Marine Yeasts and Their Applications in Mariculture

The terrestrial yeasts have been receiving great attention in science and industry for over one hundred years because they can produce many kinds of bioactive substances. However, little is known about the bioactive substances of marine yeasts. In recent years, it has been found that marine yeasts have wide applications in mariculture and other fields. Therefore,marine yeasts, the bioactive substances from them and the applications of marine yeasts themselves and the bioactive substances they produced are reviewed in this paper.

Enhancement of Laccase Activity by Marine-derived Deuteromycete Pestalotiopsis sp. J63 with Agricultural Residues and Inducers

Pestalotiopsis sp. J63, producing a high activity of laccase, is a new marine-derived fungus isolated from the oceanic sediment of the East China Sea. Since the marine environment is oligotrophic nutrient, marine derived fungi may use small amount of nutrients to grow and produce laccases. Agricultural residues that are mainly composed of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose are difficult to be degraded and few microbes can take them as substrates, so they are considered as oligotrophic nutrient and have the potential to be used to produce value added products. In this study, the ability of Pestalotiopsis sp. J63 to use agricultural residues to produce laccases was tested in the submerged fermentation. The combination of 3 g·L 1maltose and 20 g·L 1rice straw was the best carbon sources and 8 g·L 1ammonium sulfate was the best nitrogen source under the condition without inducers. The effects of five inducers, the feeding time and concentration of inducer on laccase production were investigated.Adding 0.09 mmol·L 1phenol after 24 h of incubation led to high laccase activity(5089 U·L 1), while with 0.09mmol·L 1phenol in the medium and wheat bran as the nitrogen source, the laccase activity could reach 5791.7U·L 1. Native-PAGE results showed that two laccase isozymes were present in the cultures. One existed in both induced and non-induced culture filtrates, while the other was only found in the fermentation with the addition of phenol, guaiacol and veratryl alcohol.

Antialgal and Antilarval Activities of Bioactive Compounds Extracted from the Marine Dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae

Abstract With the global ban on the application of organotin-based marine coatings by the International Maritime Organization, the development of environmentally friendly, low-toxic and nontoxic antifouling compounds for marine industries has become an urgent need. Marine microorganisms have been considered as a potential source of natural antifoulants. In this study, the antifouling potential of marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae, the toxic and red-tide microalgae, was investigated. We performed a series of operations to extract the bioactive substances from Amphidinium carterae and tested their antialgal and antilarval activities. The crude extract of Amphidinium carterae showed significant antialgal activity and the ECs0 value against Skeletonema costatum was 55.4 ~tg mL-1. After purification, the isolated bioactive substances （the organic extract C） exhibited much higher antialgal and antilar- val activities with ECso of 12.9μgmL-1 against Skeletonema costatum and LC50 of 15.1 μmL-1 against Amphibalanus amphitrite larvae. Subsequently, IR, Q-TOFMS, and GC-MS were utilized for the structural elucidation of the bioactive compounds, and a series of unsaturated and saturated 16- to 22-carbon fatty acids were detected. The data suggested the bioactive compounds isolated from Amphidinium carterae exhibited a significant inhibiting effect against the diatom Skeletonema costatum and Amphibalanus amphi- trite larvae, and could be substitutes for persistent, toxic antifouling compounds.

Diversity and Bioactivity of Actinomycetes from Marine Sediments of the Yellow Sea

Among the 116 actinomycetes collected from marine sediments of the Yellow Sea,56 grew slowly and appeared after 2?3 weeks of incubation.Among the 56 strains,only 3 required seawater(SW) for growth,and 21 grew well in the medium prepared with SW rather than distilled water(DW),while the remaining 32 grew well either with SW or with DW.Six representatives with different morphological characteristics,including 1 SW-requiring strain and 5 well-growing with SW strains,were selected for phy-logenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene.Two strains belong to Micrococcaceae and Nocardiopsaceae respectively.The other 4 strains belong to the family of Streptomycetaceae.In the analyzed 6 strains,one was related to Nocardiopsis spp.and the other three were related to Streptomyces spp.,representing new taxa.Bioactivity testing of fermentation products from 3 SW-requiring strains and 21 well-growing with SW strains revealed that 17 strains possessed remarkable activities against gram-positive pathogen or/and tumor cells,suggesting that they were prolific resources for natural drug discovery.

