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La Clinica Terapeutica 2015In the recent years, a growing interest for nutraceutical algae (tablets, capsules, drops) has been developed, due to their effective health benefits, as a potential... (Review)
Review
In the recent years, a growing interest for nutraceutical algae (tablets, capsules, drops) has been developed, due to their effective health benefits, as a potential alternative to the classic drugs. This review explores the use of cyanobacterium Spirulina, the microalgae Chlorella, Dunaliella, Haematococcus, and the macroalgae Klamath, Ascophyllum, Lithothamnion, Chondrus, Hundaria, Glacilaria, Laminaria, Asparagopsis, Eisenia, Sargassum as nutraceuticals and dietary supplements, in terms of production, nutritional components and evidence-based health benefits. Thus, our specific goals are: 1) Overview of the algae species currently used in nutraceuticals; 2) Description of their characteristics, action mechanisms, and possible side effects; 3) Perspective of specific algae clinical investigations development.
Topics: Chlorella; Dietary Supplements; Functional Food; Humans; Phaeophyceae; Rhodophyta; Spirulina
PubMed: 26378764
DOI: 10.7417/T.2015.1875 -
Iranian Journal of Biotechnology Oct 2021MicroRNA (miRNA) is a key regulator at the gene posttranscriptional regulation level. We have previously identified miRNAs and their putative targets in 3 representative...
BACKGROUND
MicroRNA (miRNA) is a key regulator at the gene posttranscriptional regulation level. We have previously identified miRNAs and their putative targets in 3 representative red algae, , and .
OBJECTIVES
In this study, unique molecular and evolutionary characterization of miRNAs were revealed in the 3 red algae based on the comparative miRNAs profiling.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Genome locations of small RNAs (sRNAs), miRNAs and () in the 3 red algae were shown by collinearity analysis. Characterization of miRNAs and were profiled via bioinformatics analysis. Taken and miR156s for examples, red algae miRNAs evolutionary features were demonstrated via phylogenetic and evolutionary information analysis. MiRNA targets main inhibition type was validated via performing data statistics and RLM-RACE PCR. Key target genes and their function were predicted by the common Gene Ontolgoy (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis.
RESULTS
Quantity, nucleotide bias and common sequences of miRNAs were analyzed in the 3 red algae. Four typical precursor structures and primary molecular features of red algae miRNAs were profiled. Genome-wide collinearity analysis of sRNAs, miRNAs and in the 3 red algae was performed to show their distribution and interrelation based on the deep sequencing data. Taken red algae for example, their family members and sequences divergence were demonstrated. The whole evolutionary processes of miR156s and pre-miR156s in red algae were steady with negative selected pressure though diverse phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary parameters showed. Through 3 red algae miR156 targets validation, cleavage was validated as their main miRNA targets inhibition type. The common target genes (GO:0009536) enriched significantly for plastid formation will provide important insights for red algal biopigment research. The common KEGG pathways (ko01100) enriched significantly were predicted without a detailed reference metabolic map.
CONCLUSIONS
MiRNA plays an essential role in gene expression regulation involved in diverse biological processes of red algae. Comprehensive molecular and evolutionary features of miRNAs in the 3 red algae will provide insights for further utilizing the algae resources at the molecular level.
PubMed: 35350641
DOI: 10.30498/ijb.2021.247164.2868 -
Biology Sep 2022Biofuel continues to thrive as an outstanding source of renewable energy for the global community. Several resources have been proposed as sources of feedstocks for... (Review)
Review
Biofuel continues to thrive as an outstanding source of renewable energy for the global community. Several resources have been proposed as sources of feedstocks for biofuel; however, some of these have shortcoming. The use of biomass such as algae as a source of feedstock for biofuel is undoubtedly sustainable and green. Unfortunately, the use of algae oil for biodiesel production is underutilized in developing countries. Therefore, this study focuses on finding a better understanding of the evolving prospects and current challenges facing biodiesel production from algae oil in developing countries. The study revealed that less attention is given to the use of algae oil in biodiesel production due to poor enlightenment on biotechnology, high poverty rates, government policies, business strategies, and poor funding of research. Interestingly, several species of algae that can serve as sustainable feedstocks for biodiesel production have been identified in developing countries. It is evident that algae oil has properties that qualify it for the production of biodiesel with fuel properties that meet both the American Society for Testing and Materials and the European standards for biodiesel.
PubMed: 36290321
DOI: 10.3390/biology11101418 -
Desalination Sep 2019Global demand for water is rising. A sustainable and energy efficient approach is needed to desalinate brackish sources for agricultural and municipal water use. Genetic...
