Founder of the Save Our Seas Foundation wins NOGI Distinguished Service Award
His Excellency Abdulmohsen Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh, Founder of the Save Our Seas Foundation, has been honoured for his conservation work by the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences with the presentation of its 2023 NOGI Distinguished Service Award
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THE SAVE OUR SEAS FOUNDATION FOUNDER HAS A RARE ENCOUNTER WITH A MOTHER AND CALF PAIR OF HUMPBACK WHALES.
view moreCREDIT: PHOTO © LUKE SADDLER
The 20th anniversary year of the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) has given many cause for reflection, not least its Founder, His Excellency Abdulmohsen Al-Sheikh. And it is in this reflection that His Excellency has expressed how supporting two decades of shark science, conservation and education has been his way of giving thanks. The SOSF has given His Excellency, whose love for the ocean has deepened over thousands of dives and many hours spent in the company of sharks and rays, a tangible means of giving back to the natural world for the incredible joy it has given him. It is fitting, then, that in this same auspicious anniversary year, His Excellency’s work has been recognised by the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences with the presentation of its prestigious NOGI Distinguished Service Award.
His Excellency grew up in the Arabian desert, a vast sea of sand that makes a life lived in love with the ocean seem unlikely. But an introduction to the technicolour reefs of the Red Sea changed the course of his life; a first encounter with a grey reef shark set the compass in the direction that would become his life’s mission. Countless underwater hours later, His Excellency founded the Geneva-based SOSF in 2003 to help address the growing conservation issues he had witnessed at first hand. At the time, sharks were still low on the list for funding and attention, but the presentation of a single patrol boat to conservation officials at Cocos Island in the Pacific Ocean established a means of enforcing conservation measures that has had lasting impact. Since then, the SOSF has grown to fund 482 marine conservation projects in 91 countries.
The vision of the SOSF remains one of sustainability for oceans and its key focus has always been on highly threatened sharks and rays and the historically under-funded efforts to research and protect them. His Excellency’s vision has been one of financial support to the experts who have dedicated their lives to sharks and rays through scientific research, applied conservation projects and education initiatives. The impact of this vision, which now encompasses financial, scientific, practical and communications support, has been immense; SOSF project leaders have researched more than 258 species and described 14 new species, helped list 140 species on the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to regulate 90% of the global fin trade, and published 567 papers.
2023 NOGI Award for Distinguished Excellence awarded to His Excellency Abdulmohsen Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh.
CREDIT
James Lea | © Save Our Seas Foundation
Over the past two decades, the SOSF has launched scientific careers and guided conservation policy. In doing so, it has helped shift public perceptions and build appreciation for the ecological importance of misunderstood species. In a sector where non-profits often lose steam, it has steadied support by establishing long-term centres and funding key long-term partner organisations. The SOSF funds three permanent centres that together have reached 50 000 learners. The SOSF Shark Education Centre in South Africa connects the public to the ocean through experiential education programmes. Research conducted at the SOSF D’Arros Research Centre, Seychelles, helped create the D’Arros Marine Protected Area. Seychelles has now achieved more than 30% protection of its territorial waters, exceeding United Nations targets. The Shark Research Center in the USA made history when Professor Mahmood Shivji and colleagues sequenced the white shark genome. They have since sequenced genomes for great hammerhead and shortfin mako sharks, breakthroughs that help manage these imperilled species.
But leadership really means vision and guidance. And it is His Excellency’s unrelenting gaze to the future that drives the direction of the SOSF. ‘We must nurture a new generation of scientists, conservationists, storytellers and educators,’ His Excellency maintains. ‘Their support is essential to the longevity of the good work taking place across our oceans and the strides we have already made.’ Taking a ‘risk’ on emerging researchers, developing nations and under-represented species has injected new energy and seen growth in the number and diversity of project leaders, project areas and innovative ideas. The NOGI Distinguished Service Award therefore reflects the dedication of one person who is steeped in the belief in a network of other equally dedicated individuals fighting for the world’s oceans.
His Excellency Abdulmohsen Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh dives with an Endangered hammerhead shark.
CREDIT
Photo © Matthew During
About the Save Our Seas Foundation
Founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2003, the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) is a philanthropic organisation whose ultimate goal is to create a legacy of securing the health and sustainability of our oceans, and the communities that depend on them, for generations to come.
