Thanks to genetics, without killing or harming the sponges that appeared on Earth 650 million or even 750 million years ago, it will be possible to extract precious molecules of interest for the benefit of Humanity: Health, Well-being and Environmental Services. Photo Thierry Pérez, Research Director CNRS IMBE - Endoume Marine Station (Marseille - France)

Designer of the REFRACOR 2030 project, Yvan Griboval explains: "When I returned from the OceanoScientific Around the World Expedition 2026-2017, which was the first campaign to collect scientific data at the Air-Sea interface - under sail and single-handed - in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current under the three great continental capes, I was sharing my experience at conferences or in front of primary school pupils (CM1-CM2) and I realized that talking about the data collected, which had no commercial value, did absolutely nothing to engage my listeners. It didn't encourage them to preserve the Ocean. So I was completely missing the mark. Simply because in general what has no value: commercial, emotional, personal..., does not justify being respected or preserved. Because it's worthless. Why the hell had I gone so far, at the risk of my life, to collect this physico-chemical data, although of high quality, in which only a small group of scientists had any interest. A small interest, since they didn't spend any money to obtain it..."

"Thus, I researched to find out what could be so valuable in the Ocean that it would generate enough interest among the general public to make them want to protect it. Because my approach was, and remains, to mobilize human beings to preserve the sea and its biodiversity. Without going very far, the scientific literature is abundant, so I read up on coral reefs. There is no doubt that the organisms that nestle there conceal almost infinite resources for uses that benefit Humanity. All the scientists consulted, including, in priority, Denis Allemand, Scientific Director of the Monaco Scientific Centre, renowned for studying and breeding corals since the late 80s, confirmed the rightness of this choice."

"It was still necessary to decide to focus on a particular marine organism, given the immense wealth of biodiversity found in these coral reef sites. Scientists agree that they contain around 25% of the marine organisms in the Ocean, which itself represents 71% of the Planet. The first instinct is to take an interest in coral. Until, on 10 February 2022, a conversation in Brest on the sidelines of the One Ocean Summit with the eminent biologist Gilles Bœuf - with whom I had first spoken in his office when he was President of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle - turned me definitively towards sponges: "Extraordinary animals that deserve to be studied because they can make a huge contribution to human beings", according to Gilles. Then a meeting with Thierry Pérez, Research Director of CNRS IMBE at the Endoume Marine Station (Marseille - France) and surely the greatest French spongiologist working today, himself a disciple of Jean Vacelet, convinced me to concentrate the efforts of the OceanoScientific Coral Reefs Expeditions and the REFRACOR 2030 Project on the theme of sponges."

"But as I investigated the subject further, I discovered that to extract these precious molecules, these active ingredients for human health, it was necessary to have access to immense quantities of living organisms. The proof of this was the discovery in 1969 by Professor Kenneth L. Rinehart (1929-2005) of the University of Illinois (USA) that an extract of an ascidian (Ecteinascidia tubinata) from the Caribbean Sea contained active anti-cancer molecules (Ecteinascidin 743). This molecule was purified in 1984 at the University of Illinois. But its possible use as an anti-cancer agent was not published until 1996 by Professor Elias James Corey, a chemist at Harvard University (USA) and winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The patent for this molecule, now marketed by the Spanish company PharmaMar, was filed by Harvard. But let's get back to basics: it was necessary to kill a ton of ascidians to obtain one gram of active ingredient. A clinical trial requires at least five grams!"

"In short, I was astonished to discover that highlighting the molecular richness of marine organisms in coral reefs could only encourage the plundering and destruction of these precious reefs, and the impoverishment of their fantastic biodiversity. Quite the opposite of my initial approach!"

"So many sleepless nights going over this paradox... Until I met Professor Christian Siatka, a geneticist who has since become Vice-President of the OceanoScientific association and Scientific Director of the OceanoScientific Coral Reefs Expeditions. "If I take a hair or a piece of fingernail from you, I won't hurt you and I will get your DNA" he explained quite simply. "And if you do the same with tiny pieces of sponge, you will get their DNA. It will be possible to search for molecules of interest using bioinformatic without needing to kill or hurt the sponge, or even go back and disturb it on its reef."

"Under these conditions, it became possible to enhance France's reef heritage by focusing on sponges, reputed for their exceptional properties. Above all, it was also possible to preserve the precious genetic data of marine organisms threatened by the Sixth Extinction, itself accelerating as a result of climate change. This is how the foundations of the REFRACOR 2030 project were laid."

Today, French coral reefs are a (magical!) natural spectacle for tourists and a field of exploration for fundamental scientific research. They are also an infinite reserve of molecules of interest for the use of human beings. A national heritage worth preserving. Photo Thierry Pérez, Research Director CNRS IMBE - Endoume Marine Station (Marseille - France)