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Cordes EE, Demopoulos AWJ, Davies AJ, Gasbarro R, Rhoads AC, Lobecker E, Sowers D, Chaytor JD, Morrison CL, Weinnig AM, Brooke S, Lunden JJ, Mienis F, Joye SB, Quattrini AM, Sutton TT, McFadden CS, Bourque JR, McClain-Counts JP, Andrews BD, Betters MJ, Etnoyer PJ, Wolff GA, Bernard BB, Brooks JM, Rasser MK, Adams C. Expanding our view of the cold-water coral niche and accounting of the ecosystem services of the reef habitat. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19482. [PMID: 37945613 PMCID: PMC10636194 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45559-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Coral reefs are iconic ecosystems that support diverse, productive communities in both shallow and deep waters. However, our incomplete knowledge of cold-water coral (CWC) niche space limits our understanding of their distribution and precludes a complete accounting of the ecosystem services they provide. Here, we present the results of recent surveys of the CWC mound province on the Blake Plateau off the U.S. east coast, an area of intense human activity including fisheries and naval operations, and potentially energy and mineral extraction. At one site, CWC mounds are arranged in lines that total over 150 km in length, making this one of the largest reef complexes discovered in the deep ocean. This site experiences rapid and extreme shifts in temperature between 4.3 and 10.7 °C, and currents approaching 1 m s-1. Carbon is transported to depth by mesopelagic micronekton and nutrient cycling on the reef results in some of the highest nitrate concentrations recorded in the region. Predictive models reveal expanded areas of highly suitable habitat that currently remain unexplored. Multidisciplinary exploration of this new site has expanded understanding of the cold-water coral niche, improved our accounting of the ecosystem services of the reef habitat, and emphasizes the importance of properly managing these systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik E Cordes
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA.
| | | | - Andrew J Davies
- Department of Biological Sciences and Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, USA
| | - Ryan Gasbarro
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Alexandria C Rhoads
- Department of Biological Sciences and Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, USA
| | | | - Derek Sowers
- Ocean Exploration Trust, South Kingston, USA, Rhode Island
| | - Jason D Chaytor
- Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, USA
| | - Cheryl L Morrison
- Eastern Ecological Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Turner Falls, USA
| | - Alexis M Weinnig
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA
- Eastern Ecological Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Turner Falls, USA
| | - Sandra Brooke
- Coastal and Marine Laboratory, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
| | - Jay J Lunden
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Furu Mienis
- Department of Ocean Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Samantha B Joye
- Department of Marine Science, University of Georgia, Athens, USA
| | - Andrea M Quattrini
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, USA
| | - Tracey T Sutton
- Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, USA
| | | | - Jill R Bourque
- U.S. Geological Survey Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Lafayette, USA
| | | | - Brian D Andrews
- Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, USA
| | | | - Peter J Etnoyer
- Deep Coral Ecology Lab, NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Charleston, USA
| | | | | | | | - Michael K Rasser
- Division of Environmental Sciences, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Washington, USA
| | - Caitlin Adams
- NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration & Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA
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Recent Discoveries on Marine Organism Immunomodulatory Activities. Mar Drugs 2022; 20:md20070422. [PMID: 35877715 PMCID: PMC9324980 DOI: 10.3390/md20070422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine organisms have been shown to be a valuable source for biologically active compounds for the prevention and treatment of cancer, inflammation, immune system diseases, and other pathologies. The advantage of studying organisms collected in the marine environment lies in their great biodiversity and in the variety of chemical structures of marine natural products. Various studies have focused on marine organism compounds with potential pharmaceutical applications, for instance, as immunomodulators, to treat cancer and immune-mediated diseases. Modulation of the immune system is defined as any change in the immune response that can result in the induction, expression, amplification, or inhibition of any phase of the immune response. Studies very often focus on the effects of marine-derived compounds on macrophages, as well as lymphocytes, by analyzing the release of mediators (cytokines) by using the immunological assay enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blot, immunofluorescence, and real-time PCR. The main sources are fungi, bacteria, microalgae, macroalgae, sponges, mollusks, corals, and fishes. This review is focused on the marine-derived molecules discovered in the last three years as potential immunomodulatory drugs.
