issues, many tropical countries have implemented laws to ensure proper consent and compensation for indigenous knowledge. As interest grows in unexplored areas, such as Antarctic ecosystems and deep-sea environments, the potential for new medicinal discoveries continues to expand, particularly from extremophiles—organisms thriving in extreme conditions.
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Genetic prospecting
As the world’s population continues to grow, the search expands for plant and animal species whose genes can lead to new medicines, better crops, and products that make daily life easier. If not undertaken with great care, however, this twenty-first century “gold rush” has the potential to wreak havoc on many of the most fragile ecosystems of the world as well as on the indigenous populations that rely upon them.
Definition
There is no universally agreed upon definition for the term “genetic prospecting” or the synonym “biological prospecting (bioprospecting).” However, the United Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies defines these terms as “the collection, research, and use of biological and/or genetic material for purposes of applying the knowledge derived there from for scientific and/or commercial purposes. Bioprospecting entails the search for economically valuable genetic and biochemical resources from nature.”
Overview
Estimates indicate that more than 80 percent of the world’s population uses traditional medicines derived from local plants or animals for basic medical needs. In addition, at least 25 percent of prescription drugs used in the United States contain at least one active ingredient that has been derived from genetic prospecting. In fact, the creation of new medicinal and agricultural products from living materials is more than a $2-billion-per-year industry.
Much of the information about which plants or animals may yield genetic opportunities for medicine has come from indigenous knowledge of natural resources. In fact, most of the plants that have been prospected have come from the world’s great rain forests, especially those of the Southern Hemisphere, and have been identified by the indigenous peoples who inhabit these areas. It should be noted that the term “genetic prospecting” may also be used to describe the search for compounds of promise in plants or animals that have never been used for medicines or cures by indigenous cultures.
According to the report of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (2004), many prospectors are now turning their attention to the world’s remaining frontiers, including the Antarctic ice fields, vents deep in the world’s oceans, and the deep seafloor. The unique genes of many extremophiles (organisms that live in extreme conditions) are expected to yield great opportunities for new medicines well into the second half of the twenty-first century.
A real concern that has been partially addressed by the United Nations in the landmark 1993 Convention on Biological Diversity is that of “biopiracy,” “genetic piracy,” or “biocolonialism.” These terms refer to the appropriation of genetic materials without the express informed consent of the indigenous peoples, that landowners, or the appropriate government. For instance, making use of indigenous knowledge of the healing powers of a particular plant to find, replicate, and market a new drug without compensating those whose knowledge was the foundation of the work is a form of genetic piracy. For this reason, many countries in the tropical belt have written strict laws on genetic prospecting, including appropriate consent of, and compensation to, the host nation and its people.
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Kintisch, Eli. "U.N. Tackles Gene Prospecting on the High Seas." Science, 7 Sept. 2018, DOI: 10.1126/science.361.6406.956. Accessed 27 Dec. 2024.
Pennisi, Elizabeth. "Prospecting for Genetic Gold." Science, 24 July 2015, DOI: 10.1126/science.349.6246.369. Accessed 27 Dec. 2024.