Antifouling Activities of Marine Bacteria Associated with Sponge (Sigmadocia sp.)

The present study aimed at assessing the antifouling activity of bacteria associated with marine sponges. A total of eight bacterial strains were isolated from the surface of sponge Sigmadocia sp., of them, SS02, SS05 and SS06 showed inhibitory activity against biofilm-forming bacteria. The extracts of these 3 strains considerably affected the extracellular polymeric substance producing ability and adhesion of biofilm-forming bacterial strains. In addition to disc diffusion assay, microalgal settlement assay was carried out with the extracts mixed with polyurethane wood polish and coated onto stainless steel coupons. The extract of strain SS05 showed strong microalgal settlement inhibitory activity. Strain SS05 was identified as Bacillus cereus based on its 16S rRNA gene. Metabolites of the bacterial strains associated with marine invertebrates promise to be developed into environment-friendly antifouling agents.

Nematode Community Structure and Diversity Pattern in Sandy Beaches of Qingdao,China

We investigated the diversity and structure of free-living marine nematode communities at three sandy beaches representing typical intertidal environments of a temperate zone in Qingdao,Shandong Province,China.Average nematode abundance ranged from 1006 to 2170 ind.10 cm-2,and a total of 34 nematode genera were recorded,of which only 8 were common in all the studied beaches.Pielou's evenness and Shannon-Wiener diversity index were the lowest at the second beach where nematode abundance was the highest.The highest species diversity index coincided with the lowest nematode abundance at Shilaoren beach.Sediment median grain size,sorting coefficient,and chlorophyll-a content were essential for differentiation in nematode abundance and species diversity,whereas taxonomic diversity of nematode was homogeneous across the three beaches.In 0–20 cm sediment profile,nematode abundance declined abruptly with depth,whereas nematode diversity changed gently with obvious difference in 16–20 cm layer.Sediment granulometry and chlorophyll-a content were the two foremost factors which influenced the vertical distribution pattern of nematode generic diversity.Non-selective deposit feeders constituted the most dominant trophic group,followed by epistratum feeders.Bathylaimus(family:Tripyloididae) dominated at the second and Yangkou beach,while Theristus(family:Xyalidae) prevailed at Shilaoren beach.Omnivores and predators became important at Shilaoren beach because of the high proportion of Enoplolaimus.Even though,nematode community of the studied beaches did not differ significantly from each other.

Bromophenols from Marine Algae with Potential Anti-Diabetic Activities

Marine algae contain various bromophenols with a variety of biological activities, including antimicrobial, anticancer, and anti-diabetic effects. Here, we briefly review the recent progress in researches on the biomaterials from marine algae, emphasizing the relationship between the structure and the potential anti-diabetic applications. Bromophenols from marine algae display their hyper- glycemic effects by inhibiting the activities of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B, ct-glucosidase, as well as other mechanisms.

Inhibitory activity of an extract from a marine bacterium Halomonas sp.HSB07 against the red-tide microalga Gymnodinium sp.(Pyrrophyta)

In recent years,red tides occurred frequently in coastal areas worldwide.Various methods based on the use of clay,copper sulfate,and bacteria have been successful in controlling red tides to some extent.As a new defensive agent,marine microorganisms are important sources of compounds with potent inhibitory bioactivities against red-tide microalgae,such as Gymnodinium sp.(Pyrrophyta).In this study,we isolated a marine bacterium,HSB07,from seawater collected from Hongsha Bay,Sanya,South China Sea.Based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence and biochemical characteristics,the isolated strain HSB07 was identified as a member of the genus Halomonas.A crude ethyl acetate extract of strain HSB07 showed moderate inhibition activity against Gymnodinium sp.in a bioactive prescreening experiment.The extract was further separated into fractions A,B,and C by silica gel column chromatography.Fractions B and C showed strong inhibition activities against Gymnodinium.This is the first report of inhibitory activity of secondary metabolites of a Halomonas bacterium against a red-tide-causing microalga.

