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Environmental biotechnology in Australia
The environment industry is rapidly growing worldwide and is seen as a critical enabling sector for mainstream industry (e.g. agriculture, manufacturing, resources and tourism) to maintain international competitiveness.
Australian environment industry exports have been previously estimated at A$300 million per annum. This is only a small share of the total global market, which has been estimated to be around US$500 billion per annum1. However, as outlined below, there are significant opportunities for building on existing capabilities and developing the environmental biotechnology sub-sector.
Defining environmental biotechnology
Environmental biotechnology includes the application of biotechnology to a wide range of products, from the biological control of pest animals and weeds to diagnostics and biomonitoring of the health of the environment.
Australia’s current environmental biotechnology capabilities are categorised under the following areas:
As with the other three key areas of biotechnology capability, environmental biotechnology applications do not fall neatly within any one category, often because they also present opportunities to make industrial processes work more efficiently and/or create less pollution.
Water management and treatment is categorised under environmental biotechnology, but can have outcomes for all three of the other key areas. Bioproducts2 are listed under industrial biotechnology, but are also relevant to environmental biotechnology, while biomass energy3 is noted under agribiotech, but is equally notable under environmental, due to its environmental benefits.
Drivers of environmental biotechnology
A high standard of environmental practice is required by Australian companies in a variety of sectors and this has produced opportunities, both domestically and internationally, for Australia’s environmental biotechnology industry.
Environmental biotechnology is also responding to specific challenges currently faced by Australia. For example, in the protection of our natural resources we face a range of challenges from pests, salinity and land degradation to reducing atmospheric pollution.
These challenges are also driving innovation in Australia’s primary industries (particularly resources and agriculture) and the strong links with environmental biotechnology have fostered Australian capabilities in areas such as bioremediation and control of pests and weeds.
Biodiscovery
Increasing expertise in biodiscovery is underpinned by Australia’s unique biodiversity. For example, the Northern Territory alone is home to approximately 4,400 species of plant, 400 species of birds, 150 species of mammals, 300 species of reptiles, 50 species of frogs, 1,000 species of fish and thousands of marine and invertebrate species.
Queensland’s naturally diverse environment includes more than 1,000 ecosystems supporting around 89% of Australia’s known freshwater fish species, 58% of its frog species, 55% of its reptile species, 79% of its bird species, 65% of its mammal species and some 47% of Australia’s vascular plant species.
These opportunities are now underpinned in Australia by the development of a national regulatory framework. Australia has adopted a pragmatic approach to implementing the Convention for Biological Diversity’s Bonn Guidelines. This approach is guided by the needs of a federal structure, existing international agreements, domestic legislation, the realities of contemporary scientific research and Australia’s market-based, developed economy with its strong stakeholder involvement in decision making.
The Australian Government has drafted regulations on access to biological resources in Commonwealth Areas under Section 301 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The draft regulations result from principles developed in the 2002 Agreement with the states and territories for a Nationally Consistent Approach for Access to and Utilisation of Australia’s Native Genetic and Biochemical Resources. The draft regulations are anticipated as a significant first step in achieving a nationally consistent approach to this issue.
The Agreement forms an accountable basis for all legislation and administrative action for the management of genetic resources currently underway in each Australian jurisdiction.
Queensland was the first Australian jurisdiction to establish a legislative regime at state level (Biodiscovery Act 2004) to regulate the access and ecologically sustainable collection of
Queensland’s unique biodiversity for the purposes of biotechnology research and development. The Act commenced on 12 November 2004, and aims to establish a clear, comprehensive and efficient permitting regime for the use of the State’s native biological resources, while returning a fair and equitable benefit to the community. Other Australian states and territories are now drafting similar legislation.
While the Australian Government draft regulations and the Queensland legislation apply only in those governments’ jurisdictions, they provide a model framework for other jurisdictions and certainty to organisations seeking to access biological resources for research and commercial development (e.g. companies developing new therapeutics and adopting new industrial processes).
The measures also deliver on an important objective of the National Biotechnology Strategy by allowing for access to Australian biological resources for the benefit of industry and the Australian community, and maintaining the conservation of Australia’s unique biodiversity.
Enhancing Australia’s environmental biotechnology capabilities
Before looking at each of the five product areas identified as key areas of Australia’s environmental biotechnology capability, it should be noted that they are underpinned by a range of factors, or conditions, that support the Australian environmental industry generally. These factors include government policies, R&D support and leading institutions, collaboration between researchers and industry, and company activity.
