Toxicity of Mediterranean Scyphomedusae: An Overview.

Following in-depth analysis and examination, jellyfish toxins have been found to consist of a mixture of proteins, carbohydrates, and other non-proteinaceous components. What remains to be clarified is the specific chemical nature of jellyfish toxins due to their heat lability. This paper reviews current knowledge of the toxic properties of the most common Mediterranean scyphozoans (A.

Assemblages' structure and activity of bacterioplankton in northern Adriatic Sea surface waters: a 3-year case study.

The bacterial community, both in terms of community structure (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprinting) and activity (exoenzymatic hydrolysis of proteins, polysaccharides and phosphorylated molecules and leucine uptake), was investigated seasonally for 3 years (2004-2006) in a large-scale grid in the northern Adriatic Sea. A high variability characterized the spatial structure of bacterial assemblages and a scarce seasonality was found in all the nine studied stations. Bacterial communities were substantially diverse in the same season of the 3 years, in contrast to what was reported previously for oceanic sites.

Detection of pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus through biochemical and molecular-based methodologies in coastal waters of the Gulf of Trieste (North Adriatic Sea).

Culturable vibrios were isolated from seawater collected during an annual sampling study performed along the Gulf of Trieste coast (Northern Adriatic Sea), and conventional culturing and identification methods were used to investigate the presence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Biochemically selected Vibrio strains were subjected to phenotypical identification performed using Alsina's scheme, API 20E and API 20NE. PCR and sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and detection of the species-specific toxR and tlh genes were carried out on strains presumptively identified as V.

Organic-matter degradative potential of Halomonas glaciei isolated from frazil ice in the Ross Sea (Antarctica).

Halomonas glaciei isolated from frazil ice in the Ross Sea (Antarctica) during austral summer 2003 was phenotypically characterized and its capability of degrading organic matter was tested. We evaluated specific bacterial growth rates (mu) to understand at which temperatures bacterial growth shows a linear and direct relationship with the available substrate (4-22 degrees C) and afterwards we tested H. glaciei growth curves and degradative potential at 0, 10 and 37 degrees C using two different media (one enriched and one depleted in PO(4)).

Annual dynamics of bacterioplankton assemblages in the Gulf of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea).

Bacterioplankton community diversity was investigated monthly in coastal waters of the Gulf of Trieste (NE Adriatic Sea) throughout 2003. Superficial bacterial assemblages of two differently freshwater influenced stations were studied using PCR-DGGE fingerprinting techniques. Bacterial genetic diversity of the sampled area, as estimates of the number of DGGE bands was high (36-64) compared to that reported in other studies employing this fingerprint technique.