What are marine microbiomes?
Seawater is home to a staggering number of micro-organisms, ranging from 10 to 100 billion per liter, which can be divided into four categories: phytoplankton, protists, bacteria, and viruses. This categorization, however, does not fully capture the diverse planktonic ecosystem and its various interactions, such as symbiosis, parasitism, predation, and protection.
![](https://www.bluetools-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Bluetools_Icons_MainConcepts_Phytoplankton-300x300.png)
![](https://www.bluetools-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Bluetools_Icons_MainConcepts_Bacteria-300x300.png)
![](https://www.bluetools-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Bluetools_Icons_MainConcepts_Protists-300x300.png)
![](https://www.bluetools-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Bluetools_Icons_MainConcepts_Viruses-300x300.png)
Why marine microbiomes?
Marine microorganisms are a largely untapped source of bioactive compounds, carbohydrates, polymers, proteins, and other valuable substances. These compounds have a wide range of high-value application for society and health of marine ecosystems, including pharma, material sciences, cosmetics and environmental services.
However, most of the times exploring their potential can be challenging, time-consuming, and resource-intensive, leading to low yields, high costs, and a long time to market, as well as a substantial impact on the environment. New methods are needed to overcome these limitations and facilitate the exploration of marine microbial communities and their potential utilization.
![](https://www.bluetools-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2000_dna-bacterias-1024x682.jpg)
What is the Blue Bioeconomy?
The blue bioeconomy leverages renewable, living aquatic resources such as algae, sponges, jellyfish, and microorganisms to provide a wide range of products, processes, and services.
Innovations in the blue bioeconomy encompass a variety of fields, including novel foods and food additives, nutraceuticals and animal feeds, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, green chemicals and materials, and enzymes for environmentally friendly industrial processing and decontamination.
As a crucial component of the European Green Deal, the blue economy plays a significant role in reducing the burden on EU land resources and addressing climate change. Continuous marine and aquatic research and innovation is essential to ensure the ocean remains a healthy and productive life support system.