Government strategic policies include the Environment Industry Action Agenda, launched by the Ministers for Industry, Tourism and Resources and for Environment and Heritage in 2001. The goal of the Action Agenda is to develop a sustainable and internationally competitive environment industry able to capitalise on domestic and export business opportunities. There are also government incentives for specific sectors such as the biofuels industry, which also deliver environmental outcomes.
Leading R&D institutions include the CSIRO, which was ranked amongst the top five institutions in the world for citation of publications in the fields of environment/ecology. This list was compiled by US journal, Science Watch, which described the listed institutions as the ‘heavy hitters of science’.
Other leading institutions include CRCs, particularly Environmental Biotechnology (EBCRC)4; Australasian Invasive Animals (AIACRC), previously the CRC for Pest Animal Control and Australian Weed Management Cooperative Research Centre (AWMCRC); as well as the Advanced Wastewater Management Centre (AWMC).
Capabilities are also reflected by the broad range of environmental biotechnology applications currently in use, such as:
- a variety of bioindicators (e.g. bacteria that have been genetically modified as 'bioluminescors' to give off light in response to a range of chemical pollutants). These are currently being used to measure the presence of some hazardous chemicals in the environment;
- genetic sensors used to detect various chemical contaminants including sensors to track how pollutants are naturally degrading in ground water; and
- genetically modified plants that deliver environmental benefits (e.g. significant reductions in the use of pesticides have been achieved through GM cotton varieties with in-built insect resistance which produce a natural insecticide (Bt) to control the heliothis pest5).
Collaboration is a key factor supporting environmental biotechnology capabilities, with the CRCs bringing together researchers and private industry into long-term collaborative arrangements. In addition, Australia has environmental biotechnology precincts in most states and territories, aimed at fostering collaboration.
Examples of collaborative activities supporting growth in the sub-sector include:
- CSIRO is working with industry to use gene technology to develop enzyme products that detoxify pesticide residues, which will benefit the cotton, horticultural and rice industries;
- Queensland’s Museum and Herbarium is involved in collaboration with industry to build on Australian expertise in biodiversity and paleobiological sciences; and
- Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has a benefit-sharing agreement with the State of Queensland (signed in July 2000) focusing on its Marine Biodiversity Collection, which includes approximately 10,000 macro-organisms and 7,500 microorganisms collected and isolated from more than 1,500 marine sites around Australia.
1 Investing in Sustainability, Environment Industry Action Agenda, 2001, page 25.
2 Biofuels; Biomaterials (eg paints and plastics); Products from biological waste sources.
3 ‘Biomass’ is plant and animal material that can be used as an energy source, from traditional wood to waste material such as bagasse from sugar cane, to specially grown energy crops that can be converted to ethanol using modern biotechnology techniques and used with petrol in vehicles.
4 The EBCRC is a collaboration between the Universities of Queensland, New South Wales, Macquarie and Murdoch and the South Australian Research and Development Institute. It is supported by industry partners: Meat and Livestock Australia, the Australian Meat Producers Corporation, Orica and Collex.
5 Gene Technology in Australia. What’s happening in horticulture? Agrifood Awareness Australia Ltd. www.agrifood.com.au
Note: Information concerning Australia's biotechnology capabilities on the Industry Subsector of this microsite, including the sectoral maps, was taken from material developed by the Biotechnology Liaison Committee (BLC) for a National Capability Statement on Biotechnology. The BLC which is chaired by Biotechnology Australia and includes representatives from all Australian State and Territory Governments, was tasked by Ministers and State Premiers in 2004 with developing a National Capability Statement for Australian biotechnology, in consultation with industry, research bodies, professional groups and other key stakeholders.
Australia’s capabilities in biodiscovery are underpinned by our unique biodiversity, mega-diverse status and by the development of a regulatory framework to provide an accountable basis for all legislation and administrative action for the management of genetic resources.
A number of leading R&D institutions are using their biodiscovery capabilities to capitalise on this mega-diversity and to focus on specific regions or environments. For example, Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) is focused on tropical marine diversity, primarily around the Great Barrier Reef.
R&D capabilities include established screening and analysis facilities through institutions like AIMS; the Queensland Institute of Medical Research; the Institute of Molecular Bioscience (IMB); Natural Product Discovery, Griffith University and CSIRO’s Molecular Science. Other key areas of research are focused on biodiversity and the function of Australia’s ecosystems.
