Potential of Marine Sponge Metabolites against Prions: Bromotyrosine Derivatives, a Family of Interest.

The screening of 166 extracts from tropical marine organisms (invertebrates, macroalgae) and 3 cyclolipopeptides from microorganisms against yeast prions highlighted the potential of Verongiida sponges to prevent the propagation of prions. We isolated the known compounds purealidin Q (), aplysamine-2 (), pseudoceratinine A (), aerophobin-2 (), aplysamine-1 (), and pseudoceratinine B () for the first time from the Wallisian sponge . We then tested compounds - and sixteen other bromotyrosine and bromophenol derivatives previously isolated from Verongiida sponges against yeast prions, demonstrating the potential of -, , , aplyzanzine C (), purealidin A (), psammaplysenes D () and F (), anomoian F (), and N,N-dimethyldibromotyramine ().

Climate change and diminishing seasonality in Arctic benthic processes.

The iconic picture of Arctic marine ecosystems shows an intense pulse of biological productivity around the spring bloom that is sustained while fresh organic matter (OM) is available, after which ecosystem activity declines to basal levels in autumn and winter. We investigated seasonality in benthic biogeochemical cycling at three stations in a high Arctic fjord that has recently lost much of its seasonal ice-cover. Unlike observations from other Arctic locations, we find little seasonality in sediment community respiration and bioturbation rates, although different sediment reworking modes varied through the year.