Article
Microbiology
Aiyou Huang, Hejing Shi, Ruoxuan Cui, Xiaoni Cai, Zhenyu Xie
Summary: A study has found that taurine can significantly promote the growth and photosynthesis efficiency of Symbiodinium sp., as well as positively affect its biomass and major metabolites. Taurine may also influence the metabolic pathways and transcription processes of Symbiodinium sp. through various mechanisms, while controlling the population density and initiating a series of response mechanisms.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Kaila Smith, Deserah D. Strand, David M. Kramer, Berkley J. Walker
Summary: Photorespiration is an important component in leaf energetics, consuming substantial energy in the forms of ATP and reductant. This study explores the impact of photorespiration on the flexibility of the light reactions in nicotiana tabacum. The results suggest that decreased photosynthetic efficiency at low photorespiratory flux is related to feedback regulation at the chloroplast ATP synthase, while decreased efficiency at high photorespiratory flux results in the accumulation of photoinhibition at photosystem II centers. These findings challenge the conventional role of photorespiration as a photoprotective electron sink and highlight the novel role of ATP consumption in maintaining ATP synthase activity.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jeremy Carlot, Heloise Rouze, Diego R. Barneche, Alexandre Merciere, Benoit Espiau, Ulisse Cardini, Simon J. Brandl, Jordan M. Casey, Gonzalo Perez-Rosales, Mehdi Adjeroud, Laetitia Hedouin, Valeriano Parravicini
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between physiological rates and colony size in coral colonies, and finds that calcification rates increase with decreasing colony size in different coral taxa. However, photosynthesis and respiration rates remain constant across different sizes of coral colonies. The study also reveals a correlation between the demographic dynamics of coral genera and the ratio between net primary production and calcification rates.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Bing Lin, Yiwen Zeng, Gregory P. P. Asner, David S. S. Wilcove
Summary: By combining Instagram data from tourists and live coral cover maps in Hawaii, this study reveals that coral reefs both attract and suffer from coastal tourism. Higher live coral cover attracts more visitors, but their visitation contributes to subsequent reef degradation. This finding highlights the economic value of coral reefs and the importance of effective conservation management.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elena Bollati, Yaeli Rosenberg, Noa Simon-Blecher, Raz Tamir, Oren Levy, Danwei Huang
Summary: Urbanized coral reefs are often impacted by sedimentation and reduced light levels, but many coral species can still thrive under these disturbed conditions. A study on the transcriptomic response to sediment stress in corals found that exposure to sediment induced upregulation of genes related to energy metabolism and immune response, with anaerobic glycolysis and glyoxylate bypass enzymes being significantly affected. This suggests that hypoxia may be a driving factor for the molecular response of corals to sediment stress.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kate Quigley, Nicholas Carey, Carlos Alvarez Roa
Summary: Metabolic activity is crucial for understanding life on earth, and measuring organismal metabolic rates is essential for explaining physiological states, ecological roles, and the impact of environmental change on species. However, there is a lack of methods and data regarding metabolic rate measurements in coral offspring. To address this gap, this study aimed to develop a custom setup for measuring the respiration of small marine animal ecologies, allowing for improved measurement of metabolic rate.
JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Alexandre C. C. Siqueira, Pooventhran Muruga, David R. R. Bellwood
Summary: The biodiversity of tropical reefs is characterized by the interaction between fishes and corals. However, only a minority of fish species strongly associate with live corals, and there is no coevolutionary pattern between the fish and coral lineages. The expansion of reef structures, rather than coral association, is more likely responsible for the Miocene fish diversification.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Thomas J. F. Goreau
Summary: Coral reefs are collapsing rapidly due to various factors, and urgent steps are necessary to regenerate them. The use of safe electrical stimulation has shown potential in increasing settlement, growth, and survival of marine organisms under extreme stress conditions. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms at the cellular and molecular levels. Electrical stimulation is the only known method to reverse the impacts of extreme stresses on corals and other marine organisms.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Crawford Drury, Roberta E. Martin, David E. Knapp, Joseph Heckler, Joshua Levy, Ruth D. Gates, Gregory P. Asner
Summary: To improve coral conservation and management, we used historical bleaching phenotypes, imaging spectroscopy, and temperature stress to map coral species composition and thermal tolerance. Spectral data accurately distinguished benthic composition and coral species and showed potential for mapping thermal tolerance. Additionally, we strengthened the relationship between predictions and conserved tolerance phenotypes through a study of a marine heatwave in 2019.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biology
Peter J. J. Edmunds
Summary: Coral recruitment is the addition of new individuals to populations and plays a crucial role in population size. Understanding the factors influencing coral recruitment and its ability to support community resilience is crucial due to declines in coral cover and abundance. Settlement tiles have proven to be effective tools in measuring coral recruitment and future studies should focus on expanding taxonomic resolution and using time series of settlement tile deployments.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Malgorzata Rydzy, Michal Tracz, Andrzej Szczepaniak, Joanna Grzyb
Summary: Rubisco is a crucial enzyme for photosynthesis, with different isoforms existing in various organisms. Despite confirmation of Rubisco presence in dinoflagellates, the successful purification and crystal structure determination have not been achieved. In this study, in silico tools were used to generate possible structures of dinoflagellate Rubisco, revealing unique features and potential insights for future research on this enzyme.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nadiezhda Santodomingo, Chris Perry, Zarinah Waheed, Muhammad Ali Bin Syed Hussein, Allia Rosedy, Kenneth G. Johnson
Summary: This study documented the magnitude, types, sources, and potential impacts of marine litter on six coral reefs in East Sabah. The research found that plastics dominate the litter, primarily single-use items, with discarded fishing gear also making up a significant portion. Litter pollution is more severe closer to urban developments.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Angelo Jason Spadaro, Mark J. Butler
Summary: The study shows that herbivorous crabs play a significant role in removing seaweed and promoting coral reef recovery. By reducing seaweed cover, increasing coral recruitment, and enhancing reef fish community abundance and diversity, the crabs can reverse the ecological phase shift on coral reefs away from seaweed dominance. Compared to manual scrubbing, the herbivory of crabs has a more lasting effect on reducing algae cover and restoring coral reefs.
Article
Microbiology
Justin Maire, Pranali Deore, Vanta J. Jameson, Magdaline Sakkas, Alexis Perez-Gonzalez, Linda L. Blackall, Madeleine J. H. van Oppen
Summary: The study shows that bacterial communities associated with Symbiodiniaceae respond to heat selection and may contribute to coral adaptation to climate change.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mikihiro Sugiura, Ko Yasumoto, Mariko Iijima, Yuya Oaki, Hiroaki Imai
Summary: The calcareous skeletons of stony corals consist of low-crystalline core and fibrous crystals. The formation of fibrous aragonite around the core is primarily regulated by abiotic environmental parameters. The coral's total mineralization is controlled by biological activities.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Patricia Cabrales-Arellano, Tania Islas-Flores, Patricia E. Thome, Marco A. Villanueva
Article
Microbiology
Tania Islas-Flores, Esmeralda Perez-Cervantes, Jessica Nava-Galeana, Montserrat Loredo-Guillen, Gabriel Guillen, Marco A. Villanueva
JOURNAL OF EUKARYOTIC MICROBIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
J. M. Ramon-Sierra, M. A. Villanueva, M. Rodriguez-Mendiola, D. Resendez-Perez, E. Ortiz-Vazquez, C. Arias-Castro
Summary: The non-glycosylated protein fraction from Melipona beecheii honey showed significant antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli O157:H7. It consisted of at least three proteins, with MbF1-2 providing over 50% of the antimicrobial activity. Additionally, these proteins demonstrated antihaemolytic activity and inhibited the expression of virulence genes in the pathogen, showing potential for developing therapeutic agents against this bacterium.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Patricia E. Thome, Jacqueline Rivera-Ortega, Jenny C. Rodriguez-Villalobos, Daniel Cerqueda-Garcia, Edgar O. Guzman-Urieta, Jose Q. Garcia-Maldonado, Natalia Carabantes, Eric Jordan-Dahlgren
Summary: The study on Mexican Reef System coral reefs revealed a white syndrome similar to White Plague II, affecting meandroid scleractinian coral species. By examining a brain coral species, researchers described disease signals, outbreak dynamics, tissue histopathology, and immunological responses to the affliction. Results indicated a high incidence of white syndrome in summer-fall, low survival rates for diseased colonies, and a complex relationship between causal agents and colony resistance.
