Mesophotic ecosystems : distribution, impacts and conservation in the South Atlantic

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Aim: this study reviews recent research on the South Atlantic Mesophotic ecosystems (MEs) and the pressures threatening them, and offers suggestions for their management and conservation. - Location: the South Atlantic Ocean. - Methods: a comprehensive compilation of the scientific literature was performed to examine the distribution, human impacts and conservation status of the South Atlantic MEs. - Results: our review indicated that the South Atlantic Ocean (SAO) is one of the major MEs areas in the world's oceans. The South Atlantic MEs are composed of a mosaic of distinct seascapes, mainly rhodolith beds, mesophotic reefs (i.e., rocky and biogenic) and marine animal forests (e.g., sponge aggregations, octocoral and black coral forests) that occur along the East South American and West African coasts, seamounts and oceanic islands. Throughout the SAO, the distinct seascapes of MEs are usually formed on the middle and outer continental shelves, shelf-edge, seamounts, submarine canyons, incised valleys and paleochannels, reef structures and insular shelves. We highlighted sea temperature anomalies, ocean acidification, extreme floods and droughts, fisheries, invasive species, marine debris, mining, and oil and gas exploitation as major threats to these ecosystems. - Main conclusions: given the threats to the South Atlantic MEs, growing human pressures may degrade these ecosystems in the next years and undermine their unique biodiversity as well as their potential to provide connectivity between regions and depths. Our review revealed the existence of some extensive and unprotected formations, which urgently demand in-depth investigations and conservation action

Proteins of marine mollusks ink composition, function and mechanism of action

Nos moluscos sem concha ou naqueles em que a mesma estÃÂ presente na forma vestigial, como cefalÃÂpedes e gastrÃÂpodes opistobrÃÂnquios, a falta dessa proteÃÂÃÂo externa conduziu ÃÂ evoluÃÂÃÂo de mecanismos de defesa dominados pela secreÃÂÃÂo ou incorporaÃÂÃÂo de substÃÂncias quÃÂmicas bioativas. ProteÃÂnas sintetizadas de novo sÃÂo bons exemplos dessas molÃÂculas, tendo sido encontradas nas tintas de vÃÂrias espÃÂcies de lesmas do mar, particularmente do gÃÂnero Aplysia. Muitas jÃÂ revelaram pertencer a famÃÂlias de proteÃÂnas com atividade oxidÃÂstica de L-aminoÃÂcidos (LAAOs), grupo do qual fazem parte tambÃÂm proteÃÂnas bioativas encontradas nos venenos de serpentes. A caracterizaÃÂÃÂo, portanto, das atividades biolÃÂgicas e do perfil bioquÃÂmico dessas proteÃÂnas ÃÂ muito ÃÂtil para que possamos entender como se dÃÂo os mecanismos defensivos desses animais e quÃÂo difundidos esses sÃÂo, alÃÂm de proporcionar subsÃÂdios para sua aplicaÃÂÃÂo biomedicinal. Esse estudo visou a elucidaÃÂÃÂo dos mecanismos de aÃÂÃÂo da dactilomelina-P, proteÃÂna antibacteriana purificada da tinta de Aplysia dactylomela, e a comparaÃÂÃÂo da composiÃÂÃÂo protÃÂica e das atividades antimicrobianas das tintas liberadas por dois gastrÃÂpodes, A. dactylomela e Bursatella leachii, e por um cefalÃÂpode, Octopus sp.. O estudo revelou que a dactilomelina-P ÃÂ uma L-aminoÃÂcido oxidase capaz de oxidar L-lisina e L-arginina, com maior afinidade por L- arginina, com Km de 0,22 +- 0,16 mM/L para a L-lys e de 0,015 +- 0,01 Mm/L para a L-arg. Demonstrou tambÃÂm que sua atividade antibacteriana ÃÂ medida por esta propriedade, tendo o perÃÂxido de hidrogÃÂnio, gerado na oxidaÃÂÃÂo enzimÃÂticca, grande aprtipaÃÂÃÂo na inibiÃÂÃÂo bacteriana. A proteÃÂna se comporta de maneira bacteriostÃÂtica quando em meio nÃÂo suplementado com L-lisina e L-angilina, sendo bactericida na presenÃÂa destes. AlÃÂm disso, a atividade antibacteriana mostrou ser dependente da concentraÃÂÃÂo de aminoÃÂcidos disponibilizados para oxidaÃÂÃÂo pela proteÃÂna. A atividade Staphylococcus aureus deve ocorrer por meio de mecanismos que nÃÂo induzam danoso na morfologia celular, uma vez que nÃÂo foi observada qualquer alteraÃÂÃÂo morfolÃÂgica por microscopia de forÃÂa atÃÂmica. JÃÂ a anÃÂlise das trÃÂs tintas pro PAGE-SDS revelou a presenÃÂa, em todas elas, de bandas protÃÂicas de cerca de 60 kDa, alÃÂm de bandas de peso moleculares mais baixos. Por Western blot pode-se observar a existÃÂncia de identidade imunolÃÂgica entre proteinas das trÃÂs tintas, visto que anticorpos policlonais produzidos contra a dactilomelina-P reconheceram proteÃÂna(s) de cerca de 60 kDa na tinta de B. leachii e de cerca de 30 kDa na tinta de Octopus sp. Dentre as trÃÂs tintas, somente a tinta de A. dactylomela apresentou atividades antibacterianas e antifÃÂngicaIn shelled molluscs or those in which it is present as vestigial as cephalopods and gastropods opistobrÃÂnquios, the lack of external protection led to the evolution of defense mechanisms dominated by the secretion or incorporation of bioactive chemicals. Proteins synthesized again are good examples of these molecules, were found in paints of various species of sea slugs, particularly the genus Aplysia. Many have already revealed belong to protein families with oxidÃÂstica activity of L-amino acids (LAAOs), a group which comprises also bioactive proteins found in snake venoms. The characterization therefore biological activities and biochemical profile of these proteins is very useful for us to understand how to give the defense mechanisms of animals and how widespread they are, in addition to providing subsidies to its application biomedicinal. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms of action of P-dactilomelina, antibacterial protein purified from Aplysia ink dactylomela, and comparison of protein composition and antimicrobial activities of paint released by two gastropods, A. dactylomela and Bursatella leachii, and a cephalopod, Octopus sp .. The study revealed that dactilomelina-P is an L-amino acid oxidase capable of oxidizing L-lysine and L-arginine, with a higher affinity for L-arginine, with a Km of 0.22 + - 0.16 mM / L for L -lys and 0.015 + - 0.01 mM / L L-arg. It also demonstrated that its antibacterial activity is measured by this property, with the hydrogen peroxide generated in the oxidation enzimÃÂticca, great aprtipaÃÂÃÂo in bacterial inhibition. The protein behaves in a non-bacteriostatic when supplemented with L-lysine and L-angilina, being in the presence of bactericidal. In addition, the antibacterial activity was shown to be dependent on the concentration of amino acids available for oxidation by the protein. Staphylococcus aureus activity must occur through mechanisms that do not induce damage to cell morphology, since we did not observe any morphological change by atomic force microscopy. The analysis of the three pro paint SDS-PAGE revealed the presence in them all, protein bands of about 60 kDa, and bands of lower molecular weight. For Western blot can observe the existence of immunologic identity between proteins of the three dyes, since polyclonal antibodies produced against P-dactilomelina recognized protein (s) of about 60 kDa in ink B. leachii and approximately 30 kDa in ink Octopus sp. Among the three dyes, only the ink of A. dactylomela showed antibacterial and antifungal activitie

