New Furanone Derivatives and Alkaloids from the Co‐Culture of Marine‐Derived Fungi Aspergillus sclerotiorum and Penicillium citrinum

Six new compounds including two furanone derivatives sclerotiorumins A and B ( 1 and 2 ), one novel oxadiazin derivative sclerotiorumin C ( 3 ), one pyrrole derivative 1‐(4‐benzyl‐1H‐pyrrol‐3‐yl)ethanone ( 4 ), and two complexes of neoaspergillic acid aluminiumneohydroxyaspergillin ( 5 ) and ferrineohydroxyaspergillin ( 6 ) were isolated from the co‐culture of marine‐derived fungi Aspergillus sclerotiorum and Penicillium citrinum. Compound 3 was the first natural 1,2,4‐oxadiazin‐6‐one. Compound 5 showed significant and selective cytotoxicity against human histiocytic lymphoma U937 cell line (IC₅₀ = 4.2 μm ) and strong toxicity towards brine shrimp (LC₅₀ = 6.1 μm ), and oppositely increased the growth and biofilm formation of Staphylococcus aureus.     

有毒亚历山大藻对卤虫存活率和摄食率的影响

研究了有毒亚历山大藻对卤虫存活率和摄食率两方面的影响,得出以下结论：在卤虫存活率实验中,有毒亚历山大藻在2000cells／ml的密度下,对卤虫具有致死效应,卤虫在24-168h内全部死亡;在摄食实验中,有毒亚历山大藻对卤虫的摄食产生明显的抑制作用,卤虫对有毒藻的平均摄食率明显低于无毒藻组和混合实验组。在加入无毒藻东海原甲藻的混合培养状态下。卤虫存活率上升,30-60min摄食率增加,东海原甲藻在一定程度上可以减轻塔玛亚历山大藻对卤虫的毒害作用。有毒藻产生的PSP毒素并非导致卤虫死亡的主要原因,毒害作用可能与出现在卤虫体外的黏附物质有关。通过对3个不同生长期卤虫的研究发现,后无节幼体卤虫对有毒亚历山大藻的毒害作用最为敏感。     

Screening fusarium strains isolated from overwintered Canadian grains for trichothecenes

A survey of 38 samples of Canadian overwintered grains showed that 14 (37 %) contained viableFusarium. Of a total of 38Fusarium isolates, cultured on autoclaved corn, 20 (from 7 grain samples) showed toxicity to brine shrimp larvae and 12 (from 5 samples) produced levels of trichothecenes detectable by thin layer chromatography. The principal trichothecene found was T-2 toxin, produced by 10 strains and accompanied in half of these by neosolaniol; some of these strains were identified asF. sporotrichioides Sherbakoff. Two strains ofF. poae (Peck) Wollenw. formed small amounts of diacetoxyscirpenol. T-2 toxin was the most toxic of 8 trichothecenes tested on brine shrimp larvae; the wide range of toxicities limits the usefulness of this bioassay as a general screening method for trichothecenes.     

Are crustaceans linked to the ciguatera food chain?

Synopsis Adult brine shrimp, Artemia spp., were used as an experimental organism to elucidate the role that crustacea may play in the transference of ciguatera toxins. Some ciguatera-implicated dinoflagellates were highly toxic to brine shrimp that had consumed them. Four clones of Gambierdiscus toxicus were fed in four trials at rates ranging from 2 to 480 cells per adult brine shrimp; the 24 h LD₅₀ for the four clones were 2.8, 33.4, 41.1, and 104.5 cells per brine shrimp. Dinoflagellates Prorocentrum concavum and P. lima were also fed to adult brine shrimp, but minimal mortalities occurred at cell concentrations ranging up to 1000 cells per test animal. Tilapine cichlid (Oreochromis niloticus ×O. mossambicus) young fed brine shrimp containing G. toxicus cells displayed behavioral abnormalities ranging from spiral swimming to loss of equilibrium. The present data suggest that toxins accumulated by dinoflagellate-consuming crustaceans could produce toxicity in zooplanktivorous fish species, or to detritivores in cases where dinoflagellate consumption resulted in crustacean mortalities. Field studies of the ciguatera food chain should be expanded to include examination of crustacean diets to more fully define their role in toxin transfer.     

