Hydrochemistry characterisation of protected marine ecosystems in Cadiz

Wetlands have a great natural wealth due to their borderline nature, representing the point where lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere converge. The wetlands of Cadiz, at the southern extreme of Europe, also play an important role as a stopover area for migratory birds. This paper presents the results of a sampling project conducted during the spring of 1997 in the Guadiaro and Palmones Rivers, the Barbate estuary, Sancti Petri sound, and the San Pedro River salt marsh. For each system, three sampling stations were established along a salinity gradient, and these variables were measured: salinity, pH and chloride, sulphate, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, nitrite, nitrate, silicate ammonia, organic carbon, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll and phaeopigment concentrations. Several behaviours were found for the various systems: the Guadiaro and Palmones Rivers fit a fluvial estuary pattern, with low ionic concentrations and poor remineralisation. The San Pedro River and Sancti Petri sound are tidal systems with a typical seawater composition and high benthic regeneration. The Barbate estuary represents an intermediate scenario between the preceding ones, with a pronounced salinity gradient along its course.Los humedales tienen una gran riqueza natural debido a su carácter de franja donde convergen litosfera, hidrosfera y atmósfera. Los de la provincia de Cádiz, en el extremo meridional de Europa, tienen además una gran importancia como lugar de paso de las aves migratorias. En este trabajo se exponen los resultados obtenidos durante la primavera de 1997 en los estuarios de los ríos Guadiaro y Palmones, el estuario del Barbate, en las marismas del Caño de Sancti Petri y las del río San Pedro. Para cada uno de los sistemas se establecieron tres estaciones de muestreo a lo largo del gradiente de salinidad, y se determinó la salinidad, el pH y las concentraciones de cloruro, sulfato, sodio, potasio, calcio, magnesio, nitrito, nitrato, silicato, amonio, fosfato, carbono orgánico, oxígeno disuelto, clorofila a y feopigmentos. Se encontraron diferentes comportamientos para los distintos sistemas: el Guadiaro y el Palmones responden a un patrón de estuario de tipo fluvial, con concentraciones iónicas muy bajas y una escasa remineralización de la materia orgánica. El río San Pedro y el Caño de Sancti Petri son, por el contrario, sistemas mareales con aguas de comportamiento típicamente marino y una alta regeneración bentónica. El estuario del Barbate es una situación intermedia entre las anteriores y posee un marcado gradiente de salinidades a lo largo de su cauce.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

CO2 Biocapture in photobioreactors using marine microalgae nannochloropsis gaditana

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Development and automation of photobioreactors for microalgae intensive cultures for the use in industrial gas studies

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Scutoids are a geometrical solution to three-dimensional packing of epithelia

As animals develop, tissue bending contributes to shape the organs into complex three-dimensional structures. However, the architecture and packing of curved epithelia remains largely unknown. Here we show by means of mathematical modelling that cells in bent epithelia can undergo intercalations along the apico-basal axis. This phenomenon forces cells to have different neighbours in their basal and apical surfaces. As a consequence, epithelial cells adopt a novel shape that we term “scutoid”. The detailed analysis of diverse tissues confirms that generation of apico-basal intercalations between cells is a common feature during morphogenesis. Using biophysical arguments, we propose that scutoids make possible the minimization of the tissue energy and stabilize three-dimensional packing. Hence, we conclude that scutoids are one of nature's solutions to achieve epithelial bending. Our findings pave the way to understand the three-dimensional organization of epithelial organs

Author Correction: Scutoids are a geometrical solution to three-dimensional packing of epithelia.

The original version of this Article contained an error in ref. 39, which incorrectly cited 'Fristrom, D. & Fristrom, J. W. in The Development of Drosophila melanogaster (eds. Bate, M. & Martinez-Arias, A.) II, (Cold spring harbor laboratory press, 1993)'. The correct reference is 'Condic, M.L, Fristrom, D. & Fristrom, J.W. Apical cell shape changes during Drosophila imaginal leg disc elongation: a novel morphogenetic mechanism. Development 111: 23-33 (1991)'. Furthermore, the last sentence of the fourth paragraph of the introduction incorrectly omitted citation of work by Rupprecht et al. The correct citation is given below. These errors have now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article. Rupprecht, J.F., Ong, K.H., Yin, J., Huang, A., Dinh, H.H., Singh, A.P., Zhang, S., Yu, W. & Saunders, T.E. Geometric constraints alter cell arrangements within curved epithelial tissues. Mol. Biol. Cell 28, 3582-3594 (2017)

Systemic and Local Hypoxia Synergize Through HIF1 to Compromise the Mitochondrial Metabolism of Alzheimer's Disease Microglia

Microglial cells are key contributors to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), constituting the first cellular line against Aß plaques. Local hypoxia and hypoperfusion, which are typically present in peripheral inflammatory foci, are also common in the AD brain. We describe here that Aß deposits are hypoxic and hypoperfused and that Aß plaque-associated microglia (AßAM) are characterized by the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1)-regulated genes. Notably, AßAM simultaneously upregulate the expression of genes involved in anaerobic glycolysis and oxidative mitochondrial metabolism, show elongated mitochondria surrounded by rough endoplasmic reticulum, and blunt the HIF1-mediated exclusion of pyruvate from the mitochondria through the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1). Overstabilization of HIF1 –by genetic (von Hippel-Lindau deficient microglia) or systemic hypoxia (an AD risk factor)– induces PDK1 in microglia and reduces microglial clustering in AD mouse models. The human AD brain exhibits increased HIF1 activity and a hypoxic brain area shows reduced microglial clustering. The loss of the microglial barrier associates with augmented Aß neuropathology both in the chronic hypoxia AD mouse model and the human AD brain. Thus, the synergy between local and systemic AD risk factors converges with genetic susceptibility to cause microglial dysfunction.Peer reviewe

