MICROORGANISMS that live in weird environments are one of the likeliest sources of novel chemicals. This is why pharmaceuticals companies have been scouring rainforests, coral reefs and hot springs for chemicals that might provide new treatments for a host of diseases. The soils and salty lakes of Antarctica have now become the latest target of the drug prospectors.
A contract signed last week between the drugs company AMRAD of Melbourne and Antarctic scientists paves the way for the first commercial use of a resource from the Antarctic landmass. Eighteen months of negotiation was required before experts from the Australian Attorney-General鈥檚 department were satisfied that the agreement to supply the microbial samples did not breach any of Australia鈥檚 obligations as a signatory of the Antarctic Treaty.
鈥淭he amount of material that will be extracted at any one time could be measured in spoonfuls,鈥� says Rod Cameron-Tucker, who handled the negotiations for the scientists at the Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) in Hobart, Tasmania. 鈥淚t will amount to no more than a backpack full 鈥� maybe 20 kilograms a year.鈥�
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Under the contract, scientists from the centre in Hobart will supply AMRAD with at least 3000 species of microorganism 鈥� bacteria, fungi and algae 鈥� over the next three years. Most of the samples will come from the soils and saline lakes of the Vestfold Hills, an ice-free region near the Australian Antarctic base of Davis. Some of the lakes contain up to 28 per cent salt and do not freeze. In others, the water at the surface is frozen but it can be as warm as 19 掳C near the bottom. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge potential for exotic organisms to be growing in these places,鈥� says Tom McMeekin of the Antarctic CRC.
The centre will receive 拢250 000 to collect and isolate microorganisms from the samples. The purified samples will be sent to AMRAD in Melbourne, where they will be grown in cultures and tested for activity against diseases ranging from cancer to arthritis. AMRAD鈥檚 chemists will try to identify the structure of any promising chemicals. 鈥淥nce we know the chemical structure of the compound of interest we won鈥檛 have to go back to Antarctica for more samples,鈥� says Murray Tait from AMRAD. 鈥淲e should be able to synthesise it.鈥