Specific capabilities in biodiscovery include:
- natural product chemistry R&D;
- underlying skills in biology, chemistry, engineering and commercial advice;
- screening of marine organisms for the presence of bioactive compounds; and
- genetic manipulation of common microorganic systems for new products and procedures with special features.
A number of companies are involved in commercial activities in biodiscovery. For example, there are a growing number of companies offering services in the area of fast throughput screening for microbes. Other commercial outputs include a sunscreen produced from coral extract.
There are some strong collaborative linkages, including through university and industry partnerships and AIMS’ collaboration with state governments.
In addition, capabilities include a shared capacity for identification and isolation of novel microoganisms and a capacity to search, on a one-off basis, for particular organisms with genes and/or enzymes for particular purposes.
In Australia, next to habitat loss, pests are the major cause of natural diversity loss. Carp, for example, now dominate some fish communities and have the potential to spread through many of Australia’s water systems, eventually becoming widespread throughout the country. Carp cause significant damage to aquatic plants and increase water turbidity. They also change the habitat through their feeding behaviour and compete with native fish1.
Australia is recognised as a world leader in the management of pest animals and weeds. Capabilities in the biological control of animal and insect pests are focused in areas as diverse as R&D for immunocontraception for the eradication of feral cats and biocontrol of invertebrate pests (such as ants, termites, fruit flies and locusts).
The use of reproductive technologies to control pest fish is one example of key capabilities in this area. The Australasian Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre (AIACRC), in conjunction with the Murray- Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) and industry, is developing ‘daughterless technology’ to control the impact of carp in Australia’s waterways. This involves modifying a specific gene responsible for the production of a sex-determination enzyme, rendering it non-functional. If this enzyme is absent from developing carp, it results in male offspring only.
Australia’s biotechnology capabilities in the management of weeds are internationally recognised. Specific capabilities include weed detection; biocontrol of weeds using insects and pathogens; plant genotyping (the ability to target control of different weed strains such as the 17 different types of introduced blackberry in Australia) and mycoherbicides.
These capabilities are supported by established research institutions, including CSIRO Entomology; Australasian Invasive Animals CRC; Australian Weed Management CRC; Institute of Molecular Bioscience (IMB); and Food Science Australia (FSA).
Capabilities are also demonstrated by the level of commercial activities, including the production of pesticide resistant crop strains and the discovery and production of biopesticides like Qcide.
1 www.csiro.au/pubgenesite/research/environment/carpControl.htm
Australia’s capabilities in bioremediation are evidenced by the level of R&D in this field as well as commercialisation and production in water treatment, mine site rehabilitation and hydrocarbon waste management.
Current bioremediation activities include:
- use of naturally occurring microorganisms, mainly bacteria and fungi, to help clean up some of Australia's 60,000 sites contaminated by heavy metals, acids, petroleum derivatives, chlorinated solvents and explosives;
- composting as a means to sterilise waste organic material and create organic fertilisers;
- discovery of certain plants that absorb toxic metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic from polluted soils and water that scientists hope can be used to treat industrial waste; and
- treatment of oil spills, from small industrial puddles to massive ocean oil spills, with oil-eating bacteria.
Australia’s institutions leading R&D in this field include: universities (Flinders; Adelaide; Western Australia; Queensland; Murdoch; and University of Technology Sydney) as well as the Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR); Environmental Biotechnology CRC; Australian Antarctic Division; Australian Wastewater Management Centre (AWMC) and the CSIRO.
Capabilities in bioremediation are evidenced by the wide-ranging R&D expertise in this field including:
- use of micro-organisms for bioremediation of toxic chemicals and field soils;
- improved technologies for bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons, chromium contaminated soils, solid and liquid waste and oil residues at the bottom of tanks, in wells and refineries; and
- recycling waste for use as feed stocks for industrial processes, bioenergy, value added products (e.g. from abattoir waste) and improving fermentation processes to minimise waste.
Company activity is evidenced by figures (April 2004) that 33 out of the 370 biotechnology companies in Australia are operating in the environmental remediation field1. Commercial successes range from waste treatment systems for suburban areas to remediation of sheep dip effluent.
