Bioemulsifier from sponge-associated bacteria reduces staphylococcal biofilm.

Biofilm formation is a major health concern and studies have been pursued to find compounds able to prevent biofilm establishment and remove pre-existing biofilms. While biosurfactants (BS) have been well-known for possessing antibiofilm activities, bioemulsifiers (BE) are still scarcely explored for this purpose. The present study aimed to evaluate the bioemulsifying properties of cell-free supernatants produced by Bacillaceae and Vibrio strains isolated from marine sponges and investigate their antiadhesive and antibiofilm activities against different pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Taxonomy of Placospongia Gray, 1867 from Northern and Northeastern Brazil, with description of two new species (Porifera: Demospongiae: Clionaida).

The demosponge genus Placospongia includes 13 valid species, of which six occur in the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone. In the present study, we describe two new species of Placospongia from Northern (off the Amazon River mouth) and Northeastern Brazilian continental shelf and oceanic islands (i.e.

Manned submersible dives reveal a singular assemblage of Hexactinellida (Porifera) off the Amazon River mouth, Northern Brazil.

The outer shelf and upper slope region under the influence of the Amazon River mouth harbors an extensive reef system with a rich sponge fauna, but no hexactinellids were recorded in the area so far. In this work, manned submersibles were used to describe for the first time three species of Hexactinellida off the Amazon River mouth: Hyalonema (Cyliconemaoida) alucia sp. nov.

Taxonomy of Geodia and Rhabdastrella from the Brazilian coast: a new species, new synonyms and redescription of Geodia tylastra (Demospongiae: Astrophorina: Geodiidae and Ancorinidae).

In this contribution we revise the type specimens of Geodia tylastra, Rhabdastrella fibrosa and Geodia corticostylifera, adding new photographs of preserved specimens, skeleton sections, and scanning electron micrographs of the spicules. We demonstrate that the three species are synonyms, with priority to the older name G. tylastra Boury-Esnault, 1973.