Summary
This project aims to collect samples at the South Shetland Trough (SST) near the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the few cryogenic deep-sea trenches in the world.
The specific aims of PharmaDeep are to:
(a) Collect marine organisms from deep-and-cold-water habitats that may be unique sources of natural products for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases.
(b) Perform the first marine biological survey of the unique habitat, the SST.
(c) Compare and contrast the SST fauna and drivers of distribution with other trench ecosystems.
(d) Investigate the interaction of physical and chemical extremes of relevance to understanding the habitability of other planetary bodies.
What we do
SZN will be mainly involved in Zooplankton and Phytoplankton sample collection for taxonomy identification, activity screening investigation and later chemical analysis.
Partners
SZN, IBP-CNR, University of Aberdeen, Universitat de Barcelona, Insituto Español de Oceanografía, BioBridge, University of Chile, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Edinburgh University
Research Area
Marine Biotechnology
SZN role
Partner
Principal Investigator
Project Manager
Alan Jamieson
Project Lifetime
October 2015 - June 2016
Funding Institutions
European Commission, under the EU EUROFLEETS2 program grant agreement n° 312762
Personnel involved
Adrianna Ianora, Principal investigator
Chiara Lauritano, Post-doc
Christian Galasso, PhD Student