Its support for research, conservation and education projects worldwide focuses on endangered sharks, rays and skates. Three permanent SOSF research and education centres reinforce its actions in Seychelles, South Africa and the USA.
Much more than waste: Tiny vesicles exchange genetic information between cells in the sea
Extracellular vesicles play a much greater role in horizontal gene transfer in the ocean than previously assumed
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FOR THIS STUDY, THE RESEARCHERS FROM THE MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE IN BREMEN ALSO COLLECTED WATER SAMPLES OFF THE NORTH SEA ISLAND OF HELGOLAND.
view moreCREDIT: SILVIA VIDAL / MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR MARINE MICROBIOLOGY
There is a lively exchange of genetic information between the numerous microorganisms in the oceans. This so-called horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is crucial for the evolution of many organisms and is, for example, also the most important mechanism for the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Until now, it was assumed that direct contacts between cells, free DNA or viruses were primarily responsible for the exchange of genes. A study led by Susanne Erdmann from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen now shows that so-called extracellular vesicles are also very important for the transfer of genetic information in the sea and thus for the life of its smallest inhabitants.
Viruses, GTAs, EVs: tiny and numerous
Most viruses are tiny. Up to 10 million of them can be found in every drop of seawater. They can not only pack up their own genetic material (their genome), but also parts of their host's DNA – i.e. the DNA of the organism they have infected – and transport it into other cells.
Studying viruses is challenging. Seawater samples have to be filtered through filters with a pore size of only 0.2 µm (which is about 300 times less than the thickness of a human hair) to separate the viruses from the cells. In addition to viruses, these filtered samples also contain so-called gene transfer agents (GTAs) and extracellular vesicles (EVs). GTAs are virus-like particles that exclusively package host DNA, and EVs are small vesicles enveloped by a membrane that detach from the cell surface of the host. These EVs can contain a variety of molecules. In addition to enzymes, nutrients and RNA, they often transport fragments of DNA.
EVs are prolific transporters of genetic material
Erdmann and her team have now shown that, other than previously assumed, there is a lot of host DNA in the filtered seawater samples that is not transported by viruses. Proving this was extremely complicated. “After sequencing, i.e. reading out the host DNA, we can no longer recognize how it got into our sample,” explains Erdmann, head of the Max Planck Research Group Archaea Virology at the Max Planck Institute in Bremen. “There is no feature to assign a sequence to a specific transport mechanism.” To solve this problem, the researchers used a trick. In a first step, they assigned each DNA sequence to a host from which it originally stems. Then they determined a main transport mechanism for each host as far as possible – i.e. by viruses, GTAs or EVs. This enabled them to assign a potential transport mechanism to a specific DNA sequence. “The result was surprising: Apparently, a large proportion of the DNA was not transported via classical routes, but via extracellular vesicles,” says Erdmann.
So much more than waste – in the ocean and beyond
“Extracellular vesicles were long regarded as cellular waste. Only in the last fifteen years scientists were able to show their various functions for the cell. Our study clearly highlights the fundamental role that EVs play for the exchange of genetic material between cells,“ explains Dominik Lücking, PhD student in Erdmanns group and first author of the study, which has now been published in the journal ISME Communications. Thus, the authors suggest to change terminology: „Traditionally, we are talking of a virome, a metagenome enriched with viruses, when extracting and sequencing the DNA from the 0.2 µm fraction”, says Lücking. „However, that way we are missing out on the variety of the other, non-virus-like particles in this fraction, such as EVs. Thus, we suggest to call this fraction ‘protected extracellular DNA’, or peDNA.”
The study presented here lays the foundation for future research on peDNA across all ecosystems, in the ocean and beyond. “The new nomenclature will enable us to talk more clearly about the mechanisms and processes not covered by the term virome,” says Erdmann. Future research can use this study as a guideline to assess the role of extracellular vesicles in other environments, such as soil and freshwater systems or the human gut. „In view of the significance of horizontal gene transfer in many ecosystems, we are very sure that there are quite a few more surprises on the way ahead of us,“ Erdmann concludes.
JOURNAL
ISME Communications
ARTICLE TITLE
Extracellular vesicles are the main contributor to the non-viral protected extracellular sequence space
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