Therapeutic Potential of Seaweed-Derived Laminaran: Attenuation of Clinical Drug Cytotoxicity and Reactive Oxygen Species Scavenging.

β-glucan has been shown to be effective for several diseases such as immune regulation and blood pressure suppression. Seaweed contains a β-1,3/1,6-glucan called laminaran. The present commercial source of β-glucan is black yeast; however, a fermentation process using organic carbon substrates makes production unsustainable, whereas macroalgae provide a sustainable alternative with the use of CO and seawater as growth substrates.

Deciphering functional biomolecule potential of marine diatoms through complex network approach.

Marine diatoms are unique reservoirs of bioactive compounds having enormous applications in therapeutics. But high-throughput screening methods are needed to elucidate the interaction between numerous biomolecules and their targets, facilitating rapid screening for novel drug molecules. So, in the present study chemical constituents were extracted from five marine diatoms using un-targeted metabolite profiling and in-silico virtual screening bioinformatics was employed to predict their bioactivity and molecular targets.

A Novel Polyculture Growth Model of Native Microalgal Communities to Estimate Biomass Productivity for Biofuel Production.

Native polyculture microalgae is a promising scheme to produce microalgal biomass as biofuel feedstock in an open raceway pond. However, predicting biomass productivity of native polycultures microalgae is incredibly complicated. Therefore, developing polyculture growth model to forecast biomass yield is indispensable for commercial-scale production.

Characteristic terahertz absorption spectra of paramylon and paramylon-ester compounds.

Paramylon is a long-chain polysaccharide, composed of glucose units connected via β-(1,3) glycosidic bonds, that spontaneously forms a three-strand helical bundle. Paramylon-esters can be made by partially or fully replacing saccharide chain hydroxide groups with carboxylic functional groups, such as stearoyl (CH(CH)CO) and palmitoyl (CH(CH)CO). The paramylon-ester with carboxylic acids has superior characteristics, including high thermal resistance, stability and transparency under visible light, which are necessary for thermoplastic applications.

Molecular vibration and Boson peak analysis of glucose polymers and ester via terahertz spectroscopy.

Complex permittivity spectra were obtained herein by performing broadband terahertz (THz) spectroscopy on cellulose, paramylon, and paramylon ester. Absorption peaks observed for cellulose and paramylon at approximately 3 THz are attributed to hydrogen bonds. In addition, a broad absorption peak around 2 THz was observed for all the polymers, demonstrating a general feature of polymer glasses derived from weak interatomic van der Waals forces.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of 4W-1b Ethanol Extract on Murine Macrophage RAW264 Cells.

4W-1b (AL4W-1b) is a newly discovered microalgal strain with unique features. In the present study, we investigated the effects of ethanol extracts of AL4W-1b on lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced inflammatory responses in RAW264 murine macrophage cells. Pretreatment of RAW264 cells with the AL4W-1b extract significantly reduced the production of LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) and the expression of proinflammatory cytokine genes, including tumor necrosis factor , interleukin- (IL-) 1, and IL-6.

Ethanol Extract of 18W-13a Strain Possesses Anti-inflammatory Effects on Murine Macrophage RAW264 Cells.

In this study, the effects of an ethanolic extract of 18W-13a strain (AM18W-13a) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses in RAW264 murine macrophages were studied. Pre-treatment with the AM18W-13a extract significantly suppressed the LPS-induced production of nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokines. RAW264 cells treated with the AM18W-13a extract for 1 and 24 h were subjected to DNA microarray analyses for detecting the differentially expressed genes.

Enigmatic Diphyllatea eukaryotes: culturing and targeted PacBio RS amplicon sequencing reveals a higher order taxonomic diversity and global distribution.

Background: The class Diphyllatea belongs to a group of enigmatic unicellular eukaryotes that play a key role in reconstructing the morphological innovation and diversification of early eukaryotic evolution. Despite its evolutionary significance, very little is known about the phylogeny and species diversity of Diphyllatea. Only three species have described morphology, being taxonomically divided by flagella number, two or four, and cell size.

Adaptation of the Freshwater Bloom-Forming Cyanobacterium to Brackish Water Is Driven by Recent Horizontal Transfer of Sucrose Genes.

is a bloom-forming cyanobacterium found in eutrophic water bodies worldwide. blooms usually occur in freshwater; however, they have also been reported to occur in brackish water. Because often produces the cyanotoxin microcystin, they are a major concern to public health and environment.

Draft Genome Sequence of "Candidatus Phycosocius bacilliformis," an Alphaproteobacterial Ectosymbiont of the Hydrocarbon-Producing Green Alga Botryococcus braunii.

" Phycosocius bacilliformis" is an alphaproteobacterial ectosymbiont of the hydrocarbon-producing green alga We sequenced the whole genome of " P. bacilliformis" BOTRYCO-2, isolated from a two-membered culture with The genome contains approximately 3.3 Mb, with an average G+C content of 56.

Nutrient recycle from defatted microalgae (Aurantiochytrium) with hydrothermal treatment for microalgae cultivation.

Defatted heterotrophic microalgae (Aurantiochytrium limacinum SR21) was treated with high temperature water (175-350°C, 10-90min) to obtain nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients as a water soluble fraction (WS). Yields of nitrogen and phosphorous recovered in WS varied from 38 to 100% and from 57 to 99%, respectively. Maximum yields of nitrogen containing compounds in WS were proteins (43%), amino acids (12%) and ammonia (60%) at treatment temperatures of 175, 250 and 350°C, respectively.