The American brine shrimp as an exotic invasive species in the western Mediterranean

The hypersaline environments and salterns present in the western Mediterranean region (including Italy, southern France, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco) contain autochthonous forms of the brine shrimp Artemia, with parthenogenetic diploid and tetraploid strains coexisting with the bisexual species A. salina. Introduced populations of the American brine shrimp A. franciscana have also been recorded in these Mediterranean environments since the 1980s. Based on brine shrimp cyst samples collected in these countries from 1980 until 2002, we were able to establish the present distribution of autochthonous brine shrimps and of A. franciscana, which is shown to be an expanding invasive species. The results obtained show that A. franciscana is now the dominant Artemia species in Portuguese salterns, along the French Mediterranean coast and in Cadiz bay (Spain). Co-occurrence of autochthonous (parthenogenetic) and American brine shrimp populations was observed in Morocco (Mar Chica) and France (Aigues Mortes), whereas A. franciscana was not found in Italian cyst samples. The results suggest these exotic A. franciscana populations originate as intentional or non-intentional inoculations through aquacultural (hatchery effluents) or pet market activities, and suggest that the native species can be rapidly replaced by the exotic species. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

29-Norcucurbitacin derivatives isolated from the Indonesian medicinal plant, Phaleria macrocarpa (Scheff.) Boerl

The new 29-norcucurbitacin, desacetylfevicordin A (1), together with three known 29-norcucurbitacin derivatives (2-4) were isolated from seeds of the Indonesian medicinal plant, Phaleria macrocarpa (Scheff.) Boerl. The structures of 1-4 were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses and chemical transformation. These compounds exhibited toxicity against the brine shrimp (Artemia salina).     

Structure-toxicity relationships of the eremophilane phomenone and PR-toxin

The structure-toxicity relationships of phomenone were studied on cuttings and seedlings of tomato, and on larvae of brine shrim. Four derivatives prepared by chemical modification of phomenone were tested in comparison with PR-toxin. The toxicity to tomato cuttings (wilting and necroses of leaflets) appeared to be dependent on the integrity of the phomenone molecule, as any structural modification markedly reduced or completely abolished its phytotoxicity. By contrast, the toxicity to tomato seedlings (growth inhibition of shoots and rootlets) and to brine shrimp (larvae mortality) suggested a role for the epoxy rings in eremophilane molecules, which was enhanced by acetylation, as demonstrated by the progressive loss of activity for the sequence PR-toxin, phomenone and 9-methoxy- 6,7-de-epoxyphomenone.     

Energy Budgets for Eared Grebes on the Great Salt Lake and Implications for Harvest of Brine Shrimp

ABSTRACT About 1.5-million eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis), representing half of the North American population, stage on Utah's Great Salt Lake, USA (GSL) during autumn migration to forage on brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana). Indirectly competing with birds for brine shrimp are commercial harvesters who annually collect >1 million kg (dry wt) of shrimp cysts (i.e., hardened eggs), an amount that during some years equals up to half of all brine shrimp cysts produced annually on the GSL. No information was available regarding what impact this commercial harvest was having on eared grebes. We determined daily energy requirements of eared grebes so that regulations governing brine shrimp cyst harvest would better reflect foraging needs of grebes. We measured basal metabolic rate (BMR) of eared grebes from June 2000 to October 2000. Mean BMR of 106 adult and subadult eared grebes was 0.023 kJ/g/hour (SD = 0.004), and mean BMR of 37 juveniles was 0.024 kJ/g/hour (SD = 0.003). Resting and preening metabolic rates were 1.2 times higher than BMR, whereas diving-bout metabolic rate was 1.7 times higher than BMR. Daily energy needs of an average-sized grebe (550 g) during November were 391 kJ. Meeting this energy need requires daily consumption of 24,400 adult brine shrimp. In addition, grebes must consume 2,100–5,200 adult shrimp daily to obtain enough energy reserves to continue their migration to California, USA, and Mexico. Hence, grebes need to consume 26,500–29,600 adult brine shrimp daily while staging on GSL. To achieve this high harvest rate, grebes need adult brine shrimp densities at >380 shrimp/m³during autumn. Commercial harvest of brine shrimp cysts from GSL should be curtailed when cyst densities fall below 20,000 cysts/m³to ensure enough adult brine shrimp for grebes during the subsequent year.     