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Uncommon Polyketides from Penicillium steckii AS-324, a Marine Endozoic Fungus Isolated from Deep-Sea Coral in the Magellan Seamount. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23116332. [PMID: 35683011 PMCID: PMC9181172 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23116332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Four unusual steckwaic acids E–H (1–4), possessing a rarely described acrylic acid unit at C-4 (1–3) or a double bond between C-12 and C-13 (4) are reported for the first time, along with four new analogues (5–8) and two known congeners (9 and 10). They were purified from the organic extract of Penicillium steckii AS-324, an endozoic fungus obtained from a deep-sea coral Acanthogorgiidae sp., which was collected from the Magellan Seamount at a depth of 1458 m. Their structures were determined by the interpretation of NMR and mass spectroscopic data. The relative and absolute configurations were determined by NOESY correlations, X-ray crystallographic analysis, and ECD calculations. All compounds were tested for their antimicrobial activities against human- and aquatic-pathogenic bacteria and plant-related pathogenic fungi.
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Extremophilic Fungi from Marine Environments: Underexplored Sources of Antitumor, Anti-Infective and Other Biologically Active Agents. Mar Drugs 2022; 20:md20010062. [PMID: 35049917 PMCID: PMC8781577 DOI: 10.3390/md20010062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Marine environments are underexplored terrains containing fungi that produce a diversity of natural products given unique environmental pressures and nutrients. While bacteria are commonly the most studied microorganism for natural products in the marine world, marine fungi are also abundant but remain an untapped source of bioactive metabolites. Given that their terrestrial counterparts have been a source of many blockbuster antitumor agents and anti-infectives, including camptothecin, the penicillins, and cyclosporin A, marine fungi also have the potential to produce new chemical scaffolds as leads to potential drugs. Fungi are more phylogenetically diverse than bacteria and have larger genomes that contain many silent biosynthetic gene clusters involved in making bioactive compounds. However, less than 5% of all known fungi have been cultivated under standard laboratory conditions. While the number of reported natural products from marine fungi is steadily increasing, their number is still significantly lower compared to those reported from their bacterial counterparts. Herein, we discuss many varied cytotoxic and anti-infective fungal metabolites isolated from extreme marine environments, including symbiotic associations as well as extreme pressures, temperatures, salinity, and light. We also discuss cultivation strategies that can be used to produce new bioactive metabolites or increase their production. This review presents a large number of reported structures though, at times, only a few of a large number of related structures are shown.
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Bakhtiari S, Manshadi MKD, Mansoorifar A, Beskok A. A Microfluidic Dielectric Spectroscopy System for Characterization of Biological Cells in Physiological Media. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 22:463. [PMID: 35062423 PMCID: PMC8779508 DOI: 10.3390/s22020463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Dielectric spectroscopy (DS) is a promising cell screening method that can be used for diagnostic and drug discovery purposes. The primary challenge of using DS in physiological buffers is the electrode polarization (EP) that overwhelms the impedance signal within a large frequency range. These effects further amplify with the miniaturization of the measurement electrodes. In this study, we present a microfluidic system and the associated equivalent circuit models for real-time measurements of cell membrane capacitance and cytoplasm resistance in physiological buffers with 10 s increments. The current device captures several hundreds of biological cells in individual microwells through gravitational settling and measures the system's impedance using microelectrodes covered with dendritic gold nanostructures. Using PC-3 cells (a highly metastatic prostate cancer cell line) suspended in cell growth media (CGM), we demonstrate stable measurements of cell membrane capacitance and cytoplasm resistance in the device for over 15 min. We also describe a consistent application of the equivalent circuit model, starting from the reference measurements used to determine the system parameters. The circuit model is tested using devices with varying dimensions, and the obtained cell parameters between different devices are nearly identical. Further analyses of the impedance data have shown that accurate cell membrane capacitance and cytoplasm resistance can be extracted using a limited number of measurements in the 5 MHz to 10 MHz range. This will potentially reduce the timescale required for real-time DS measurements below 1 s. Overall, the new microfluidic device can be used for the dielectric characterization of biological cells in physiological buffers for various cell screening applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Ali Beskok
- Mechanical Engineering Department, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, USA; (S.B.); (M.K.D.M.); (A.M.)
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