Prostaglandin pathway activation in the diatom Skeletonema marinoi under grazer pressure.

Prostaglandins (Pgs) are eicosanoid lipid mediators detected in all vertebrates, in some marine invertebrates, macroalgae and in diatoms, a class of eukaryotic microalgae composing the phytoplankton. The enzymes involved in the Pgs pathway were found to be differentially expressed in two strains of the diatom Skeletonema marinoi, named FE7 and FE60, already known to produce different levels of oxylipins, a class of secondary metabolites involved in the defence of diatoms against copepod predation, with FE7 being higher producer than FE60. In the present study we investigated the response of genes involved in the production of oxylipins and Pgs, evaluating their expression after the exposure to the copepod Temora stylifera.

Diatom-Bacteria Interactions in the Marine Environment: Complexity, Heterogeneity, and Potential for Biotechnological Applications.

Diatom-bacteria interactions evolved during more than 200 million years of coexistence in the same environment. In this time frame, they established complex and heterogeneous cohorts and consortia, creating networks of multiple cell-to-cell mutualistic or antagonistic interactions for nutrient exchanges, communication, and defence. The most diffused type of interaction between diatoms and bacteria is based on a win-win relationship in which bacteria benefit from the organic matter and nutrients released by diatoms, while these last rely on bacteria for the supply of nutrients they are not able to produce, such as vitamins and nitrogen.

Transcriptional analysis reveals that the intracellular lipid accumulation impairs gene expression profiles involved in insulin response-associated cardiac functionality.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a multisystemic and multicellular pathology that is generally associated with high levels of atherogenic lipoproteins in circulation. These lipoproteins tend to be retained and modified, for example, aggregated low-density lipoprotein (aggLDL), in the extracellular matrix of different tissues, such as the vascular wall and heart. The uptake of aggLDL generates a significant increase in cholesteryl ester (CE) in these tissues.

Three Novel Bacteria Associated with Two Centric Diatom Species from the Mediterranean Sea, and .

Diatoms are a successful group of microalgae at the base of the marine food web. For hundreds of millions of years, they have shared common habitats with bacteria, which favored the onset of interactions at different levels, potentially driving the synthesis of biologically active molecules. To unveil their presence, we sequenced the genomes of bacteria associated with the centric diatom from the Gulf of Naples.