Enhanced protection against oxidative stress in an astaxanthin-overproduction Haematococcus mutant (Chlorophyceae)

Many unicellular green algae can become yellow or red in various natural habitats due to mass accumulation of a secondary carotenoid, such as lutein, or astaxanthin. The accumulation of secondary carotenoids is generally thought to be a survival strategy of the algae under photo-oxidative stress or other adverse environmental conditions. The physiological role of the carotenoids in stress response is less well understood at the subcellular or molecular level. In this study, a stable astaxanthin overproduction mutant (MT 2877) was isolated by chemical mutagenesis of a wild type (WT) of the green microalga Haematococcus pluvialis Flotow NIES-144. MT 2877 was identical to the WT with respect to morphology, pigment composition, and growth kinetics during the early vegetative stage of the life cycle. However, it had the ability to synthesize and accumulate about twice the astaxanthin content of the WT under high light, or under high light in the presence of excess amounts of ferrous sulphate and sodium acetate. Under stress, the mutant exhibited higher photosynthetic activities than the WT, based on considerably higher chlorophyll fluorescence induction, chlorophyll autofluorescence intensities, and oxygen evolution rates. Cell mortality caused by stress was reduced by half in the mutant culture compared with the WT. Enhanced protection of the mutant against stress is attributed to its accelerated carotenogenesis and accumulation of astaxanthin. Our results suggest that MT 2877, or other astaxanthin overproduction Haematococcus mutants, may offer dual benefits, as compared with the wild type, by increasing cellular astaxanthin content while reducing cell mortality during stress-induced carotenogenesis.

Inductive transcription and protective role of fish heme oxygenase-1 under hypoxic stress

Heme oxygenase-1 is the rate-limiting enzyme in the degradation of heme into biliverdin, carbon monoxide and free divalent iron. In this study, we cloned heme oxygenase isoform 1 (CaHO-1) from a hypoxia-tolerant teleost fish Carassius auratus. The full-length cDNA of CaHO-1 is 1247 bp and encodes a protein of 272 amino acids. RT-PCR and real-time PCR analysis indicated that CaHO-1 was predominantly transcribed in posterior kidney, head kidney, gill and intestine, and induction of gene transcription was observed predominantly in posterior kidney under hypoxic stress. Moreover, the hypoxia-induced transcription was confirmed in goldfish larvae and in in vitro cultured CAB cells. Fluorescence of the HO-1-GFP fusion protein revealed a cytoplasmic and plasma membrane localization, which was consistent with the putative transmembrane structure. Subsequently, we established a stably transfected CAB/pcDNA3.1-HO-1 cell line and a control CAB/pcDNA3.1 cell line, and found that the number of dead cells was obviously reduced in the pcDNA3.1-HO-1-transfected group following 4 days of hypoxic (1% O-2) treatment in comparison with numerous detached dead cells in the control pcDNA3.1-transfected cells. Furthermore, a significant cell viability difference between the two kinds of transfected cells during hypoxia-reoxygenation was revealed. Therefore, the data suggest that fish HO-1 might play a significant protective role in cells in response to hypoxic stress.

Effects of solar UV radiation on germination of conchospores and morphogenesis of sporelings in Porphyra haitanensis (Rhodophyta)

The effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR 280-400 nm) on the germination of Porphyra haitanensis conchospores and on the growth and morphogenesis of the subsequent sporelings were investigated by culturing the released conchospores under natural sunlight from 29 September to 6 October 2005. Germination increased with time and was faster when UV-B was excluded using cut-off filters. There were significant negative effects of UV-B radiation on growth and cell division of sporelings, with decreases up to 18% for thallus length, between 6 and 18% for thallus width, up to 29% for thallus area, and between 6 and 14% for cell size as compared to PAR-controls. UV-A had a significant positive effect on morphogenesis, enhancing the formation of sporelings with cells dividing transversely; on the other hand, UV-B delayed the formation of such sporelings. We also tested the effects of solar UVR on the growth of P. haitanensis juveniles and found no significant effects. Our results indicate that UV-A has an important role in the germination and morphogenesis of the species, but on the other hand, sporelings of P. haitanensis are more sensitive to UV-B radiation than juveniles.