Effects of toxic Alexandrium species on the survival and feeding rates of brine shrimp, Artemia salina

Zooplankton is an important link between phytoplankton and higher consumers in the marine food chain. To investigate the harmful effects of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium species on zooplankton, 4 strains of Alexandrium spp., isolated from the Chinese coast, were used to test the species' effects on the survival and feeding rates of the brine shrimp, Artemia salina. The experiment was designed to assess the response of A. salina in each stage of its life cycle: nauplii, metanauplii, and adult. Each experiment was conducted in a 500 ml treatment that was added. The toxic treatments consisted of single strains of A. minutum, A. catanella, and A. tamarense (Nanhai and Donghai strain), while non-toxic species (dinoflagellate Prorocentrum donghaiense and diatom Chaetoceros minutissimus) were used as control treatments. An additional phytoplankton treatment consisted of, a mixture of A. tamarense (Nanhai strain) and P. donghaiense. Alexandrium spp. species were found to have lethal effects on the brine shrimp at a density of 2000 cells/ml. All the brine shrimps died within 24-168 hours of inoculation with the 4 treatments each containing single toxic Alexandrium species. During the feeding experiment, toxic Alexandrium spp. caused a reduction in the feeding rates in all the three stages of the life cycle of A. salina, whereas this response was not obvious in the treatment involving the nontoxic species P. donghaiense. The body surface of the brine shrimp that were fed on Alexandrium species was consistently covered by a sticky floc. Mortality of A. salina was observed to increase with the occurrence of the floc. The toxicity of the paralytic shellfish poisons (PSP) produced by the Alexandrium species was not significantly correlated with the survival or the feeding rate of the brine shrimp. When A. tamarense was mixed with P. donghaiense, the lethal effect of A. tamarense decreased, as shown by an increase in the survival and the feeding rates of the brine shrimp. A. salina metanauplii were found at the life stage most sensitive to the toxic algae and hunger. In summary, toxic Alexandrium spp. were found to have lethal effects on A. salina and to restrain the brine shrimp's feeding rate. Nontoxic Prorocentrum mitigated the toxicity of Alexandrium to a certain extent. The results also imply that the sticky material on the surface of the body of the brine shrimp may have been an important lethal factor rather than the PSP toxins.     

Effects of toxic Alexandrium species on the survival and feeding rates of brine shrimp, Artemia salina

Zooplankton is an important link between phytoplankton and higher consumers in the marine food chain. To investigate the harmful effects of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium species on zooplankton, 4 strains of Alexandrium spp., isolated from the Chinese coast, were used to test the species' effects on the survival and feeding rates of the brine shrimp, Artemia salina. The experiment was designed to assess the response of A. salina in each stage of its life cycle: nauplii, metanauplii, and adult. Each experiment was conducted in a 500 ml treatment that was added. The toxic treatments consisted of single strains of A. minutum, A. catanella, and A. tamarense (Nanhai and Donghai strain), while non-toxic species (dinoflagellate Prorocentrum donghaiense and diatom Chaetoceros minutissimus) were used as control treatments. An additional phytoplankton treatment consisted of, a mixture of A. tamarense (Nanhai strain) and P. donghaiense. Alexandrium spp. species were found to have lethal effects on the brine shrimp at a density of 2000 cells/ml. All the brine shrimps died within 24-168 hours of inoculation with the 4 treatments each containing single toxic Alexandrium species. During the feeding experiment, toxic Alexandrium spp. caused a reduction in the feeding rates in all the three stages of the life cycle of A. salina, whereas this response was not obvious in the treatment involving the nontoxic species P. donghaiense. The body surface of the brine shrimp that were fed on Alexandrium species was consistently covered by a sticky floc. Mortality of A. salina was observed to increase with the occurrence of the floc. The toxicity of the paralytic shellfish poisons (PSP) produced by the Alexandrium species was not significantly correlated with the survival or the feeding rate of the brine shrimp. When A. tamarense was mixed with P. donghaiense, the lethal effect of A. tamarense decreased, as shown by an increase in the survival and the feeding rates of the brine shrimp. A. salina metanauplii were found at the life stage most sensitive to the toxic algae and hunger. In summary, toxic Alexandrium spp. were found to have lethal effects on A. salina and to restrain the brine shrimp's feeding rate. Nontoxic Prorocentrum mitigated the toxicity of Alexandrium to a certain extent. The results also imply that the sticky material on the surface of the body of the brine shrimp may have been an important lethal factor rather than the PSP toxins.     

