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Comptes Rendus Biologies 2009Marine phytoplankton organisms account for more than 45% of the photosynthetic net primary production on Earth. They are distributed across many of the major clades of... (Review)
Review
Marine phytoplankton organisms account for more than 45% of the photosynthetic net primary production on Earth. They are distributed across many of the major clades of the tree of life and include prokaryotes, and eukaryotes that acquired photosynthesis through the process of endosymbiosis. If the number of extant described species is relatively low compared to the diversity of the terrestrial plants, recent insights into the genetic diversity of natural assemblages have revealed a large unsuspected diversity at different taxonomic levels. Wide infra-specific diversity is also being discovered in many widespread and well known morphological species. This review summarizes data obtained in the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology and genomics that have improved our understanding of the biodiversity and evolution of marine phytoplankton.
Topics: Animals; Biodiversity; Biological Evolution; Marine Biology; Oceans and Seas; Phytoplankton
PubMed: 19281949
DOI: 10.1016/j.crvi.2008.09.009 -
Historia, Ciencias, Saude--Manguinhos 2014The ecosystems of Brazil's continental shelf and oceanic islands comprise a variety of environments that display unique geomorphological and geophysical features and... (Review)
Review
The ecosystems of Brazil's continental shelf and oceanic islands comprise a variety of environments that display unique geomorphological and geophysical features and biotic components. The quest to attain knowledge of Brazilian marine fauna is hampered by coastline length, biodiversity, a high rate of endemism, and a shortage of specialized researchers. Based on a systematic bibliographic review, the article offers an overview of the history, current knowledge, and outlook for the field of marine biodiversity in Brazil. Our findings show that government initiatives have afforded greater knowledge of Brazilian marine fauna species and opened new perspectives, including reliance on complex tools to describe benthic marine habitats in terms of their geological, geophysical, and biotic composition.
Topics: Biodiversity; Brazil; History, 18th Century; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Marine Biology; Research
PubMed: 25338037
DOI: 10.1590/s0104-59702014000300011 -
Marine Drugs Dec 2014Nucleosides are glycosylamines that structurally form part of nucleotide molecules, the building block of DNA and RNA. Both nucleosides and nucleotides are vital... (Review)
Review
Nucleosides are glycosylamines that structurally form part of nucleotide molecules, the building block of DNA and RNA. Both nucleosides and nucleotides are vital components of all living cells and involved in several key biological processes. Some of these nucleosides have been obtained from a variety of marine resources. Because of the biological importance of these compounds, this review covers 68 marine originated nucleosides and their synthetic analogs published up to June 2014. The review will focus on the structures, bioactivities, synthesis and biosynthetic processes of these compounds.
Topics: Animals; Biological Factors; Humans; Marine Biology; Nucleosides; Nucleotides
PubMed: 25474189
DOI: 10.3390/md12125817 -
PloS One Jan 2011The marine areas of South America (SA) include almost 30,000 km of coastline and encompass three different oceanic domains--the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the... (Review)
Review
The marine areas of South America (SA) include almost 30,000 km of coastline and encompass three different oceanic domains--the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Atlantic--ranging in latitude from 12∘N to 55∘S. The 10 countries that border these coasts have different research capabilities and taxonomic traditions that affect taxonomic knowledge. This paper analyzes the status of knowledge of marine biodiversity in five subregions along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America (SA): the Tropical East Pacific, the Humboldt Current,the Patagonian Shelf, the Brazilian Shelves, and the Tropical West Atlantic, and it provides a review of ecosystem threats and regional marine conservation strategies. South American marine biodiversity is least well known in the tropical subregions (with the exception of Costa Rica and Panama). Differences in total biodiversity were observed between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at the same latitude. In the north of the continent, the Tropical East Pacific is richer in species than the Tropical West Atlantic, however, when standardized by coastal length, there is very little difference among them. In the south, the Humboldt Current system is much richer than the Patagonian Shelf. An analysis of endemism shows that 75% of the species are reported within only one of the SA regions, while about 22% of the species of SA are not reported elsewhere in the world. National and regional initiatives focusing on new exploration, especially to unknown areas and ecosystems, as well as collaboration among countries are fundamental to achieving the goal of completing inventories of species diversity and distribution.These inventories will allow accurate interpretation of the biogeography of its two oceanic coasts and latitudinal trends,and will also provide relevant information for science based policies.
Topics: Aquatic Organisms; Biodiversity; Informatics; Marine Biology; South America
PubMed: 21304960
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0014631 -
International Microbiology : the... Dec 2016Since its founding in 1881 by Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers (1821-1901), the Arago Laboratory of Banyuls has been one of the three marine stations of the University Pierre... (Review)
Review
Since its founding in 1881 by Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers (1821-1901), the Arago Laboratory of Banyuls has been one of the three marine stations of the University Pierre and Marie Curie-Paris 6. It is located in Banyuls (Banyuls-sur-Mer) in Northern Catalonia. The center hosts researchers and students from all over the world. Some became famous, including four Nobel Prize winners: André Lwoff (1965), Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (1991), Albert Fert (2007) and Jules Hoffmann (2011). This article focuses on five scientists closely related to the center. The first three are Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers (1821-1901), the founder; Édouard Chatton (1883-1947), eminent director of the center; and André Lwoff (1902-1994), who before being known for his work in bacterial genetics and virology was an outstanding protozoologist under the direction of Chatton. Lynn Margulis (1938-2011), a great friend of the Arago Laboratory and personal friend of the author, is also remembered. Finally, there is a mention of Walter J. Gehring (1939-2014), professor at the University of Basel, Switzerland. [Int Microbiol 19(4): 183-190 (2016)].