Hypoxia compromises the mitochondrial metabolism of Alzheimer’s disease microglia via HIF1

Genetic Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk factors associate with reduced defensive amyloid β plaque-associated microglia (AβAM), but the contribution of modifiable AD risk factors to microglial dysfunction is unknown. In AD mouse models, we observe concomitant activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1) pathway and transcription of mitochondrial-related genes in AβAM, and elongation of mitochondria, a cellular response to maintain aerobic respiration under low nutrient and oxygen conditions. Overactivation of HIF1 induces microglial quiescence in cellulo, with lower mitochondrial respiration and proliferation. In vivo, overstabilization of HIF1, either genetically or by exposure to systemic hypoxia, reduces AβAM clustering and proliferation and increases Aβ neuropathology. In the human AD hippocampus, upregulation of HIF1α and HIF1 target genes correlates with reduced Aβ plaque microglial coverage and an increase of Aβ plaque-associated neuropathology. Thus, hypoxia (a modifiable AD risk factor) hijacks microglial mitochondrial metabolism and converges with genetic susceptibility to cause AD microglial dysfunction.R.M.-D. was the recipient of a Sara Borrell fellowship from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (CD09/0007). N.L.-U., C.O.-d.S.L., C.R.-M. and M.I.A.-V. were the recipients of FPU fellowships from Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (FPU14/02115, AP2010‐1598, FPU16/02050 and FPU15/02898, respectively). A.H.-G. was the recipient of an FPI fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (BES-2010-033886). This work was supported by grants from the Spanish MINEICO, ISCIII and FEDER (European Union) (SAF2012‐33816, SAF2015‐64111‐R, SAF2017-90794-REDT and PIE13/0004 to A.P.); by the Regional Government of Andalusia co-funded by CEC and FEDER funds (European Union) (‘Proyectos de Excelencia’; P12‐CTS‐2138 and P12‐CTS‐2232 to A.P.); by the ‘Ayuda de Biomedicina 2018’, Fundación Domingo Martínez (to A.P.) ; by the ISCIII of Spain, co-financed by FEDER funds (European Union) through grants PI18/01556 (to J.V.) and PI18/01557 (to A. Gutierrez); by Junta de Andalucía, co-financed by FEDER funds (grants UMA18-FEDERJA-211 (to A. Gutierrez) and US‐1262734 (to J.V.)); and by Spanish MINEICO (BFU2016-76872-R and BES-2011-047721 to E.B.).Peer reviewe

CO2 Biocapture in photobioreactors using marine microalgae nannochloropsis gaditana

Peer Reviewe

Annual variations of total and fractionated chlorophyll and phytoplankton groups in the Gulf of Cadiz

Chlorophyll and phytoplankton distribution and concentration in the Gulf of Cadiz were studied during 2014 and 2015. In both years the highest chlorophyll concentrations are found at coastal stations during spring. Pico- and nanophytoplankton are the main contributors to total chlorophyll, with highest concentrations at the outer limit of the continental shelf. Microphytoplankton is responsible for most of the inshore chlorophyll. Picophytoplankton was analyzed to determine density, biomass and distribution. Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus show differences in distribution depending on distance from the coast and depth. Our results suggest temperature and consequent water stratification seem to be the main factors determining deep fluorescence maxima (DFM), mainly formed by picophytoplankton, especially Prochlorococcus. Pigment identification assisted by CHEMTAX analysis was carried out to analyze relative concentrations of larger phytoplankton.This work was supported by the Spanish CICYT (Spanish Program for Science and Technology) under contract CTM2014-59244-C3.Peer reviewe

Utilización de pigmentos para la caracterización del microfitoplancton el en Golfo de Cádiz (2014-2015)

Trabajo presentado en el XVIII Seminario Ibérico de Química Marina, celebrado en Alicante (España) de 20 al 22 de julio de 2016.En este trabajo se estudia la evolución de clorofila así como los pigmentos asociados al microfitoplancton en el Golfo de Cádiz durante los años 2014 y 2015. El estudio se basa en los datos obtenidos a lo largo de tres radiales del Golfo de Cádiz, la desembocadura del río Guadalquivir, el caño Sancti Petri y el cabo de Trafalgar. Se observan importantes variaciones estacionales de clorofila, con concentraciones que varían desde máximos de 2.36 μg/L en primavera a mínimos de 0.02 μg/L en los muestreos más invernales. Se han determinados las concentraciones de pigmentos asociados a la clorofila a, observando, también en ellos, una estacionalidad en cuanto cantidad y diversidad. Se han determinado los principales pigmentos del microfitoplancton y se han hecho relaciones con el total de clorofila a mediante el software CHEMTAX, con el cual se ha establecido al grupo de las diatomeas como el más abundante en el Golfo de Cádiz a excepción de fenómenos de bloom y proliferaciones locales.Este trabajo ha sido financiado mediante el proyecto STOCA del Instituto Español de Oceanografía y el proyecto CTM2014-59244-C3.N