Mechanical Stress Induces Neuroendocrine and Immune Responses of Sea Cucumber(Apostichopus japonicus)

Grading procedure in routine sea cucumber hatchery production is thought to affect juvenile sea cucumber immunologi- cal response. The present study investigated the impact of a 3-min mechanical perturbation mimicking the grading procedure on neuroendocrine and immune parameters of the sea cucumber Apostichopusjaponicus. During the application of stress, concentrations of noradrenaline and dopamine in coelomic fluid increased significantly, indicating that the mechanical perturbation resulted in a transient state of stress in sea cucumbers. Coelomocytes concentration in coelomic fluid increased transiently after the beginning of stressing, and reached the maximum in 1 h. Whereas, coelomocytes phagocytosis at 3 min, superoxide anion production from 3 min to 0.5 h, acid phosphatase activity at 0.5 h, and phenoloxidase activity from 3 min to 0.5 h were all significantly down-regulated. All of the immune parameters recovered to baseline levels after the experiment was conducted for 8 h, and an immunostimulation occurred after the stress considering the phagocytosis and acid phosphatase activity. The results suggested that, as in other marine invertebrates, neuroendocrine/immnne connections exist in sea cucumber A. japonicus. Mechanical stress can elicit a profound influence on sea cucumber neuroendocrine system. Neuroendocrine messengers act in turn to modulate the immunity fimctions. Therefore, these ef- fects should be considered for developing better husbandry procedures.

The selection of alkaline protease-producing yeasts from marine environments and evaluation of their bioactive peptide production

A total of 400 yeast strains from seawater, sediments, saltern mud, marine fish guts, and marine algae were obtained. The protease activity of the yeast cultures was estimated, after which four strains （HN3.11, Nllb, YF04C and HN4.9） capable of secreting extracellular alkaline protease were isolated. The isolated strains were identified as Aureobasidium pullulans, Yarrowia lipolytica, lssatchenkia orientalis and Cryptococcus cf. aureus. The optimal pH of the protease activity produced by strains HN3.11, YF04C, and HN4.9 was 9.0, while that of the protease produced by strain N1 lb was 10.0. The optimal temperature for protease activity was 45℃for strains HN3.11, N11b, and YF04C, and 50℃ for strain HN4.9. After digestion of shrimp （Penaeus vannamei） protein and spirulina （Arthospira platens＆） protein with the four crude alkaline proteases, the filtrate from spirulina （Arthrospira platensis） powder digested by the crude alkaline protease of strain HNYl 1 was found to have the highest antioxidant activity （61.4%） and the highest angiotensin I converting enzyme （ACE）-inhibitory activities （68.4%）. The other filtrates had much lower antioxidant activity and ACE-inhibitory activities.

Biodiversity of Free-Living Marine Nematodes in the Southern Yellow Sea,China

Biodiversity pattems of free-living marine nematodes were studied using specific, taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity measures in the southern Yellow Sea, China. The results showed that the average of Shannon-Wiener diversity index （H＇） in the study area was 3.17. The higher values were distributed in the east part of Shandong coastal waters and north part of Jiangsu coastal waters, while the lower values were distributed in the southern Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass （YSCWM）. The average of taxonomic diversity （A） was 62.09 in the study region. The higher values were distributed in the transitional areas between the coastal areas and the southem YSCWM, while the lower values were distributed near the north part of Jiangsu coastal waters and the YSCWM. Results of correlation analysis of species diversity and taxonomic diversity showed that some of the two kinds of diversity index were inde- pendent, which suggested that combining the two kinds of diversity indices can reflect the ecological characteristics better. A test for 95% probability funnels of average taxonomic distinctness and variation in taxonomic distinctness suggested that Station 8794 （in the YSCWM） was outside of the 95% probability funnels, which may be due to the environmental stress. Results of correlation analysis between marine nematodes biodiversity and environmental variables showed that the sediment characteristics （Mdo and Silt-clay fraction） and phaeophorbide a （Pha-a） were the most important factors to determine the biodiversity patterns of marine nematodes.