1 Global Partners: Australian Biotechnology 2004, Commonwealth of Australia
Capabilities in biomonitoring are evidenced by current applications. Biomonitoring is being used to track the health of the environment, including how animals react to their environments. This information is then used to assess potential problems, including:
- the livers of sand flathead have proven to be useful indicators of municipal and industrial pollution from dioxins and other hazardous chemicals; and
- two frequently harvested species of marine mollusc, the Sydney rock oyster and the mussel, may be useful 'bioindicators' for the heavy metal toxins, zinc and cadmium.
Australian capabilities in detection systems are supported by established R&D institutions operating in this field, including CSIRO Entomology, University of Sydney, the South Australia Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and the Australasian Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre (AIACRC).
For example, the AIACRC is using detection systems that include scat analysis using DNA detection to determine the sex, age, and population movements of foxes for better control and management.
Other examples include the work of the Antarctic Division in blue whale research, or the Australian Weed Management Cooperative Research Centre’s (AWMCRC) use of PCR-based detection tests for weeds, e.g. branched broomrape.
There is a range of detection system capabilities for micro-organisms such as detection of pathogens using functional assays, biomolecular method-based monitoring of pathogens and testing of traditional indicator organisms. Capabilities are also found in monitoring of biologically active agricultural and cell signalling chemicals, real time biosensors and DNA-based tools for measuring target genes in environmental samples.
In addition, strong international collaborative and cooperative activities exist in environmental biotechnology, with the US Department of Agriculture being one example.
Australia’s capabilities in this field are reinforced by its reputation as a world leader in research and full scale application of wastewater management and treatment.
Most sewage treatment plants traditionally use a combination of chemical, physical and microbial treatment to break down waste. It is now possible to use modern biotechnology techniques to analyse the conditions needed to optimise the performance of the microbial systems and to tailor the technology to different uses, from backyard septic tanks to large-scale intensive animal farms such as piggeries.
In addition, sometimes the ‘treatment’ of waste produces valuable products; and modern high-tech composting factories can turn tonnes of organic waste into soil in a matter of days. An example of better treatments for solid waste and wastewater is the CSIRO’s use of enzymes to treat run-off from farms that contain pesticides, to avoid contaminating rivers and downstream farms. Other biotechnology capabilities in water treatment applied to industrial wastewater include:
- fluorescent detection of pathogens in waste water by flow cytometry; and
- removal of nutrients (e.g. nitrogen and phosphorus) from wastewater point sources.
In addition to CSIRO, leading research institutions undertaking work on wastewater management and treatment include the Australian Wastewater Management Centre (AWMC) and the Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research Centre (EBCRC).
Specific areas of R&D capability lie in detection systems for water quality, including:
- development of molecular markers for detection of unwanted marine pests in ballast water;
- detection of contaminated aquifers (e.g. from petrol stations, sheep dip);
- antibiotic, antiviral, soil and water contaminants and pathogen detection (e.g. for giardia or Cryptosporidium); and
- fluorescent in situ hybridisation detection of specific organisms.
- In bioremediation, key water–related capabilities include:
- remediation of groundwater contamination; and
- removal of arsenic from artesian water. Commercial successes include companies producing biosensors for Cryptosporidium and products with special effects and environmental benefits (e.g. marine paints).
Emerging capabilities in industrial biotechnology
There is a range of emerging capabilities in environmental biotechnology that could also be classified under both the industrial and agribiotech sectors, because they present opportunities to make industrial processes work more efficiently while creating less pollution. These emerging opportunities are listed under environmental biotechnology because of their significant environmental benefits.
Emerging capabilities include applications that can provide biological replacements for synthetic chemicals, for example:
- it is possible to make a variety of plastics from plant sugar rather than petrochemicals by using specially tailored yeasts and microorganisms. The advantage of these products is that they are biodegradable; and
- it is expected that bioleaching will progressively replace chemicals used in recycling or bleaching paper. Many laundry detergents use enzymes to replace phosphate detergents.
Researchers are looking into the potential use of other naturally–occurring organisms including:
- heavy-duty stain removing bacteria that have been found in heavily alkaline lakes where they have survived by learning to break down the toxins in their environment; and
- microorganisms in hostile natural environments (e.g. in very hot, cold or oily environments) to see if the survival mechanisms they have developed could be used in industrial processes.
Biodiscovery
Australia has emerging capabilities in the areas of comparative genomics, enzymes and protein systems analysis, as well as herbal medicines and nutraceuticals. Building on its current capabilities, Australia can develop:
- better knowledge of its microbial resources;
- the capacity to automate the discovery process (which is already possible in the US);
- a suite of expression systems appropriate to produce a cost effective product for any given application
- a national capability for exploiting natural resources in molecular discovery; and
- a greater focus on insect genomics and pesticide resistance.
