Publications by authors named "S Topa"

Ocean warming has caused coral mass bleaching and mortality worldwide and the persistence of symbiotic reef-building corals requires rapid acclimation or adaptation. Experimental evolution of the coral's microalgal symbionts followed by their introduction into coral is one potential method to enhance coral thermotolerance. Heat-evolved microalgal symbionts of the generalist species, Cladocopium proliferum (strain SS8), were exposed to elevated temperature (31°C) for ~10 years, and were introduced into four genotypes of chemically bleached adult fragments of the scleractinian coral, Galaxea fascicularis.

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Background: Reef-building corals are acutely threatened by ocean warming, calling for active interventions to reduce coral bleaching and mortality. Corals associate with a wide diversity of bacteria which can influence coral health, but knowledge of specific functions that may be beneficial for corals under thermal stress is scant. Under the oxidative stress theory of coral bleaching, bacteria that scavenge reactive oxygen (ROS) or nitrogen species (RNS) are expected to enhance coral thermal resilience.

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Contact surfaces have been identified as one of the main routes for pathogen transmission. The efficacy to kill both viruses and bacteria on touch surfaces is critical to reducing the rampant spread of harmful pathogens. Copper is one such material that has been traditionally used for its antimicrobial properties.

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Quorum sensing (QS) plays an important role during infection for the opportunistic human pathogen . Quorum sensing inhibition (QSI) can disrupt this initial event of infection without killing bacterial cells, and thus QS inhibitors have been suggested as novel approaches for anti-infective therapy. Cinnamaldehyde (CAD) is a biofilm inhibitor and disperser of preformed biofilms.

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Bacterial biofilms can cause serious health care complications associated with increased morbidity and mortality. There is an urge to discover and develop new biofilm inhibitors from natural products or by modifying natural compounds or understanding the modes of action of existing compounds. Cinnamaldehyde (CAD), one of the major components of cinnamon oil, has been demonstrated to act as an antimicrobial agent against a number of Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Helicobacter pylori and Listeria monocytogenes.

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