Netbiome POMARE: Polynesian, Martinique's, Reunion's marine benthic invertebrates: interactions and chemodiversity evaluation for a sustainable use. The objective of the consortium, with all its facilities and expertise, is to explore marine invertebrates and so to act for their protection through chemical ecology studies, and for biotechnological applications through the valorisation of identified compounds and their biological activities.
Particular emphasis will be given to sponges and corals, since these are considered most important in coral reef ecosystems and environment. Sponges are also important candidates for the search of bioactive natural products: the project will explore the under-utilized marine natural products as novel pharmaceutical, cosmetic or local-industry products such as pearl farming or for the restoration of some marine invertebrates. Focusing on sessile invertebrates, the aim of the project is to rationalize sampling, field studies and chemical investigations in such a way that the results could be used for interdisciplinary implementation. Our project aims to characterize and preserve biodiversity using sequencing methods and implementation of genomic repositories for its sustainable conservation, but also by setting up efficient synthesis methods to prevent large scale harvesting.