Meiofauna densities, nematode biomass, nematode genus diversity, sediment grain size, organic matter, and pigments for the surface layers of two sites in summer (November 2009) and winter (august 2010)

The meiobenthic community of Potter Cove (King George Island, west Antarctic Peninsula) was investigated, focusing on responses to summer/winter conditions in two study sites contrasting in terms of organic matter inputs. Meiofaunal densities were found to be higher in summer and lower in winter, although this result was not significantly related to the in situ availability of organic matter in each season. The combination of food quality and competition for food amongst higher trophic levels may have played a role in determining the standing stocks at the two sites. Meiobenthic winter abundances were sufficiently high to infer that energy sources were not limiting during winter, supporting observations from other studies for both shallow water and continental shelf Antarctic ecosystems. Recruitment within meiofaunal communities was coupled to the seasonal input of fresh detritus for harpacticoid copepods but not for nematodes, suggesting that species-specific life history or trophic features form an important element of the responses observed.

NMR spectrum of lindgomycin from a Marine Fungus of the Lindgomycetaceae

An unusual polyketide with a new carbon skeleton, lindgomycin (1), and the recently described ascosetin (2) were extracted from mycelia and culture broth of different Lindgomycetaceae strains, which were isolated from a sponge of the Kiel Fjord in the Baltic Sea (Germany) and from the Antarctic. Their structures were established by spectroscopic means. In the new polyketide, two distinct domains, a bicyclic hydrocarbon and a tetramic acid, are connected by a bridging carbonyl. The tetramic acid substructure of compound 1 was proved to possess a unique 5-benzylpyrrolidine-2,4-dione unit. The combination of 5-benzylpyrrolidine-2,4-dione of compound 1 in its tetramic acid half and 3-methylbut-3-enoic acid pendant in its decalin half allow the assignment of a new carbon skeleton. The new compound 1 and ascosetin showed antibiotic activities with IC50 value of 5.1 (±0.2) µM and 3.2 (±0.4) µM, respectively, against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Experiment on marine fungus Microascus brevicaulis strain

The marine fungus Microascus brevicaulis strain LF580 is a non-model secondary metabolite producer with high yields of the two secondary metabolites scopularide A and B, which exhibit distinct activities against tumour cell lines. A mutant strain was obtained using UV mutagenesis, showing besides higher production levels faster growth and differences in pellet formation. Comparative proteomics were applied to gain deeper understanding of the regulation of production and of the physiology of this fungus and its mutant. For this purpose, an optimised protein extraction protocol was established. Here, we show the first proteome study of a marine fungus. In total, 4759 proteins were identified. The central metabolic pathway of LF580 could be mapped by using KEGG pathway analysis and GO annotation. Using iTRAQ labelling, 318 proteins were shown to be significantly regulated in the mutant strain: 189 were down- and 129 upregulated. Proteomics are a powerful tool for the understanding of regulatory aspects: The differences on proteome level could be attributed to a limited nutrient availability in wild type strain due to a strong pellet formation. This information can be applied to optimisation on strain and process level. The linkage between nutrient limitation and pellet formation in the non-model fungus M. brevicaulis is in consensus with the knowledge on model organisms like Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum.

Nematode abundance in cold seep sediments of the Darwin mud volcano

During the JC-10 cruise (2007), we sampled the Darwin mud volcano (MV) for meiofaunal community and trophic structure in relation of pore-water geochemistry along a 10 m transect from a seep site on the rim of the crater towards the MV slope. Sediment samples were retrieved by the ROV Isis using push cores. On board and after the pore water extraction, the top 10 cm of the cores were sliced into 1 cm sections and fixed them in 4% formaldehyde for meiofaunal community analysis. In the home laboratory, the formaldehyde-fixed samples were washed over a 32 µm mesh sieve and extracted the meiofauna from the sediment by Ludox centrifugation (Heip et al. 1985). Meiofauna was then sorted, enumerated and identified at coarse taxonomic level. From each slice, ca. 100 nematodes were identified to genus level. Afterwards, abundance of Nematoda were depth integrated over the top 5 cm to gain individual abundances per 10 cm**2. Overall, total nematode biomass in the top 5 cm of the seep sediment core was ~10x higher than that in the core taken 1100 m away. Nematode genus composition varied little among cores and was mainly dominated by Sabatieria.

Nematode abundance of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in cold seep sediments collected during Maria S. Merain cruises MSM13/3 and MSM13/4 in 2009

Sediment was collected by either push cores operated by the ROV Quest or by a television guided Multicorer. Nematodes abundance were calculated of the top 5 cm of the sediment to gain individual abundance per 10 cm**2.