Global demand for water is rising. A sustainable and energy efficient approach is needed to desalinate brackish sources for agricultural and municipal water use. Genetic variation among two algae species, species ( sp.) and (), in their tolerance and uptake of salt (NaCl) was examined for potential bio-desalination of brackish water. Salt-tolerant hyper-accumulators were evaluated in a batch photobioreactors over salinity concentration ranging from 2 g/L to 20 g/L and different nutrient composition for their growth rate and salt-uptake. During algae growth phase, the doubling time varied between 0.63 and 1.81 days for sp. and 3.1 to 5.9 for . The initial salt-uptake followed pseudo first order kinetics where the rate constant ranged between -3.58 and -7.68 day reaching up to 30% in a single cycle. The halophyte algae sp. and that were selected for pilot-scale studies here represent a promising new method for desalination of brackish waters. Halophytic technologies combined with the potential use of algae for biofuel, which offsets energy demand, can provide a sustainable solution for clean, affordable water and energy.
PubMed: 32704185
DOI: 10.1016/j.desal.2019.05.002 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2022Marine fungi are largely associated with second most inhabitants of the marine ecosystem such as sponges and algae. They are important colonizers and play vital...
Marine fungi are largely associated with second most inhabitants of the marine ecosystem such as sponges and algae. They are important colonizers and play vital ecological roles, such as nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition, and symbiosis with other organisms. High throughput sequencing methods have been used successfully to reveal unknown fungal communities associated with a number of hosts particularly in the marine environment. However, the diversity of marine fungi associated with sponges and brown algae in Mauritius remains largely unknown. Traditional methods based on culturing do not provide reliable estimate of fungal diversity as only those that are able to grow under laboratory conditions are dominant; in addition, a large proportion of fungi, cultured remain most of the time unidentifiable, given that there are no sporulating structures to be examined morphologically. To overcome these limitations, we employed Illumina sequencing to unravel fungi species present in the sponges, sp. and sp. and the brown algae , , and , collected from the north of Mauritius. Diversity analyses revealed that sp. had the highest diversity from the sampled sponges with fungi from 24 orders being recovered while from brown algae; had the highest diversity with recovery of fungal taxa of the orders , , , , and with the latter four orders being common in both sampled algae and sponges. Beta diversity analyses revealed clustering only in the algae, , and and not in the co-occurring sponges, indicating that sampling location did not have much influence on fungal diversity. Our findings provide the first amplicon sequencing based insights of the fungal communities associated with macro-algae and sponges in Mauritius and supplements research on the fungal community existing in the oceans around the world.
PubMed: 36386692
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1003790 -
Mathematical Biosciences and... Feb 2022In the paper, under the stress of aggregation and reproduction mechanism of algae, we proposed a modified algae and fish model with aggregation and Allee effect, its...
In the paper, under the stress of aggregation and reproduction mechanism of algae, we proposed a modified algae and fish model with aggregation and Allee effect, its main purpose was to further ascertain the dynamic relationship between algae and fish. Several critical conditions were investigated to guarantee the existence and stabilization of all possible equilibrium points, and ensure that the model could undergo transcritical bifurcation, saddle-node bifurcation, Hopf bifurcation and B-T bifurcation. Numerical simulation results of related bifurcation dynamics were provided to verify the feasibility of theoretical derivation, and visually demonstrate the changing trend of the dynamic relationship. Our results generalized and improved some known results, and showed that the aggregation and Allee effect played a vital role in the dynamic relationship between algae and fish.
Topics: Animals; Computer Simulation; Models, Biological
PubMed: 35341269
DOI: 10.3934/mbe.2022169 -
Frontiers in Plant Science 2017Lichens and free-living terrestrial algae are widespread across many habitats and develop successfully in ecosystems where a cold winter limits survival. With the goal...
Lichens and free-living terrestrial algae are widespread across many habitats and develop successfully in ecosystems where a cold winter limits survival. With the goal of comparing photoprotective responses in free-living and lichenized algae, the physiological responses to chilling and photochilling conditions were studied in three lichens and their isolated algal photobionts together as well as in a fourth free-living algal species. We specifically addressed the following questions: (i) Are there general patterns of acclimation in green algae under chilling and photochilling stresses? (ii) Do free-living algae exhibit a similar pattern of responses as their lichenized counterparts? (iii) Are these responses influenced by the selection pressure of environmental conditions or by the phylogenetic position of each species? To answer these questions, photosynthetic fluorescence measurements as well as pigment and low molecular weight carbohydrate pool analyses were performed under controlled laboratory conditions. In general, photochemical efficiency in all free-living algae decreased with increasing duration of the stress, while the majority of lichens maintained an unchanged photochemical activity. Nevertheless, these patterns cannot be generalized because the alga and the lichen (associated with photobionts) both showed a similar decrease in photochemical efficiency. In contrast, in the couple -, only the algal partner exhibited a broad physiological performance under stress. This study also highlights the importance of the xanthophyll cycle in response to the studied lichens and algae to photochilling stress, while the accumulation of sugars was not related to cold acclimation, except in the alga . The differences in response patterns detected among species can be mainly explained by their geographic origin, although the phylogenetic position should also be considered, especially in some species.