Identification of a Unique Azaphilone Produced by Chaetomium globosum Isolated from Polygonatum sibiricum

A new azaphilone, chaephilone E, eight azaphilone derivatives, and three chaetoglobosins were isolated from endophytic fungi Chaetomium globosum. The structures of the compounds were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR as well as HR‐ESI‐MS data, and the absolute configuration of chaephilone E was established on the basis of electronic circular dichroism and NOESY spectrum. The activity of chaephilone E was evaluated via the cytotoxic assay (human hepatoma cell lines HepG‐2) and brine shrimp (Artemia salina) bioassay.     

海洋链霉菌S007次生代谢产物的分离鉴定(英文)

采用柱层析、制备薄层层析等方法从海洋链霉菌S007的发酵液提取物中分离得到了9个化合物,经波谱分析确定为嘧啶(1),吡咯-2-羧酸(2),卡拉霉素(3),3-吲哚丙酸(4),吲哚-3-羧酸(5),N-乙酰基酪胺(6),2’-胸腺嘧啶脱氧核苷(7),N-β-乙酰色胺酸(8)和三乙胺盐酸盐(9)。其中三乙胺盐酸盐是首次从链霉菌中得到;海虾致死实验结果显示:化合物3在40μg/mL浓度下对丰年虾的致死率为86.5%,表明卡拉霉素对丰年虾表现出很强的毒性作用。     

Identification of (Na,K)ATPase inhibitor in brine shrimp,Artemia salina,as long-chain fatty acids

Summary An inhibitory activity to (Na,K)ATPase was found in cell extracts of the brine shrimp, Artemia salina, irrespective of its developmental stages. Organic solvent extraction together with gas chromatographic analysis reveals that the inhibitory activity is due to long-chain, non-esterified fatty acids and their derivatives. Unsaturated fatty acids, especially with cis-configuration, are more effective in inhibition than saturated ones.Abbreviations ATPase adenosine triphosphatase - EDTA ethylenediamine-tetraacetate - TLC thin-layer chromatography     

Robinlin: a novel bioactive homo-monoterpene from Robinia pseudoacacia L. (Fabaceae)

A bioactivity-directed fractionation of the ethanolic extracts of Robinia pseudoacacia L. (Fabaceae) afforded robinlin (1), a novel homo-monoterpene. The structure of 1 was elucidated by spectral analyses of the parent compound as well as its derivatives; 1 showed strong bioactivity in the brine shrimp lethality test (BST).     

A comparison between two brine shrimp assays to detect in vitro cytotoxicity in marine natural products

Background  

The brine shrimp lethality assay is considered a useful tool for preliminary assessment of toxicity. It has also been suggested for screening pharmacological activities in plant extracts. However, we think that it is necessary to evaluate the suitability of the brine shrimp methods before they are used as a general bio-assay to test natural marine products for pharmacological activity.     

Nearshore and pelagic abundances of Artemia monica in Mono Lake,California

The spatial distribution and abundance of the brine shrimp, Artemia monica, in Mono Lake, California were determined during 1982 and 1983. Peak abundances of shrimp occur in midsummer and reach densities of 15–17 individuals l^-1 in the nearshore regions and 6–8 individuals 1^-1 in the pelagic region. The brine shrimp were non-uniformly distributed both vertically and horizontally. The coefficient of variation in shrimp abundance among stations within the nearshore region was similar to that found in the pelagic region. On two of the nine dates, nearshore densities were 3 to 4 times greater than those in the pelagic zone, and on average the brine shrimp appear to be slightly over-dispersed to the nearshore region. However, including nearshore abundances in lakewide estimates will usually result in a change of less than a 10%.     

