Sarawak Biodiversity Centre
 | This article needs more links to other articles to help integrate it into the encyclopedia. (May 2020) |
| Established | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Mission | To Decode Biodiversity for the Benefit of Sarawak[1] |
| Focus | Traditional knowledge documentation Bioprospecting Bioinformatics[2] |
| Chair | Jaul Samion[3] |
| Chief Executive Officer | Yeo Tiong Chia[4] |
| Owner | Sarawak state government |
| Coordinates | 1°23′33″N 110°19′23″E / 1.39250°N 110.32306°E |
 | |
| Website | https://www.sbc.org.my/ |
Sarawak Biodiversity Centre is a statutory body that was set up by the government of Sarawak in 1997 for the regulation of access and collection of biological resources for research or commercial purposes. In 2004, the centre was relieved of its regulatory role and started to involve in biotechnology-based research of the biological resources in the state.
History
Sarawak Biodiversity Centre was established in 1997 following the enactment of Sarawak Biodiversity Centre Ordinance by the Sarawak state government for conservation, utilization, protection and sustainable development of biodiversity in the state. This was followed by the enactment of Sarawak Biodiversity Regulations in 1998. In December 2003, Sarawak State Legislative Assembly passed the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (Amendment) Ordinance 2003. The state assembly also revised the Sarawak Biodiversity Regulations in 2004. Following these revisions, Sarawak Biodiversity Centre was relieved of its previous role and assumed a new role of research and development of the state biological resources and documentation of indigenous knowledge of utilising biological resources.[5]
Programmes
Traditional Knowledge Documentation Programme
This programmed existed to prevent the loss of traditional knowledge in the indigenous communities because of the knowledge pass to the next generations through oral tradition only. This programme is carried through capacity building workshops where local communities are trained with documentation techniques, growing and management of useful indigenous plants. As of 9 November 2020, a total of 6,420 plants were documented with 1,713 species of plants identified.[6]
Research and Development (Bioprospecting) Programme
This programme is supported by seven laboratories with the aim to screen for anti-cancer, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-protease compounds from its natural products library. Besides, this programme also isolates and sequence genes from useful microbes that have medicinal and industrial applications. This programme is also developing plant tissue culture capabilities for mass propagations and genetic transformation of plants.[7]
Bioinformatics Programme
Biodiversity Garden Programme
Awareness and Appreciation Programme
Facilities
Extraction Laboratory
Microbiology Laboratory
Molecular Biology Laboratory
Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory
Analytical Chemistry Laboratory
Bioinformatics Data Centre
It features biological resources databases, a natural product library, and traditional knowledge databases.[8]
Product Development Laboratory
This laboratory focus on extraction of essential oils and indigenous oils, formulation of personal care products, and quality analyses of the developed products.[9]
Researches and patents
In 2002, the centre filed a patent for a cyclopentabenzofuran compound that could be used together with other anti-cancer drugs.[10][11]
In 2016, the centre was involved in research regarding the role of laccase enzymes in cotton plant fibre development.[12]
References
- ^ "Our Mission". Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
{{cite news}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 14 August 2020 suggested (help) - ^ "What We Do". Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ "Sarawak Biodiversity Council". Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ "Management Team". Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ "About SBC". Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ "Traditional Knowledge documentation". Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ "R&D Bioprospecting". Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 14 August 2020 suggested (help) - ^ "Bioinformatics". Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ "Product Development". Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ "Intellectual Property Rights - Current breakthroughs". Sarawak Biodiversity Centre. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 13 May 2020 suggested (help) - ^ Meurer-Grimes, BM; Yu, J; Vairo, GL. "Therapeutic compounds and methods - US6710075B2". Google Patents. United States Patents. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ Balasubramanian, VK; Rai, KM; Thu, SW; Hii, MM; Mendu, V (29 September 2016). "Genome-wide identification of multifunctional laccase gene family in cotton (Gossypium spp.); expression and biochemical analysis during fiber development". Nature Scientific Reports. 6 (34309): 34309. Bibcode:2016NatSR...634309B. doi:10.1038/srep34309. PMC 5041144. PMID 27679939.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
