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Nanoparticles of Marine Origin and Their Potential Applications
Published in Se-Kwon Kim, Marine Biochemistry, 2023
Fatemeh Sedaghat, Morteza Yousefzadi, Reza Sheikhakbari-Mehr
Marine algae are very diverse and exist almost everywhere on earth (Figure 16.6). Algae are widely used in food, medicine, and manufacturing industries. These photoautotrophic organisms are rich in bioactive molecules (such as polysaccharides (alginate, laminarin, fucoidan), polyphenols, carotenoids, fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals) having carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amine functional groups which serve as reducing as well as a capping agent to form metal NPs. This leads to the origin of a new promising field of research called “phyco-nanotechnology” [Asmathunisha and Kathiresan, 2013; Gautam et al., 2019; Singh et al., 2015].
Bacteria
Published in Julius P. Kreier, Infection, Resistance, and Immunity, 2022
Some bacteria have the capability of synthesizing all of their cellular carbon compounds from carbon dioxide or carbonate and their other nutritional requirements from nonorganic sources, using energy to do so derived either from (A) the oxidation of one of the following nonorganic chemicals: ferrous iron, ammonium, methane, or inorganic sulfur (these organisms are called chemoautotrophs or autotrophs), or (B) light (these organisms are called photoautotrophs or phototrophs).
Seaweeds
Published in Parimelazhagan Thangaraj, Phytomedicine, 2020
L. Stanley Abraham, Vasantharaja Raguraman, R. Thirugnanasambandam, K. M. Smitha, D. Inbakandan, P. Premasudha
The red algae consist of several species with no flagellated stages, and they are grouped under the Rhodophyta division. They are marine organisms and commonly found in abundance in warmer waters with greater depth. The majority of the other species grow on rocks or another substratum, and mostly, they are photoautotrophs. The thallus structure differs among the species from unicellular to filamentous, and its form can be from that of an ancestor, organized from parenchymatous filaments. The accessory pigments are chlorophyll a, phycobilins as r,b-phycoerythrin and r-phycocyanin, carotenoids as α- and β-carotene, and xanthophylls as lutein. The cell wall of these algae contains pectin, cellulose, and polysulphide esters. The microfibrillar fraction of cellulose is significantly lower than the other algal groups.
High-throughput method development for in-situ quantification of aquatic phototrophic biofilms
Published in Biofouling, 2022
Maria Papadatou, Mollie Knight, Maria Salta
Aquatic phototrophic biofilms are mixed microbial conglomerations formed and attached to submerged solid surfaces, typically composed by light-driven autotrophs and heterotrophs that are surrounded and stabilized by self- producing extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) (Hoagland et al. 1993; Cooksey and Wigglesworth-Cooksey 1995; Landoulsi et al. 2011). In a nutshell, at the top biofilm phototrophic layer, oxygenic photoautotrophs are prevailing, whilst the internal part of the biofilms consists of heterotrophs (bacteria, protozoa, fungi) and anoxygenic phototrophs (Roeselers et al. 2007; Bharti et al. 2017). Oxygenic photoautotrophs (primary producers) primarily consist of diatoms, green algae, and cyanobacteria that possess photosynthesizing components enabling them to use light energy and reduce carbon dioxide, thus producing oxygen and organic substrates (Roeselers et al. 2007, 2008).
An overview on cyanobacterial blooms and toxins production: their occurrence and influencing factors
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2022
Isaac Yaw Massey, Muwaffak Al osman, Fei Yang
It is well established that nitrogen fixation is an important feature of some cyanobacteria species and in terms of nutrition nitrogen-fixing, cyanobacteria are considered the most self-sufficient among other organisms. They are photoautotrophs that require only light energy, CO2, dinitrogen (N2), water and some minerals (Paerl and Huisman 2009, Paerl and Otten 2013, Paerl et al.2016, 2001). Heterocysts are specialized nitrogen-fixing cells. Heterocysts have thick cell wall, do not pose photosynthetic membrane and are larger, clearer and highly refractive under light microscope appearance. They may occur within the filament of photosynthetic cells or terminally on a filament (Paerl and Huisman 2009, Paerl and Otten 2013, Paerl et al.2016, 2001). Due to the differences in size, shape and location of heterocysts, they form a significant component in species identification. Within the heterocysts, the enzyme nitrogenase reduces molecular nitrogen to ammonia, which is incorporated into the amido group of glutamine. The thickened cell wall enables molecular oxygen to enter the cell, to be reduced (Bryant 1994, Paerl et al.2016, 2001), thus helping to maintain a highly reducing environment within the cell, necessary for nitrogen reduction.
A multidisciplinary approach to the comparison of three contrasting treatments on both lampenflora community and underlying rock surface
Published in Biofouling, 2023
Rosangela Addesso, Daniela Baldantoni, Beatriz Cubero, José Maria De La Rosa, José Antonio González Pérez, Igor Tiago, Ana Teresa Caldeira, Jo De Waele, Ana Z. Miller
In relation to the taxonomic community composition, the most abundant photosynthetic-based taxon in the Pertosa-Auletta Cave lampenflora biofilms in the untreated bare surface, was Cyanobacteria, specifically by the aerophytic filamentous cyanobacterial species Brasilonema angustatum (39.3%), belonging to the Scytonemataceae family, isolated from the island of Oahu, Hawaii (Vaccarino and Johansen 2012), and by Aerosakkonema funiforme (1.8%), gas-vacuolated oscillatorioid cyanobacterium, isolated from freshwater (Thu et al. 2012). It is well known that Cyanobacteria are among the pioneering organisms involved in lampenflora development (Popović et al. 2017; Baquedano Estévez et al. 2019; Mulec 2019; Havlena et al. 2021). The vermiculated untreated surface revealed very low amounts of photoautotrophic organisms (<1%), being mainly composed of several phyla commonly found in cave environments, such as Proteobacteria, Nitrospira, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Acidobacteria (Tomczyk-Żak and Zielenkiewicz 2016; Addesso et al. 2021). After the application of both chemical treatments on the bare surfaces, the photoautotrophs were eliminated, but not the bacterial population, mainly Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, also present on vermiculated surfaces treated with H2O2, whereas those treated with the commercial bleach (NaClO) only showed Proteobacteria. The inefficacy of the chemical treatments in removing non-photosynthetic microorganisms can be related to the presence of microbial species that can tolerate NaClO. In fact, Proteobacteria followed by Bacteroidetes have been identified as the main cause of membrane fouling in membrane bioreactors systems after NaClO backwashing (Wang et al. 2014, 2019). The eukaryotic community from both the untreated surface types was almost exclusively composed of Ephemerum spinulosum, which are plants belonging to the Pottiaceae family, typically found in very damp environments (Ignatov et al. 2013). The H2O2 treatment was more effective on eliminating members of the phylum Streptophyta than NaClO (having no effect), with a residual presence of Apicomplexa, a group of unicellular protists, and Cercozoa phylum.