These emerging capabilities can build on opportunities from:
- the potential for discovery and development of new drug entities to Phase II trials;
- development of an ecologically sustainable industry, based on the extraction of valuable compounds from marine organisms; and
- exploitation of the knowledge flowing from genome mapping (e.g. wallaby, kangaroo, and cane toad projects).
Biological control of pests
There is a range of emerging capabilities in this field, building on existing capabilities in pest control, but using new, more environmentally-friendly control options or a range of reproductive technologies to control or eliminate pests such as pest fish species.
Areas of emerging capabilities include:
- recombinant vaccine development;
- rapid screening technologies for potential control agents;
- control systems for cane toads, locusts, fire ants, citrus canker, fungal infections (phytophera), marine invasive pests, toxic micro algae, and Saluinia moesta; and
- applied genetic manipulation.
Bioremediation
Value-adding in the bioremediation field is likely to be an important driver for economic growth, and there are emerging opportunities to build on current capabilities in areas such as value-added processing of waste materials; rational bioremediation of oil residues and production of value-added products for down-hole oil recovery; and sourcing final products and raw materials from waste (e.g. biopolymers).
There is an emerging capability in the use of microbes for bioremediation including the ability to culture microbes which are not currently able to be cultured and access to microbial consortia for any bioremediation problem (e.g. contaminant degradation for consistent organic pollutants using microbial systems).
An emerging area of capability in waste processing is synthesised second generation processing (i.e. one process that is able to cope with multiple contaminants) as well as converting waste to energy through microbial fuel cells.
Australia is building on its environmental management expertise to be able to manage diffuse pollution sources and predict the rates of contamination in different environments.
Other emerging capabilities likely to support growth in bioremediation include:
- sourcing and production of enzymes for recalcitrant chemicals (other than pesticides);
- beading technology that will enable strategic remediation of herbicides in agricultural systems;
- global commercialisation of developed processes;
- increasingly sophisticated biochemistry;
- the combination (or convergence) of chemical and biological technologies; and
- radionuclides (e.g. their potential use in decommissioning nuclear power stations).
Detection systems
Emerging capabilities in this area may have potential flow-on benefits for agriculture and human health, such as:
- improved risk assessment abilities for chemicals or chemical mixtures used in agriculture, food processing, medicines and alternate medicines; and
- improved understanding of biological constraints in agriculture. R&D capabilities in institutions like the ARC Research Centre (with its current focus on oxygen-damaged DNA from free radicals) are likely to provide platforms for emerging capabilities in a wide range of areas. One such area is the use of molecular techniques for:
- testing for pathogens;
- testing for many organisms of interest using gene-based rapid field;
- measuring ecosystem function;
- detection of metabolics (not proteomic or DNA based); and
- chemical genomics, with the ability to create genomes.
New technologies being developed include:
- miniaturisation and micro-fluidics for lab-on-chip technology;
- development of advanced probe technology for greater precision of identification;
- increased expertise in nanotechnology applications for microbial detection;
- second generation biosensors with wider application;
- real-time measurement of functional processes; and
- using biological populations for optimisation and diagnosis of bioprocesses.
Australia is also developing the ability to integrate complex knowledge on ecosystems and translate the discoveries and products from environmental biotechnology to other areas, such as biomedical applications.
Water - management & treatment
Australia is developing state–of–the–art biological monitoring systems and a range of probes for rapid testing of ballast water for unwanted organisms.
Opportunities are being explored in:
- energy generating wastewater treatments;
- bioprocessing of waste streams (e.g. waste water from wineries to recover high quality water and bioproducts); and
- removal of blood from abattoirs’ water streams and conversion of waste to value added products (e.g. through research by Meat and Livestock Australia and the Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research Centre (EBCRC)).
There is further research being undertaken for better vectors and rapid detection of cyanobacteria (e.g. bluegreen algae) and a better understanding of chemical pathways to improve efficacy and control of remediation (e.g. in wastewater and in soil and water).
The EBCRC, for example, aims to achieve high levels of nutrient removal from high-strength waste water using microorganisms grown in sequencing batch reactors.1 Blue-green algae blooms and red tides are responsible for millions of dollars worth of stock losses each year.
1 Algae action, The Weekly Times, June 22, 2005 |