Molecular Biology in Marine Science: A brief introduction

Molecular Biology in Marine Science: A brief introduction

Biology has been revolutionized by recent advances in molecular biology, a branch of science that focuses on studying the chemical structures of phenomena and biological processes at the molecular level. It is increasingly important to recognize and understand the potential applications of molecular biology in many different fields of life sciences, including marine biology. In the last two decades, the invention of methods, the development of advanced molecular techniques and tools for biomedical research have led to significant advances in life sciences. Nevertheless, the value and importance of molecular techniques for addressing problems in marine biology is only recently being realized. In many scientific reports, the use of molecular biological techniques to address complex research questions about marine organisms and ocean processes has been clearly demonstrated. For instance, the cost of DNA sequencing has fallen exponentially, and recent breakthroughs have led to rapid increases in throughput that allow the entire expressed genome of a non-model organism to be sequenced at a standard project budget. Marine molecular biology is a discipline whose ultimate goal is to define and solve problems related to the sustainable study of marine life for the benefit of human health and well-being through the cooperation of scientists in many fields such as marine biology, molecular biology, biotechnology, bioinformatics, biometrics, microbiology, biochemistry and chemistry work. Currently, there are various known molecular techniques that can be used in marine microbiology, invertebrate biology, marine ecology, marine natural products, materials science, fisheries, conservation and bioinvasion, etc. In conclusion, if researchers active in the fields of marine biologists and molecular biologists continue to strive for strong collaborations in the next decade and reap the intellectual and technological benefits of such collaborations, an exciting new frontier for marine molecular biology in the future will emerge.