Article
Microbiology
Tania Islas-Flores, Edgardo Galan-Vasquez, Marco A. Villanueva
Summary: The dinoflagellate Symbiodiniaceae family plays a crucial role in supporting the health of coral reef ecosystem. By taking advantage of a unique characteristic, researchers successfully generated a cDNA library from a species of Symbiodinium microadriaticum and found that the library based on the Dino-SL sequence outperformed the one based on the SMART technology in terms of yield and quality of sequences.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Raul Eduardo Castillo-Medina, Tania Islas-Flores, Marco Villanueva
Summary: This study found that the phosphorylation levels of SmicHSP75 protein in Symbiodinium microadriaticum were altered under light stimulation and heat stress conditions, independent of changes in protein expression.
ACTA BIOCHIMICA POLONICA
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Luis P. Suescun-Bolivar, Patricia E. Thome
Summary: Signaling pathways play a crucial role in establishing and maintaining symbiotic relationships. This study investigated the involvement of a signaling pathway in inducing glycerol synthesis in cnidarian symbionts under osmotic stress, finding that a p38 MAPK inhibitor selectively inhibited glycerol production. Additionally, phosphorylation of a putative p38-like protein was rapidly detected.
JOURNAL OF EUKARYOTIC MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Jesus M. Ramon-Sierra, Marco A. Villanueva, Alejandro Yam-Puc, Martha Rodriguez-Mendiola, Carlos Arias-Castro, Elizabeth Ortiz-Vazquez
Summary: Proteins from Melipona beecheii honey exhibit broad-spectrum antibacterial and antioxidant activity. They have strong antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, S. Typhimurium, E. coli, and moderate activity against P. aeruginosa, with MIC values of 1.4 +/- 0.2, 15 +/- 1, 39 +/- 2, 1 +/- 0.1, and 75 +/- 2 mu g/mL, respectively. The proteins also demonstrate high antioxidant activity, measured by DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 2.4 +/- 0.4 mu g/mL) and reducing power of Fe(III) (IC50 = 1.8 +/- 0.2 mu g/mL), possibly due to their reducing agent and free radical scavenging properties.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Raul Eduardo Castillo-Medina, Tania Islas-Flores, Estefania Morales-Ruiz, Marco A. Villanueva
Summary: In this study, the coding and promoter region sequences of the SBiP1 protein from Symbiodinium microadriaticum CassKB8 were obtained and analyzed. It was found that SBiP1 is a member of the BiP/HSP70 family and its light-modulated phosphorylation/dephosphorylation likely functions as an activity switch for the chaperone. This light-induced modulation occurs relatively slow but is highly sensitive to the full spectrum of visible light.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jacqueline Rivera-Ortega, Patricia E. Thome
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2018)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Mario Fernando Ortiz-Matamoros, Marco A. Villanueva, Tania Islas-Flores
BRIEFINGS IN FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS
(2018)
Review
Ecology
Aki H. Ohdera, Michael J. Abrams, Cheryl L. Ames, David M. Baker, Luis P. Suescun-Bolivar, Allen G. Collins, Christopher J. Freeman, Edgar Gamero-Mora, Tamar L. Goulet, Dietrich K. Hofmann, Adrian Jaimes-Becerra, Paul F. Long, Antonio C. Marques, Laura A. Miller, Laura D. Mydlarz, Andre C. Morandini, Casandra R. Newkirk, Sastia P. Putri, Julia E. Samson, Sergio N. Stampar, Bailey Steinworth, Michelle Templeman, Patricia E. Thome, Marli Vlok, Cheryl M. Woodley, Jane C. Y. Wong, Mark Q. Martindale, William K. Fitt, Monica Medina
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2018)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Daniela E. Castro, Miguel Murguia-Romero, Patricia E. Thome, Antonio Pena, Marissa Calderon-Torres
ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2017)