DNA rip-off is patent folly

But sequencing corals - with their massive genomes 10 times as big as those of humans - lies far beyond present Australian resources or priorities. It will soon be done by the Americans, who will thus corner the market in anything found in this marine gold rush.

Yet even the corals do not contain as much genetic wealth as the vast and still largely unidentified insect and soil biota that inhabits Australia. Despite its enormous size, significance for our ability to live here long term and commercial promise, this lies far from the sun of national or state science priorities.

If we want to learn how to live sustainably in Australia, we need to understand how the organisms that have done so for eons have achieved it. The secret is written in their genes. Only by understanding those genes and what they express will it be revealed. This is knowledge for all time. It does not date, unlike the latest computer chip. It is of value for the rest of Australian history. It is foundation material for the knowledge infrastructure of this land and its people.

Yet it also offers rapid returns on investment. The unique genes in some of our more unusual organisms promise health, food and industrial products far beyond our present imagining, especially in a world that will increasingly need things able to withstand harsh and erratic climatic conditions. These things are Australian and should be gathered by Australians first.

If we don't harvest our own crop, someone else will do it for us. And, in the long run, we will pay them royally for having done so, and be the poorer for it.