Studies on morphogenesis and cellular interactions of Rana grylio virus in an infected fish cell line

A pathogenic virus (RGV), isolated from diseased pig frog Rana grylio with lethal syndrome, was investigated with regard to morphogenesis and cellular interactions in EPC cells, a cell Line from fish. Different stages of virus amplification, maturation and assembly were observed at nucleus, cytoplasm and cellular membranes. The matured virus particles, were not only distributed diffusely in nucleus, cytoplasm and cellular surface, but also aggregated as pseudocrystalline arrays in the cytoplasm. Virions were released by budding from the plasma membranes, or following cell lysis. Various types of cell damage, such as small vacuoles, spherical inclusions, and swollen and empty mitochondria, were also found. Some typical characteristics of RGV, such as the symmetrical shape of the virions, replication process involving both nuclear and cytoplasmic phases, budding release from cellular membrane and intracellular membrane, viromatrix and paracrystalline aggregation in cytoplasm, and its acute pathogenic effects, were observed to be similar to that of other iridoviruses. Therefore, the RGV appears to be a member of the Iridoviridae based on these studies. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

红发夫酵母发酵虾青素的研究

红发夫酵母分离于北美西部高山地区和日本一些岛屿上落叶树的渗出液中，因其所产主要色素为在水产养殖、食品和医药工业有广阔应用前景的虾青素而成为研究的热点。本论文对红发夫酵母Phaffia rhodozyma 的生长特性、培养参数与培养基组分对生长和虾青素积累的影响及其优化、虾青素合成的调节控制、虾青素的提取测定及红发夫酵母耐高温菌种的诱变进行了系统的研究。 虾青素是红发夫酵母的胞内色素，要对其进行分析首先要对红发夫酵母进行破壁处理，实验发现二甲亚砜是最有效的破壁溶剂，用氯仿和丙酮可以有效地把类胡萝卜素从二甲亚砜破壁后的红发夫酵母细胞中提取出来。 在固定摇床转速为200 rpm，温度为20 ℃的条件下，当种龄为36 h，以10％的接种量接入装液量为30 mL的250 mL三角瓶，初始pH为5.5时最有利于红发夫酵母的生长及类胡萝卜素的合成。 本实验中红发夫酵母最佳利用碳、氮源分别为蔗糖和蛋白胨，但蛋白胨价格昂贵，不适宜作单一氮源，因此使用硫酸铵和酵母膏作为复合氮源。 本论文采用了BP神经网络结合遗传算法的方法来优化红发夫酵母的发酵培养基，得到红发夫酵母发酵培养基的最佳配比为：蔗糖45.10 g/L、硫酸铵3.00 g/L、硫酸镁0.80 g/L、磷酸二氢钾1.40 g/L、酵母膏3.00 g/L、氯化钙0.50 g/L，使用优化后的培养基发酵类胡萝卜素产量达到8.20 mg/L，干重达到9.47 g/L，类胡萝卜素的产量比起始培养基提高了95.90%，干重提高了89.40%。 从代谢途径出发对红发夫酵母合成虾青素调控调控，选择谷氨酸、乙醇、VB1作为添加剂，通过正交试验设计得出三者添加水平分别为0.2 g/L，0.1% (V/V)，10 mg/L时，类胡萝卜素产量提高了25.73%，达到了10.31mg/L。 通过上述优化培养，本论文中红发夫酵母的虾青素产量从1.33 mg/L提高到9.12 mg/L，产量提高了6.86倍；总类胡萝卜素产量从4.23 mg/L提高到10.31 mg/L，产量提高了2.44倍；细胞干重从5.00 g/L提高到11.35 g/L，提高了2.27倍，总体提高效果显著。 红发夫酵母属于中低温菌，本论文采用紫外复合诱变的方式，通过高温筛选，得到一株能在35 ℃下能生长的突变株，但所产类胡萝卜素中虾青素所占比例很小，可能是诱变改变了红发夫酵母的代谢途径，阻断了虾青素的合成。 Phaffia rhodozyma is a heterobasidiomyceteous yeast that was originally isolated from the slime fluxes of brich tree wounds in mountain regions of northern Japan and southern Alaska. Phaffia rhodozyma produces astaxanthin as its principal carotenoid pigment, which has potential applications in acquaculture, food and pharmaceutical industry. This paper researched ways to break cell, analysis of astaxanthin, characteristics of growth, culture parameters and the effects of components of medium on growth and astaxanthin formation , optimization of culture medium, control of astaxanthin synthesis and mutagenesis of Phaffia rhodozyma. It is necessary to disrupt the yeast cell for extracting astaxanthin considering the yeast accumulating carotenoids in cell. Dimethyisulphoxide was the most effective solvent for breaking the yeast cell; acetone and chloroform were effective to extract carotenoids out of the disrupted cell. The optimum pH for growth and carotenoids synthesis is 5.5, the optimum medium volume is 30 mL (in 250 mL flask), the optimum culture time of inoculum is 36 h, the optimum inoculum concentration is 10%. The research on culture medium showed: sucrose is the best one of 6 carbon sources for growth and astaxanthin synthesis. Peptone is the best nitrogen source for growth and astaxanthin synthesis. Uniform Design was used for trial design of the formula medium components, then back-propagation neural network was established to modeling the relationships between the carotenoid yield and the concentration of medium components. Genetic algorithm (GA) was used for global optimization of the model. The optimum combination of the medium was obtained: sucrose 45.10 g/L, ammonium sulfate 3.00 g/L, magnesium sulfate 0.80 g/L, potassium dihydrogen phosphate 1.40 g/L, yeast extract 3.00 g/L, calcium chloride 0.50 g/L. The yield of carotenoid reached 8.20 mg/L, which was 95.90% higher than that of the original medium. Glu, VB1 and ethanol were selected as fermentation addictives, after Orthogonal Test, the carotenoid contents increased by 25.73% when adding 0.16 g/L Glu, VB1 10 mg/L and ethanol 0.1% (V/V). After the above optimization, the astaxanthin content increased 6.86 folds, which is 9.12 mg/L. The carotenoids content increased 2.44 folds, which is 10.31 mg/L. The biomass increased 2.27 folds, which is 11.35 g/L. Phaffia rhodozyma grows in the mild temperature range of 0 to 27 ℃, in this work, a thermotolerant mutant was selected through UV-irradiation. It can grows at 35 ℃, and showed increased carotenoid content. The optimal growth temperature for this mutant is 30 ℃. But the mutant can only produce carotenoids with little astaxanthin accumulation.

