Aquatic Biomaterial Repositories: Comprehensive Guidelines, Recommendations, and Best Practices for Their Development, Establishment, and Sustainable Operation.

The alarming pace of species extinction severely threatens terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, undermining the crucial ecological services vital for environmental sustainability and human well-being. Anthropogenic activities, such as urbanization, agriculture, industrialization, and those inducing climate change, intensify these risks, further imperiling biodiversity. Of particular importance are aquatic organisms, pivotal in biodiscovery and biotechnology.

Novel metabolite madeirone and neomarinone extracted from as marine antibiofilm and antifouling agents.

Biofouling poses a significant economic threat to various marine industries, leading to financial losses that can reach billions of euros annually. This study highlights the urgent need for effective alternatives to traditional antifouling agents, particularly following the global ban on organotin compounds. PTM-346 was isolated from sediment samples on the shores of the Madeira Archipelago, Portugal.

Ecotoxicological assessment of biomass-derived furan platform chemicals using aquatic and terrestrial bioassays.

An environmental toxicological assessment of fourteen furanic compounds serving as valuable building blocks produced from biomass was performed. The molecules selected included well studied compounds serving as control examples to compare the toxicity exerted against a variety of highly novel furans which have been additionally targeted as potential or current alternatives to biofuels, building blocks and polymer monomers. The impact of the furan platform chemicals targeted on widely applied ecotoxicity model organisms was determined employing the marine bioluminescent bacterium and the freshwater green microalgae , while their ecotoxicity effects on plants were assessed using dicotyledonous plants and .

A guide to the use of bioassays in exploration of natural resources.

Bioassays are the main tool to decipher bioactivities from natural resources thus their selection and quality are critical for optimal bioprospecting. They are used both in the early stages of compounds isolation/purification/identification, and in later stages to evaluate their safety and efficacy. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the most common bioassays used in the discovery and development of new bioactive compounds with a focus on marine bioresources.

Overview and Challenges of Large-Scale Cultivation of Photosynthetic Microalgae and Cyanobacteria.

Microalgae and cyanobacteria are diverse groups of organisms with great potential to benefit societies across the world. These organisms are currently used in food, feed, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In addition, a variety of novel compounds are being isolated.

Undisturbed Posidonia oceanica meadows maintain the epiphytic bacterial community in different environments.

Seagrasses harbour different and rich epiphytic bacterial communities. These microbes may establish intimate and symbiotic relationships with the seagrass plants and change according to host species, environmental conditions, and/or ecophysiological status of their seagrass host. Although Posidonia oceanica is one of the most studied seagrasses in the world, and bacteria associated with seagrasses have been studied for over a decade, P.

Improving awareness, understanding, and enforcement of responsibilities and regulations in Blue Biotechnology.

Blue Biotechnology is developing rapidly worldwide. However, the Nagoya Protocol (NP), Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and other regulatory requirements in this field are falling behind. This article identifies the main RRI, NP, and regulatory gaps and provides key recommendations to mitigate these challenges.

Integrating environmental DNA monitoring to inform eel () status in freshwaters at their easternmost range-A case study in Cyprus.

Despite significant population declines and targeted European Union regulations aimed at conservation, little attention has been given to their status at their easternmost range. This study applies wide-scale integrated monitoring to uncover the present-day eel distribution in Cyprus' inland freshwaters. These are subject to increasing pressures from water supply requirements and dam construction, as seen throughout the Mediterranean.

AIMSurv: First pan-European harmonized surveillance of invasive mosquito species of relevance for human vector-borne diseases.

Human and animal vector-borne diseases, particularly mosquito-borne diseases, are emerging or re-emerging worldwide. Six invasive mosquito (AIM) species were introduced to Europe since the 1970s: , , , , and . Here, we report the results of AIMSurv2020, the first pan-European surveillance effort for AIMs.

Responsible Research and Innovation Framework, the Nagoya Protocol and Other European Blue Biotechnology Strategies and Regulations: Gaps Analysis and Recommendations for Increased Knowledge in the Marine Biotechnology Community.

As the quest for marine-derived compounds with pharmacological and biotechnological potential upsurges, the importance of following regulations and applying Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) also increases. This article aims at: (1) presenting an overview of regulations and policies at the international and EU level, while demonstrating a variability in their implementation; (2) highlighting the importance of RRI in biodiscovery; and (3) identifying gaps and providing recommendations on how to improve the market acceptability and compliance of novel Blue Biotechnology compounds. This article is the result of the work of the Working Group 4 "Legal aspects, IPR and Ethics" of the COST Action CA18238 Ocean4Biotech, a network of more than 130 Marine Biotechnology scientists and practitioners from 37 countries.

