海洋基因组有助于抗击疾病：这就是我们的保存方式
The ocean plays a surprising role in fighting COVID-19. With death and infection numbers escalating daily, the世界卫生组织has made it clear that countries need to do three things to successfully fight this pandemic: test, test and test.
The dramatic increase in demand for testing has drawnrenewed attention到海洋的遗传多样性。这种“海洋基因组”是抗病毒化合物的丰富来源。特别是来自非凡的酶热液排气细菌一直是病毒测试套件技术的关键，包括用于诊断Covid-19的技术。相似地，a proteinderived from a coral reef red alga around the Canary Islands has been valuable in the fight against theMiddle East Respiratory Syndrome，，，，an illness caused by a coronavirus closely related to the one responsible for COVID-19.
这种对海洋生物的遗传多样性的重新关注也带来了保护和公平问题 - 这是两个最近的主题research papers由可持续海洋经济的高层小组（海洋小组）委托。这项研究发现，多种威胁面临着海洋基因组，危害新的商业和科学用途的机会。同时，在大多数海洋生物多样性和高收入国家中，低收入和中等收入国家之间存在不平衡的关系，这些国家拥有研究能力，技术，基础设施和财务，以发展海洋生物技术。
这些最近的论文列出了一系列明确的行动清单，政府和海洋研究人员可以采取保护海洋基因组并公平地分享其收益。
海洋保护可以帮助解决全球威胁
The ocean genome, or the genetic material present in all marine organisms and the information it encodes, is the foundation upon which marine ecosystems rest. This genetic diversity determines the abundance and resilience of marine biological resources, including fisheries and aquaculture, which form an important pillar of food security and livelihoods for many countries. These海洋工业为全球数亿人提供食物，并占有世界超过10％的人口。
海洋生物目前受到过度开发，栖息地丧失和退化，污染，气候变化，入侵物种等的威胁。必威官网是真的吗鉴于与每个海洋物种相关的遗传物质的独特性和不替代性，导致其灭绝的任何事件最终都会导致其遗传信息消失。因此，这些压力也威胁到海洋基因组的潜力，以应对当前的挑战，例如气候变化和COVID-19，以及未来的未知威胁，例如其他新疾病。必威官网是真的吗
尽管技术进步迅速，可以在遗传水平上探索海洋生物，尽管海洋基因组对社会有希望的好处，但知识的巨大差距仍然存在。例如，大多数海洋物种仍然未描述，大多数来自海洋单细胞生物的基因无法分配功能，并且从海洋病毒中收集的约90％的遗传序列的功能仍然未知。当我们对它们的了解很少时，损害了这些生物的保护，可能会使我们没有宝贵的资产来解决并适应环境退化和疾病的全球威胁。
海洋Resources Need to be Shared Equitably
To date, mostly high-income countries have had the financial and other relevant capacities required to conduct marine genetic research and commercial activity associated with the ocean genome. However, exploration and sampling of the ocean genome are often conducted in low- or middle-income countries' ocean territories. These countries frequently lack the resources to undertake the research themselves or to access and use the rapidly growing databases of genetic sequence data.
The following maps capture this disparity. Significant marine biodiversity richness surrounds low- or middle-income countries' ocean territories, but most of the patent applications and publications on the ocean genome come from high-income countries.
明确而至关重要的需要，以确保以可持续，公平和公平的方式使用海洋基因组。随着该领域的发展，政府，研究人员和公司需要确保低收入或中等收入国家从其自身的海洋遗传多样性中受益，并且较富裕的国家不会不公平地利用这些资源。这些问题中有许多目前正在讨论联合国谈判并通过Convention on Biological Diversity。
5 Ways to Protect and Share the Ocean Genome
研究论文确定了几个行动的机会，以保护海洋基因组的多样性，并支持当前和潜在收益从其使用中的公平分布。
1.保护海洋遗传多样性作为海洋保护措施的一部分。
这取决于通过完全或受到高度保护的海洋保护区实施至少30％的海洋。这些行动应考虑当地社区权利和访问权限，并确保当地人参与决策。
2. Support greater equity in research and commercialization.
For example, marine biodiscovery collaborations should be based on equitable research partnerships, ensuring the inclusion of scientists from low- and middle-income countries and research institutions. Partners should transfer technology, allocate fair budgets and develop marine scientific capacity for all parties in these collaborations. Funders should provide incentives for research targeted toward important but underfunded societal problems such as environmental remediation and diseases afflicting developing countries. Governments should also create benefit-sharing mechanisms and agreements when conducting research and commercial activities in other countries' waters.
3.确保知识产权规范支持可持续和公平的海洋经济。
Governments should balance intellectual property right incentives with the sharing of technologies between their producers and users. Once granted, reasonable limitations to the exercise of intellectual property rights must be applied. Measures such as non-exclusive licensing, affordability of patented technologies and broad research use exceptions can enable access to and transfer of technology, and enhance global research capacity. Additionally, these kinds of measures can be better implemented if information about the biological and geographic origins of genetic material is shared transparently across all associated commercial and noncommercial activities.
4.评估新的海洋遗传技术和实践的风险和好处。
For example, this applies to the use of molecular engineering technologies in the ocean, and the creation of genetically modified marine organisms. Assessing these risks requires the initiation of an international deliberative process, involving stakeholders from all sectors, to develop principles for whether and how genetic technologies should be used in the marine environment and to debate the merits of different approaches.
5.增加财务和政治支持以提高对海洋基因组的了解。
这将包括慈善组织扮演更加协调的角色，为海洋科学提供基础设施和资金，并支持促进低收入国家和边缘化群体对科学的联合调查和科学所有权的支持。
