Bioprospectors are racing to find and exploit the genetic and biochemical riches of "extremophiles" -- organisms that have evolved unique characteristics to survive in earth's most hostile environments, the report says.

"Many scientists believe that isolating and extracting the substances that allow these organisms to prosper could have enormous implications in biotechnoloy research, possibly leading to new cancer treatment drugs, antibiotic and industrial compounds.

"But in fragile Antarctica this optimism is offset by warnings of significant consequences if an unregulated international 'free-for-all' is allowed to develop," says the report by the UN University's Tokyo-based Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS).

Efforts to exploit this new frontier are now threatening to outpace the capacity of international law to regulate such things as ownership of genetic materials, the issuing of patents and the environmental consequences of harvesting these resources, the study says.

Seven countries have made territorial claims on Antarctica, but no other country recognizes these claims and the frozen continent is administered by the 45 member nations of the Antarctic Treaty.

The UNU-IAS study calls for increased efforts for a global agreement to govern South Pole bioprospecting, which is driven by the billions of dollars in annual sales of commercial products developed from genetic resources or biochemical processes.

The report by the institute's director A.H. Zakri and researcher Sam Johnston is being released in Malaysia Monday ahead of a major international biodiversity meeting in the capital Kuala Lumpur beginning on February 9.

Some 2,500 officials and experts, along with 60 government ministers, are expected to attend the 7th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

Although no treaty negotiations involving Antarctica are on the agenda, the UNU-IAS is presenting its report on "extremophiles" to "help foster and support global 'biodiplomacy'."

So far, the report says, biological prospecting in Antarctica has usually been carried out by consortia made up of public and private bodies, mainly universities, research centres and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

"This has made it difficult to draw a clear line between scientific research and commercial activities, although it is clear that much of the recent activity has led to commercial applications," the report says.

One of these involves a glycoprotein, which functions as the 'antifreeze' that circulates in some Antarctic fish and has a range of potential applications, including increasing the freeze tolerance of commercial plants and farmed fish.

It could also be used to extend the shelf life of frozen food, improve surgery involving the freezing of tissues and enhance the preservation of tissues to be transplanted.

The report says a scan of patent office records in the United States and Europe turned up more than 150 applications for patents involving Antarctica.

Patents already granted include:

-- Spain: the wound-healing and skin, hair and nail treatment properties of a glycoprotein extracted from an Antarctic bacteria.

-- Germany: An extract from an Antarctic green algae for use in cosmetic skin treatment.

-- Russia: The production of biologically active substances with anti-tumour properties extracted from a strain of Antarctic black yeast.

The report's co-author, Johnston, said the Antarctic Treaty System, the principal international agreement governing activity on the continent, does not specifically regulate bioprospecting or define ownership of the Antarctic's genetic resources.

TERRA.WIRE