Topics: France; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Laboratories; Marine Biology; Research Personnel
PubMed: 28504815
DOI: 10.2436/20.1501.01.276 -
Current Biology : CB Aug 2021A novel approach to determine the lifespan of an iconic fish, the coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae, reveals that they can live up to a hundred years. This re-focuses...
A novel approach to determine the lifespan of an iconic fish, the coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae, reveals that they can live up to a hundred years. This re-focuses attention on the need to measure life-history traits that determine the demographics of fish populations.
Topics: Aging; Animals; Fishes; Fossils; Marine Biology; Phylogeny
PubMed: 34428421
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.092 -
Trends in Ecology & Evolution Feb 2018Diverse biological communities mediate the transformation, transport, and storage of elements fundamental to life on Earth, including carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen.... (Review)
Review
Diverse biological communities mediate the transformation, transport, and storage of elements fundamental to life on Earth, including carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. However, global biogeochemical model outcomes can vary by orders of magnitude, compromising capacity to project realistic ecosystem responses to planetary changes, including ocean productivity and climate. Here, we compare global carbon turnover rates estimated using models grounded in biological versus geochemical theory and argue that the turnover estimates based on each perspective yield divergent outcomes. Importantly, empirical studies that include sedimentary biological activity vary less than those that ignore it. Improving the relevance of model projections and reducing uncertainty associated with the anticipated consequences of global change requires reconciliation of these perspectives, enabling better societal decisions on mitigation and adaptation.
Topics: Carbon Cycle; Chemistry; Geology; Marine Biology; Models, Biological; Oceans and Seas
PubMed: 29248328
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2017.11.004 -
Marine Drugs May 2016Marine invertebrates provide a rich source of metabolites with anticancer activities and several marine-derived agents have been approved for the treatment of cancer.... (Review)
Review
Marine invertebrates provide a rich source of metabolites with anticancer activities and several marine-derived agents have been approved for the treatment of cancer. However, the limited supply of promising anticancer metabolites from their natural sources is a major hurdle to their preclinical and clinical development. Thus, the lack of a sustainable large-scale supply has been an important challenge facing chemists and biologists involved in marine-based drug discovery. In the current review we describe the main strategies aimed to overcome the supply problem. These include: marine invertebrate aquaculture, invertebrate and symbiont cell culture, culture-independent strategies, total chemical synthesis, semi-synthesis, and a number of hybrid strategies. We provide examples illustrating the application of these strategies for the supply of marine invertebrate-derived anticancer agents. Finally, we encourage the scientific community to develop scalable methods to obtain selected metabolites, which in the authors' opinion should be pursued due to their most promising anticancer activities.
Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Aquatic Organisms; Biological Products; Drug Discovery; Humans; Invertebrates; Marine Biology; Neoplasms
PubMed: 27213412
DOI: 10.3390/md14050098 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Apr 2019Marine environment monitoring has attracted more and more attention due to the growing concern about climate change. During the past couple of decades, advanced... (Review)
Review
Marine environment monitoring has attracted more and more attention due to the growing concern about climate change. During the past couple of decades, advanced information and communication technologies have been applied to the development of various marine environment monitoring systems. Among others, the Internet of Things (IoT) has been playing an important role in this area. This paper presents a review of the application of the Internet of Things in the field of marine environment monitoring. New technologies including advanced Big Data analytics and their applications in this area are briefly reviewed. It also discusses key research challenges and opportunities in this area, including the potential application of IoT and Big Data in marine environment protection.
Topics: Computer Communication Networks; Environmental Monitoring; Humans; Internet; Marine Biology; Remote Sensing Technology; Wireless Technology
PubMed: 30974791
DOI: 10.3390/s19071711 -
FEMS Microbiology Ecology Feb 2006The discovery of phylogenetically complex, yet highly sponge-specific microbial communities in marine sponges, including novel lineages and even candidate phyla, came as... (Review)
Review
The discovery of phylogenetically complex, yet highly sponge-specific microbial communities in marine sponges, including novel lineages and even candidate phyla, came as a surprise. At the same time, unique research opportunities opened up, because the microorganisms of sponges are in many ways more accessible than those of seawater. Accordingly, we consider sponges as microbial fermenters that provide exciting new avenues in marine microbiology and biotechnology. This review covers recent findings regarding diversity, biogeography and population dynamics of sponge-associated microbiota, and the data are discussed within the larger context of the microbiology of the ocean.
Topics: Animals; Archaea; Bacteria; Biodiversity; Marine Biology; Porifera
PubMed: 16420625
DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2005.00046.x