Omics in marine biotechnology

Abstract

Marine biotechnology emerged in the 1980s, and since then it has been gradually gaining momentum to meet growing demands that cannot be satisfied by terrestrial sources alone. Marine biotechnology has been widely applied to tap the unique biodiversity found in oceans and corresponding resources. Although marine biotechnology is relatively young, it has made considerable contributions to sustainable development on social, economic and environmental fronts. In the mid-1990s, the 'omics' revolution triggered major changes in biological research and its application to biotechnology. Omics aims to combine all the information acquired from different hierarchies that control vital processes to investigate the nature of numerous biological phenomena at the molecular level.This special topic focuses on several omics in research to investigate basic biological systems in marine biotechnology. Special attention is devoted to genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and nutrigenomics. It is hoped that this new information will contribute to increased success in marine science and related industries. This topic contains 12 papers produced by research groups from China, Germany, and Korea. To help readers, we have arranged the papers according to their research topics: genomics [1-3]; transcriptomics [4]; proteomics [5][6][7][8][9]; metabolomics [10,11], and nutrigenomics [12].The objective of this topic is to offer a platform for marine biological scientists to present recent advances in the discovery and development of omics in marine biotechnology, providing a large-scale, holistic approach to understanding life in encapsulated "omes". In this special topic, several genomes, including major histocompatibility complex genes [2], phytochrome genes [3] and immune-and antiviral-related genes [4], have been systematically investigated based on functional genomic studies, providing targets for further structural and functional analyses. Wang and co-workers [7] present a rapid and simple protein labeling approach, which could be a tool for further proteomic studies. Zhang and Chen [1] offer us a comprehensive overview of metabolomics, from concept, approaches and widespread application to marine biology. In addition to the three subdisciplines of omics mentioned above, this topic also focuses on nutrigenomics in marine biotechnology [12]. This defines the causality/relationship between specific nutrients and nutrient regimens of marine food by determining the mechanisms involved in the effects of nutrients or the effects of a nutritional regimen.We would like to sincerely thank the authors for their excellent contributions. Their work has been crucial in highlighting the diverse and exciting opportunities in this field of research, and provides a decisive contribution for the further development of marine biotechnology. We also extend our appreciation to Mr. PU Yang and Dr. JIANG Tinging, who generously provided extremely valuable assistance during the review process.

Characterization of Interspecific Hybrids between Flowering Chinese Cabbage and Chinese Kale

“…Breeders have long used systematic breeding methods to breed flowering Chinese cabbage varieties, resulting in a narrow background of genetic resources [5][6][7]. In addition, the commercial production of Chinese kale mainly uses a conventionally-bred variety, and there are problems such as low yield, poor quality, and serious diseases and insect pests [8]. The above problems have caused the existing varieties to fail to meet market demand.…”