Mesophotic ecosystems : distribution, impacts and conservation in the South Atlantic

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552Aim: this study reviews recent research on the South Atlantic Mesophotic ecosystems (MEs) and the pressures threatening them, and offers suggestions for their management and conservation. - Location: the South Atlantic Ocean. - Methods: a comprehensive compilation of the scientific literature was performed to examine the distribution, human impacts and conservation status of the South Atlantic MEs. - Results: our review indicated that the South Atlantic Ocean (SAO) is one of the major MEs areas in the world's oceans. The South Atlantic MEs are composed of a mosaic of distinct seascapes, mainly rhodolith beds, mesophotic reefs (i.e., rocky and biogenic) and marine animal forests (e.g., sponge aggregations, octocoral and black coral forests) that occur along the East South American and West African coasts, seamounts and oceanic islands. Throughout the SAO, the distinct seascapes of MEs are usually formed on the middle and outer continental shelves, shelf-edge, seamounts, submarine canyons, incised valleys and paleochannels, reef structures and insular shelves. We highlighted sea temperature anomalies, ocean acidification, extreme floods and droughts, fisheries, invasive species, marine debris, mining, and oil and gas exploitation as major threats to these ecosystems. - Main conclusions: given the threats to the South Atlantic MEs, growing human pressures may degrade these ecosystems in the next years and undermine their unique biodiversity as well as their potential to provide connectivity between regions and depths. Our review revealed the existence of some extensive and unprotected formations, which urgently demand in-depth investigations and conservation action

Distribution of nutrients and chlorophyll across an equatorial reef region: Insights on coastal gradients

We evaluate how the concentrations of inorganic nutrients and chlorophyll a vary in a heterogeneous area (Equatorial SW Atlantic), covering a gradient from stations closer to the coast to others more distant associated or not with turbid-zone reefs. Vertical temperature (27.9 ± 0.10 °C; mean ± standard deviation) and salinity (36.2 ± 0.14) profles showed that the water column is well mixed (0-30 m depth). The oligotrophic condition was marked by low concentrations of phosphate (0.30 ± 0.22 µM) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (0.64 ± 0.74 µM). Moreover, dissolved reactive silicon (DSi) was low in most samples (< 2.0 µM), but higher (>10 µM) in nearshore stations, probably related to continental runoff and/or resuspension of the bottom sediments. The pelagic phytoplankton biomass indicated that chlorophyll a (0.25 ± 0.08 µg L-1) was low, positively correlated with light and negatively correlated with nutrients, indicating possible phytoplankton uptake. Chlorophyll a concentrations were lower in stations closer to the coast and higher in some stations near the reefs, indicating that the latter could be more prone to phytoplankton development and depletion of nutrients, especially DSi. Therefore, although oligotrophy is present along this coast, we found some unexpected heterogeneity of nutrient and chlorophyll a distributions, which were probably infuenced by benthic-pelagic coupling due to the presence of extensive reefs, sponge gardens (18-30 m depth), and the proximity to the coast. These results highlight the importance of understanding the heterogeneity of ocean productivity, especially in lesser known low-latitude areas, which showed distinct nutrient and chlorophyll a levels r