Fibrophrys columna gen. nov., sp. nov: A member of the family Amphifilidae.

A novel Diplophrys-like organism, Fibrophrys columna, was isolated from Hiuchigaike Pond in Japan. F. columna showed a nearly orbicular or broadly elliptical cell shape and has fine filamentous, branching ectoplasmic elements emanating from both polar ends of the cell.

Identification of a Major Lipid Droplet Protein in a Marine Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.

Various kinds of organisms, including microalgae, accumulate neutral lipids in distinct intracellular compartments called lipid droplets. Generally, lipid droplets are generated from the endoplasmic reticulum, and particular proteins localize on their surface. Some of these proteins function as structural proteins to prevent fusion between the lipid droplets, and the others could have an enzymatic role or might be involved in intracellular membrane trafficking.

A novel alphaproteobacterial ectosymbiont promotes the growth of the hydrocarbon-rich green alga Botryococcus braunii.

Botryococcus braunii is a colony-forming green alga that accumulates large amounts of liquid hydrocarbons within the colony. The utilization of B. braunii for biofuel production is however hindered by its low biomass productivity.

Catalytic gasification of oil-extracted residue biomass of Botryococcus braunii.

Catalytic gasification of the oil-extracted residue biomass of Botryococcus braunii was demonstrated in a laboratory-scale continuous feeding dual bed reactor. Steam gasification at 1023 K over Ni-Fe/Mg/Al catalyst can completely reform tar derived from pyrolysis of the residue biomass into C1 gases and hydrogen, and has achieved 91%-C conversion to gaseous product (CO+CO2+CH4). Composition of product gas has higher contents of CO and H2 with their ratio (H2/CO) of around 2.

Desiccation tolerance of (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) and extreme temperature tolerance of dehydrated cells.

Kützing, a green colonial microalga, occurs worldwide in both freshwater and brackish water environments. Despite considerable attention to as a potential source of renewable fuel, many ecophysiological properties of this alga remain unknown. Here, we examined the desiccation and temperature tolerances of using two newly isolated strains BOD-NG17 and BOD-GJ2.

Diplophrys mutabilis sp. nov., a new member of Labyrinthulomycetes from freshwater habitats.

Diplophrys is a ubiquitous protist genus belonging to the class Labyrinthulomycetes. Although most members of Labyrinthulomycetes prefer marine habitats, the genus Diplophrys exclusively consists of the freshwater species Diplophrys archeri and Diplophrys parva. To investigate the genus Diplophrys, several novel strains were isolated from Japanese freshwater environments, and cultures of the strains were established.

Optimization of light for growth, photosynthesis, and hydrocarbon production by the colonial microalga Botryococcus braunii BOT-22.

Optimization of the light conditions for biofuel production by the microalga Botryococcus braunii BOT-22 (race B) was performed using monochromatic red light. The lipid and sugar contents were approximately 40% and 20-30% of the cell dry weight, respectively, and about half of the lipids were liquid hydrocarbons. The half-saturation intensities for the production rate of lipids, hydrocarbons, and sugars were 63, 49, and 44μmolm(-2)s(-1), respectively.

Modes of hydrocarbon oil biosynthesis revealed by comparative gene expression analysis for race A and race B strains of Botryococcus braunii.

To clarify the oil biosynthetic routes of the oil-producing green alga Botryococcus braunii, here the race-specific gene expression patterns were examined using representative strains of race A and race B producing fatty acid- and triterpene-derived hydrocarbon oils, respectively. The strain-specific gene expression patterns in the BOT-88-2 strain (race A) and the BOT-22 strain (race B) were revealed by transcriptome comparison and real-time PCR quantification. For race A, it was inferred from the gene expression patterns that the fatty acid elongation in the acyl-carrier-protein (acp)-bound form followed by further elongation in the coenzyme A (CoA)-bound form is the major route of oil biosynthesis.

Transcriptome analysis of an oil-rich race B strain of Botryococcus braunii (BOT-70) by de novo assembly of 5'-end sequences of full-length cDNA clones.

Here the transcriptome of an oil-rich race B strain of Botryococcus braunii (BOT-70) was analyzed to mine genetic information useful in biofuel development. A full-length-enriched cDNA library was constructed via the oligo-capping method and the 5' ends of 11,904 randomly chosen cDNA clones were sequenced. Homology search using BLASTX identified candidate BOT-70 genes for majority of the reactions required for biosynthesis of botryococcenes through the mevalonate-independent pathway.

Transcriptome analysis of an oil-rich race A strain of Botryococcus braunii (BOT-88-2) by de novo assembly of pyrosequencing cDNA reads.

To gain genetic information of oil-producing algae Botryococcus braunii, a novel dataset of 185,936 complementary DNA (cDNA) reads was obtained via pyrosequencing for the representative race A strain (strain BOT-88-2) exhibiting high oil productivity. The cDNA reads were assembled to retrieve 29,038 non-redundant sequences and 964 of them were successfully annotated based on similarity to database sequences. The transcriptome data embraced candidate genes for majority of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of unsaturated very long-chain fatty acids.

Thraustochytrid Aurantiochytrium sp. 18W-13a accummulates high amounts of squalene.

Here we report on the 18W-13a strain of Aurantiochytrium sp., which accumulates very high amounts of squalene. The squalene contents and production at 4 d of culture were 198 mg/g and 1.