Study on bioactivity of extracts from marine sponges in Chinese Sea

The bioactivity screening of fractions from two inter-tidal sponges collected from the north of China Yellow Sea and one sponge collected from the South Chinese Sea was reported in this study. In sponge Hymeniacidon perleve there were 9 fractions out of 15 from CHCl3 extract with anti Staphylococcus aureus activity, 9 fractions out of 19 from BuOH extract with anti Escherichia coli activity, and three fractions from CHCl3 extract which had moderate to strong activity in inhibiting Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, and Aspergilus niger. The fractions of Reniochalina sp. showed bioactivity against bacteria and fungi. The fractions of Acanthella acuta Schmidt showed bioactivity against S. aureus and fungi. One compound from H. perleve obtained by the bioactively directing isolation was tested for bioactivity against the human hepatoma cell line Qgy7701 (IC50 10.1 mug/ml), Burkitt's lymphoma cell line Raji (IC50 9.76 mug/ml) and chronic myelogenous leukemia K562 (IC50 1.90 mug/ml). (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biopotentials of marine sponges from China oceans: past and future

An extensive literature survey of over 17 Journals was carried out on Chinese sponges and their natural products in the period from 1980 to 2001. This review is thus intended to provide the first thorough overview of research on marine sponges from China Ocean territories. Information is provided about the rather-limited taxonomic study of Chinese marine sponges, with an analysis on their distribution and diversity. Research findings on the natural products and their bioactivity screening from Chinese sponges are summarized. The weaknesses, gaps and problems in the past R&D program of Chinese sponges are identified, which point to the future opportunities in exploiting these huge untapped sponge resources. The report is expected to serve as an entry point for understanding Chinese sponges and for furthering R&D on their bioactive compounds for new drug development. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.