Artemia cysts as an alternative food for the predatory bug Macrolophus pygmaeus

The suitability of cysts of the brine shrimp Artemia sp. as a factitious food for the predator Macrolophus pygmaeus Rambur was investigated. The influence of decapsulation time and hydration of the cysts on the performance of the predator were studied in the absence of plant material. A longer time of decapsulation had a positive influence on the development of the predator. Hydration of cysts had a significant impact on nymphal survival when cysts where non‐decapsulated or poorly decapsulated. An experiment in which nymphs were switched from a diet of hydrated cysts to non‐hydrated cysts showed that in the absence of plant material the relative importance of hydrating the cysts decreased with nymphal age. Especially, the first instar and to a lesser extent the second instar appear to be susceptible to water shortage. Effects of prolonged rearing on development and reproduction on brine shrimp cysts from different origins were tested in the presence of plant material. Rearing M. pygmaeus on Artemia sp. (Jingyu Lake) cysts yielded similar survival, development, adult weight and fecundity in the fourth as in the second generation. In contrast, for Artemia franciscana cysts, an increase in nymphal development was notable. Biochemical analyses showed that total amino acid content and the concentration of the different amino acids did not differ among diets and generations. There were, however, differences in total fatty acid content between the different diets and generations and in the concentration of certain fatty acids, indicating that insects fed brine shrimp cysts may show nutritional deficiencies compared to those reared on a diet of Ephestia kuehniella eggs. Our results indicate that decapsulated brine shrimp cysts are an economically viable alternative food source in at least part of the rearing process for M. pygmaeus.     

PLASTICITY OF JAW AND SKULL MORPHOLOGY IN THE NEOTROPICAL CICHLIDS GEOPHAGUS BRASILIENSIS AND G. STEINDACHNERI

I examined plasticity of jaw and skull morphology induced by feeding different diets in two species of the neotropical cichlid genus Geophagus. The two species possess different modes of development, which affect the size at which young begin feeding. I hypothesized that the difference in size at first feeding could lead to a difference in the amount of change inducible in the two species. The young of the substrate-spawning species, G. brasiliensis, which begin feeding at a smaller size, were predicted to be more plastic than those of the mouthbrooding species, G. steindachneri. The two diets used to induce differences were brine shrimp nauplii and chironomid larvae. Numerous measures of the jaw and skull differed significantly between groups fed the two diets but the amount of plasticity induced was small and would not present a problem for taxonomists. Contrary to my prediction, both the magnitude and pattern of plasticity induced in the two species was similar. Thus, mode of parental care and the size at which young begin feeding do not affect the degree of plasticity. Fish fed brine shrimp nauplii were longer in oral jaw region, but were shorter and shallower in the area behind the oral jaws. An additional group of G. brasiliensis was fed flake food to compare the results of this study to other studies. The differences in measures between fish fed brine shrimp diets and flake food diets were greater than those between fish fed brine shrimp and chironomid larvae. A possible role of plasticity for enhancing rather than retarding morphological evolution is discussed.     

An Evaluation of a Point Source Brine Discharge into a Riverine System and Implications for TDS Limitations

The North Fork Holston River (NFHR) below Saltville, Virginia, has been the subject of many studies due to years of contamination from a closed chloroalkali plant. In addition, a point source brine discharge high in total dissolved solids (TDS) may also be adversely affecting aquatic biota. This study assessed the toxicity of the brine discharge to selected test organisms, including two freshwater mussel species and also discusses implications for development of a TDS limit based on brine toxicity. Ceriodaphnia dubia was the most sensitive organism in acute and chronic brine toxicity tests. Bivariate analysis of the brine conductivity and C. dubia LC₅₀ values showed no relationship (p = .1756); however, LC₅₀ values were strongly related (r² = 0.8818) to sodium concentrations in the brine discharge. A comparison of the results from acute tests with the brine effluent and the reference toxicant sodium chloride (NaCl) demonstrated that organisms were more sensitive to NaCl. Brine discharge toxicity to C. dubia was variable during the study duration with toxicity determined to be dependent on specific TDS constituents rather than conductivity or TDS. These results suggest the need for site-specific development of TDS criteria that are based on the specific constituents in a discharge.     

Occurrence and toxicity of Amphidinium carterae Hulburt in the North Arabian Sea

The occurrence and toxicity of Amphidinium carterae Hulburt is hereby reported for the first time from the North Arabian Sea on the coast of Pakistan. The concentrations of 1.2 × 10⁴ cells ml⁻¹ were found in intertidal pools that were also inhabited by the brown macroalga Sargassum wightii. Both wild and cultured A. carterae cells were tested for ciguatera toxicity through exposure to brine shrimp nauplii (Artemia salina) and albino mice. Although the brine shrimp did not appear to be affected mortalities in mice ranged between 13 and 16% at doses of 7.2 × 10⁴ and 2.5 × 10⁵ cells ml⁻¹, respectively. When mice were affected pharmacological effects such as muscle contraction in lower back area, increased respiration, immobility and paralysis in hind limbs were observed for 2 h. These effects appeared to be reversible and gradually disappeared within 24 h.