Yehuda Benayahu's Lab
Current research projects
Octocorals
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Although people often associate coral reefs with stony corals, the space on many coral reefs is dominated by non-scleractinian anthozoans, primarily of the subclass Octocorallia, which therefore play an important role in the ecosystem. Octocorals are easily distinguished from all other anthozoan cnidarians by their polyps: these always have eight mesenteries and eight pinnate tentacles, which constitute a diagnostic field character. The order Alcyonacea (soft corals and sea fans) is the most prominent and diverse order, and also dominates the substrate on many of the Red Sea coral reefs. Despite their ecological importance and prominence, many alcyoncean species have remained undescribed and the taxonomic relationships among the families have been little studied, while the taxonomic or phylogenetic utility of many morphological characters, such as skeletal composition and colony morphology, needs further examination.
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BYEFOULING: Low-toxic cost-efficient environment-friendly antifouling materials
Funded by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, grant agreement no 612717.
The main goal of BYEFOULING is to design, develop and upscale antifouling coatings with enhanced performance compared to current available products. The project addresses high volume production of low toxic and environmentally friendly antifouling coatings for mobile and stationary maritime applications. The vision of BYEFOULING is to provide the means for industrial, cost-effective and robust manufacturing of antifouling coatings in Europe, where SMEs are both coating developers and production technology providers. A set of procedures, guidelines and fabrication tools are being developed, enabling short time to market for new coating concepts.
TASCMAR: Tools And Strategies to access to original bioactive compounds from Cultivation of MARine invertebrates and associated symbionts
Funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under grant agreement N° 634674.
Thanks to the rich biodiversity and special conditions of marine ecosystems, the ocean can provide an astounding variety of molecules with unique features and unmatched complexity. Marine invertebrates are becoming widely recognized as a source of bioactive compounds and biomaterials, with diverse commercial applications, from cosmetics and medical drugs to bioremediation. The main bottleneck that remains is the sourcing of marine biodiversity. TASCMAR will develop innovative technologies for the cultivation of invertebrates and their associated microorganisms to respond to a key challenge set by the EU Blue Growth Strategy: to make discovering and commercializing marine-derived molecules more sustainable, efficient and environmentally friendly.
Could creatures of the deep help treat disease and keep us looking young? To overcome current bottlenecks in taking marine-derived biomolecules from discovery to exploitation, TASCMAR researchers will assess the potential of marine invertebrates, mainly soft corals, sponges, echinoderms and tunicates along with their micro-symbionts.
