Study on patterns and chemical features of NO effect on marine phytoplankton growth

With supernatural bioactivation, nitric oxide (NO), which was first regarded as an endothelium- derived relaxing factor, was recognized by Science as the “Molecule of the Year” in 1992. The Nobel Prize of Physiology & Medicine in 1998 was awarded jointly to Furchgatt, Ignarro, and Murad for their discoveries concerning the NO effects in the cardiovascular sys- tem. From then on, researchers have paid more and more attention to the special and diverse functions of NO in organism[1―18].…     

Scalable Biosynthesis of the Seaweed Neurochemical,Kainic Acid

Kainic acid, the flagship member of the kainoid family of natural neurochemicals, is a widely used neuropharmacological agent that helped unravel the key role of ionotropic glutamate receptors, including the kainate receptor, in the central nervous system. Worldwide shortages of this seaweed natural product in the year 2000 prompted numerous chemical syntheses, including scalable preparations with as few as six‐steps. Herein we report the discovery and characterization of the concise two‐enzyme biosynthetic pathway to kainic acid from l ‐glutamic acid and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate in red macroalgae and show that the biosynthetic genes are co‐clustered in genomes of Digenea simplex and Palmaria palmata. Moreover, we applied a key biosynthetic α‐ketoglutarate‐dependent dioxygenase enzyme in a biotransformation methodology to efficiently construct kainic acid on the gram scale. This study establishes both the feasibility of mining seaweed genomes for their biotechnological prowess.     

Chemical Composition and Potential Practical Application of 15 Red Algal Species from the White Sea Coast (the Arctic Ocean)

Though numerous valuable compounds from red algae already experience high demand in medicine, nutrition, and different branches of industry, these organisms are still recognized as an underexploited resource. This study provides a comprehensive characterization of the chemical composition of 15 Arctic red algal species from the perspective of their practical relevance in medicine and the food industry. We show that several virtually unstudied species may be regarded as promising sources of different valuable metabolites and minerals. Thus, several filamentous ceramialean algae (Ceramium virgatum, Polysiphonia stricta, Savoiea arctica) had total protein content of 20–32% of dry weight, which is comparable to or higher than that of already commercially exploited species (Palmaria palmata, Porphyra sp.). Moreover, ceramialean algae contained high amounts of pigments, macronutrients, and ascorbic acid. Euthora cristata (Gigartinales) accumulated free essential amino acids, taurine, pantothenic acid, and floridoside. Thalli of P. palmata and C. virgatum contained the highest amounts of the nonproteinogenic amino acid β-alanine (9.1 and 3.2 μM g⁻¹ DW, respectively). Several red algae tend to accumulate heavy metals; although this may limit their application in the food industry, it makes them promising candidates for phytoremediation or the use as bioindicators.     

Syntheses of thallusin analogues and their algal morphogenesis-inducing activities

Thallusin is the only known natural product that induces cell differentiation followed by formation of a thallus during the growth of green macroalgae such as Monostroma and Ulva. Herein, various thallusin analogues based on the terpen skeleton were synthesized to study the structure?activity relationships of thallusin. The potency of the synthetic analogues was investigated in an experimental assay, which demonstrated that the 19-methyl group in thallusin is essential for potent morphogenesis-inducing activity.     

超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定海水悬浮颗粒物中的8种典型脂溶性藻毒素

海水悬浮颗粒物对海洋环境中污染物的迁移转化有着重要的影响,在海水悬浮颗粒物上富集的脂溶性藻毒素会严重的毒害海洋滤食性生物。本研究建立了海水悬浮颗粒物中8种典型脂溶性藻毒素同步测定的超高效液相色谱-串联质谱( UPLC-MS/MS)分析方法。海水悬浮颗粒物样品经甲醇超声辅助提取后,以5 mmol/L 乙酸铵水溶液和乙腈为流动相,经1.7微米C18色谱柱分离,采用电喷雾串联质谱( ESI-MS/MS)多反应监测( MRM )模式检测,外标法定量。结果表明,在最佳实验条件下,8种目标物在5 min内分离良好,加标回收率在83.8%~110.4%之间,方法具有良好的精密度(相对标准偏差( RSD)≤14.1%)和灵敏度(检出限介于2.9~103 pg/g之间),在线性范围内,相关系数(R2)均大于0.996,能满足海水悬浮颗粒物中8种典型脂溶性藻毒素同步检测的要求。采用本方法初步分析了青岛沿岸海域海水悬浮颗粒物中的脂溶性藻毒素,其中PTX2被检出,含量最高可达790 pg/g(干重)。     

Seasonal Changes in Essential Oil Constituents of Cystoseira compressa: First Report

Marine macroalgae are well known to release a wide spectrum of volatile organic components, the release of which is affected by environmental factors. This paper aimed to identify the essential oil (EO) compounds of the brown algae Cystoseira compressa collected in the Adriatic Sea monthly, from May until August. EOs were isolated by hydrodistillation using a Clavenger-type apparatus and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS). One hundred four compounds were identified in the volatile fraction of C. compressa, accounting for 84.37–89.43% of the total oil. Samples from May, June, and July were characterized by a high share of fatty acids (56, 69, and 34% respectively) with palmitic acid being the dominant one, while in the August sample, a high content of alcohols (mainly phytol and oleyl alcohol) was found. Changes in the other minor components, which could be important for the overall aroma and biological activities of the algal samples, have also been noted during the vegetation periods. The results of this paper contribute to studies of algal EOs and present the first report on C. compressa EOs.     