Evolution of prokaryotic colonisation of greenhouse plastics discarded into the environment.

Current knowledge on the capacity of plastics as vectors of microorganisms and their ability to transfer microorganisms between different habitats (i.e. air, soil and river) is limited.

Comparison of different cultures and culturing conditions for the biological deterioration of organic load from real saline bilge wastewater: microbial diversity insights and ecotoxicity assessment.

Bilge wastewater is a high strength, typically saline wastewater, originating from operation of ships. In this study, the treatment of real bilge wastewater was tested using pure isolated aerobic strains and mixed cultures (aerobic and anaerobic). The Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and ecotoxicity decrease were monitored over time, while the microbial dynamics alterations in mixed cultures were also recorded.

Cyprus' diatom diversity and the association of environmental and anthropogenic influences for ecological assessment of rivers using DNA metabarcoding.

Human activities are the leading cause of environmental impairments. Appropriate biomonitoring of ecosystems is needed to assess these activities effectively. In freshwater ecosystems, periphytic and epilithic biofilms have diatom assemblages.

Exploring the phototransformation and assessing the in vitro and in silico toxicity of a mixture of pharmaceuticals susceptible to photolysis.

The present study comprehensively investigates the phototransformation and ecotoxicity of a mixture of twelve pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) susceptible to photolysis. Namely, three antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin), three antidepressants (bupropion, duloxetine, olanzapine), three anti-inflammatory drugs (diclofenac, ketoprofen, nimesulide), two beta-blockers (propranolol, timolol) and the antihistamine ranitidine were treated under simulated solar irradiation in ultra-pure and river water. A total of 166 different transformation products (TPs) were identified by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Orbitrap HRMS), revealing the formation of twelve novel TPs and forty-nine not previously described in photolytic studies.

Practical management plan for invasive mosquito species in Europe: I. Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus).

Aedes albopictus, also known as the "Asian Tiger Mosquito", is an invasive mosquito species to Europe causing high concern in public health due to its severe nuisance and its vectorial capacity for pathogens such as dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika. Consequently, the responsible authorities implement management activities to reduce its population density, possibly to below noxious and epidemiological thresholds. In urban areas, these aims are difficult to achieve because of the species' ability to develop in a wide range of artificial breeding sites, mainly private properties.

Resolution of alkaloid racemate: a novel microbial approach for the production of enantiopure lupanine via industrial wastewater valorization.

Background: Lupanine is a plant toxin contained in the wastewater of lupine bean processing industries, which could be used for semi-synthesis of various novel high added-value compounds. This paper introduces an environmental friendly process for microbial production of enantiopure lupanine.

Results: Previously isolated P.

The Effect of Weather Variables on Mosquito Activity: A Snapshot of the Main Point of Entry of Cyprus.

Mosquitoes are vectors of pathogens, causing human and animal diseases. Their ability to adapt and expand worldwide increases spread of mosquito-borne diseases. Climate changes contribute in enhancing these "epidemic conditions".

Bioconversion of alkaloids to high-value chemicals: Comparative analysis of newly isolated lupanine degrading strains.

This work explores the potential for development of a lupanine valorization process evaluating different isolated microorganisms for their capacity to metabolize the alkaloid. Ecotoxicological assessment demonstrated that lupanine is toxic for Vibrio fischeri and Daphnia magna exhibiting EC values of 89 mg L and 47 mg L respectively, while acting both as growth inhibitor for a monocotyledonous and as promoter for a dicotyledonous plant. Among the eight aerobic and anaerobic strains isolated and identified Rhodococcus rhodochrous LPK211 achieved 81% removal for 1.

Assessing the potential of pharmaceuticals and their transformation products to cause mutagenic effects: Implications for gene expression profiling.

The selection and prioritization of pharmaceuticals and their transformation products for evaluating effects on the environment and human health is a challenging task. One common approach is based on compounds (e.g.

The mosquito fauna of the Republic of Cyprus: a revised list.

The Cyprus Public Health Service has regularly conducted mosquito surveillance in the Republic of Cyprus over the past 10 years. Twenty-three species belonging to 6 genera and 10 subgenera have been recorded to date, including species documented from earlier surveys. As a result of this program, new mosquito species for Cyprus have been recorded, including Anopheles marteri, Culex theileri, Cx.

Susceptibility of Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) field populations in Cyprus to conventional organic insecticides, Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis, and methoprene.

Culex pipiens pipiens L. populations on Cyprus were sampled over a 6-yr period from 2002 to 2008 to evaluate the status of insecticide resistance toward the insecticides temephos, chlorpyrifos, and permethrin and to study susceptibility levels toward the recently introduced bacterial insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis De Barjac and the juvenile hormone analog, methoprene.