Characterization of marine bacteria and the activity of their enzyme systems involved in degradation of the algal storage glucan laminarin.

The algal storage glucan laminarin is one of the most abundant carbon sources for marine prokaryotes. Its degradation was investigated in bacteria isolated during and after a spring phytoplankton bloom in the coastal North Sea. On average, 13% of prokaryotes detected by epifluorescence counts were able to grow in Most Probable Number dilution series on laminarin as sole carbon source.

Chemical characterisation of three haemolytic compounds from the microalgal species Fibrocapsa japonica (Raphidophyceae).

The molecular structures of the three main haemolytic compounds (Fj1, Fj2 and Fj3) isolated from the ichthyotoxic microalgal species Fibrocapsa japonica have been investigated by NMR, LC-ESI-MS, ESI-MS-MS, IR, GC-MS and GC-HRMS methods. They are polyunsaturated fatty acids which we identified as: 6,9,12,15-octadecatetraenoic acid (OTA, C18:4omega3), 5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5omega3) and 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (arachidonic acid AA, C20:4omega6). The identity of the latter two was confirmed on the basis of commercial standards (C20:5omega3 and C20:4omega6).