The vegetative arctic freshwater green alga Zygnema is insensitive to experimental UV exposure

The physiological performance and ultrastructural integrity of the vegetative freshwater green alga Zygnema sp., growing under ambient polar day solar radiation and after exposure to experimentally low radiation, but with high UVR:PAR ratio were investigated. In the laboratory, algae were exposed to low photosynthetic active radiation (PAR = P, 400–700 nm, 20 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹), PAR + UV-A = PA (320–400 nm, 4.00 W m⁻² = UV-A) and PAR + UV-A + UV-B = PAB (280–320 nm, 0.42 W m⁻² = UV-B) for 24 h at 7 °C. Photosynthetic performance and ultrastructure of ambient solar radiation-exposed (field control) and experimentally treated Zygnema samples were assessed using chlorophyll fluorescence, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). No significant treatment effect was observed in the photosynthesis–irradiance curve parameters. Exclusion of the UV-B spectrum in the laboratory treatment caused significantly lower effective photosynthetic quantum yield compared to samples exposed to the whole radiation spectrum. TEM revealed no obvious differences in the ultrastructure of field control and laboratory P-, PA- and PAB-exposed samples. Substantial amounts of lipid bodies, visualized by Sudan IV staining, were observed in all samples. Chloroplasts contained numerous plastoglobules. Organelles like mitochondria, Golgi bodies and the nucleus remained unaffected by the radiation exposures. Zygnema is well adapted to ambient solar radiation, enabling the alga to cope with experimental UV exposure and it is expected to persist in a scenario with enhanced UV radiation caused by stratospheric ozone depletion.     

Lipidomics of the Edible Brown Alga Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) by Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Electrospray Ionization and Tandem Mass Spectrometry

The lipidome of a brown seaweed commonly known as wakame (Undaria pinnatifida), which is grown and consumed around the world, including Western countries, as a healthy nutraceutical food or supplement, was here extensively examined. The study was focused on the characterization of phospholipids (PL) and glycolipids (GL) by liquid chromatography (LC), either hydrophilic interaction LC (HILIC) or reversed-phase LC (RPLC), coupled to electrospray ionization (ESI) and mass spectrometry (MS), operated both in high and in low-resolution mode. Through the acquisition of single (MS) and tandem (MS/MS) mass spectra more than 200 PL and GL of U. pinnatifida extracts were characterized in terms of lipid class, fatty acyl (FA) chain composition (length and number of unsaturations), and regiochemistry, namely 16 SQDG, 6 SQMG, 12 DGDG, 5 DGMG, 29 PG, 8 LPG, 19 PI, 14 PA, 19 PE, 8 PE, 38 PC, and 27 LPC. The FA (C16:0) was the most abundant saturated acyl chain, whereas the monounsaturated C18:1 and the polyunsaturated C18:2 and C20:4 chains were the prevailing ones. Odd-numbered acyl chains, iJ., C15:0, C17:0, C19:0, and C19:1, were also recognized. While SQDG exhibited the longest and most unsaturated acyl chains, C18:1, C18:2, and C18:3, in the sn-1 position of glycerol, they were preferentially located in the sn-2 position in the case of PL. The developed analytical approach might pave the way to extend lipidomic investigations also for other edible marine algae, thus emphasizing their potential role as a source of bioactive lipids.     

Luminaolide, a novel metamorphosis-enhancing macrodiolide for scleractinian coral larvae from crustose coralline algae

A new metamorphosis-enhancing macrodiolide, luminaolide (1), was isolated from the crustose coralline algae (CCA) Hydrolithonreinboldii. Its structure was determined by spectroscopic analysis. A fraction (1.30 μg/mL) eluted with 80% aqueous MeOH by ODS gel column chromatography of the same CCA extract induced larval metamorphosis (25.9 ± 7.4%) against Leptastrea purpurea, and its metamorphosis-inducing activity was further enhanced to 92.6 ± 2.9% with the addition of 1 (25.6 ng/mL).     

藻类去除水体中重金属的机理及应用

重金属污染水体的修复,以及含重金属工业废水的处理关乎地球上生物的健康发展。利用低耗能、高修复效率、环境友好、适用范围广泛的藻类去除水体中的重金属,已越来越受到研究者的关注。本文综述了国内外藻类去除水体中重金属的研究进展。分析了藻类去除重金属的生化结构;重点阐述了藻类吸附及富集重金属的机理;讨论了活藻体和死亡藻体用于水体中重金属去除的应用及影响因素,并比较了两者的适用范围及筛选标准;最后指出此领域尚存在的问题,展望了藻类去除重金属的未来发展方向。