PubMed: 28725228
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2017.01144 -
Anais Da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias 2022Recent years have seen a significant increase in the number of patents related to products and/or processes from aquatic organisms. Therefore, this paper aims to...
Recent years have seen a significant increase in the number of patents related to products and/or processes from aquatic organisms. Therefore, this paper aims to identify patent documents related to fishery resources available in the Brazilian patent system of the National Institute of Industrial Property. The research involved patents deposited/provided between 1999 and 2019, with the search in the system occurring through the descriptors: fish(s), mollusk(s), crustacean(s), and algae(s). A total of 363 records were found, where the group of fish presented the highest representation (40%), followed by algae (35%), crustaceans (14%), and mollusks (10%). The apex of 34 patent applications was found in the year 2011. Moreover, the results showed that the inventions registered are directed mainly to food, drugs, biocides, cosmetics, cultivation, processing and beneficiation, water treatment, patents for sustainable technologies (green patents), and biotechnology. Brazil holds most patent applications, followed by the United States of America (USA), which focuses its patent applications mainly on algae and fish. Considering the Brazilian biodiversity and the country's technological development in recent years, Brazil needs to expand its technological autonomy and competitive capacity in the aquaculture and fisheries sector, mainly through the strengthening of R&D and innovation activities.
Topics: Animals; Biotechnology; Brazil; Cosmetics; Fisheries; Inventions; United States
PubMed: 35319597
DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202220191363 -
Scientific Reports Nov 2022Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is widely used for species analysis, while the use of environmental RNA (eRNA) metabarcoding is more limited. We conducted...
Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is widely used for species analysis, while the use of environmental RNA (eRNA) metabarcoding is more limited. We conducted comparative eDNA/eRNA metabarcoding of the algae and arthropods (aquatic insects) in water samples from Naka River, Japan, to evaluate their potential for biological monitoring and water quality assessment. Both methods detected various algae and arthropod species; however, their compositions were remarkably different from those in traditional field surveys (TFSs), indicating low sensitivity. For algae, the species composition derived from eDNA and eRNA metabarcoding was equivalent. While TFSs focus on attached algae, metabarcoding analysis theoretically detects both planktonic and attached algae. A recently expanded genomic database for aquatic insects significantly contributed to the sensitivity and positive predictivity for arthropods. While the sensitivity of eRNA was lower than that of eDNA, the positive predictivity of eRNA was higher. The eRNA of terrestrial arthropods indicated extremely high or low read numbers when compared with eDNA, suggesting that eRNA could be an effective indicator of false positives. Arthropod and algae eDNA/eRNA metabarcoding analysis enabled water quality estimates from TFSs. The eRNA of algae and arthropods could thus be used to evaluate biodiversity and water quality and provide insights from ecological surveys.
Topics: Animals; Rivers; Water Quality; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; Arthropods; RNA; Environmental Monitoring; DNA, Environmental
PubMed: 36400924
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23888-1 -
Environmental Science and Ecotechnology Oct 2020The increased global demand for plastic materials has led to severe plastic waste pollution, particularly to the marine environment. This critical issue affects both sea... (Review)
Review
The increased global demand for plastic materials has led to severe plastic waste pollution, particularly to the marine environment. This critical issue affects both sea life and human beings since microplastics can enter the food chain and cause several health impacts. Plastic recycling, chemical treatments, incineration and landfill are apparently not the optimum solutions for reducing plastic pollution. Hence, this review presents two newly identified environmentally friendly approaches, plastic biodegradation and bioplastic production using algae, to solve the increased global plastic waste. Algae, particularly microalgae, can degrade the plastic materials through the toxins systems or enzymes synthesized by microalgae itself while using the plastic polymers as carbon sources. Utilizing algae for plastic biodegradation has been critically reviewed in this paper to demonstrate the mechanism and how microplastics affect the algae. On the other hand, algae-derived bioplastics have identical properties and characteristics as petroleum-based plastics, while remarkably being biodegradable in nature. This review provides new insights into different methods of producing algae-based bioplastics (e.g., blending with other materials and genetic engineering), followed by the discussion on the challenges and further research direction to increase their commercial feasibility.
PubMed: 36157709
DOI: 10.1016/j.ese.2020.100065