Submarine Groundwater Discharge to the Coastal Environment of a Mediterranean Island (Majorca, Spain): Ecosystem and Biogeochemical Significance

This article reports the results of a study of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to coastal waters of Majorca (NW Mediterranean). The overall aim is to evaluate the relevance of SGD of the island and chemically characterize the components that are supplied to the coastal waters through this pathway. Although other discharge areas are identified, we particularly focus on SGD in bays and areas of increased sea water residence time where effects of the discharges are expected to be most notable. Analysis at four selected embayments with different land-use characteristics indicated a link between human activities (mainly agriculture and urban) and compounds arriving to the coast. A pathway for these elements is the diffuse discharge along the shoreline, as suggested by the inverse relationship between salinity and nutrients in nearshore porewaters. A general survey was conducted at 46 sites around the island, and used dissolved radium as a qualitative indicator of SGD. Measurements of nutrients (P and N), pCO₂ and TOC were performed to characterize the elements delivered to the coastal environment. Most nearshore samples showed ²²⁴Ra enrichment (mean ± SE, 7.0 ± 0.6 dpm 100 l^?1) with respect to offshore waters (1.1 ± 0.2 dpm 100 l^?1); however, ²²⁴Ra measurements along the coast were highly variable (1.0–38.1 dpm 100 l^?1). Coastal samples with enhanced radium levels showed elevated pCO₂ with respect to atmospheric concentrations, which together with high pCO₂ in groundwater (>5,000 ppm) indicates that SGD is an important vector of CO₂ to coastal waters. Moreover, a relationship between ²²⁴Ra and phytoplankton biomass was established, suggesting an important impact of SGD on coastal productivity. The results presented here provide a first approximation of the SGD effect in the coastal waters of Majorca, and indicate that SGD could be an important source of nutrients and CO₂ to the coast, strongly influencing the productivity and biogeochemical cycling of the coastal waters of Majorca.     

The changing biological roles of melatonin during evolution: from an antioxidant to signals of darkness,sexual selection and fitness

Melatonin is a molecule present in a multitude of taxa and may be ubiquitous in organisms. It has been found in bacteria, unicellular eukaryotes, macroalgae, fungi, plants and animals. A primary biological function of melatonin in primitive unicellular organisms is in antioxidant defence to protect against toxic free radical damage. During evolution, melatonin has been adopted by multicellular organisms to perform many other biological functions. These functions likely include the chemical expression of darkness in vertebrates, environmental tolerance in fungi and plants, sexual signaling in birds and fish, seasonal reproductive regulation in photoperiodic mammals, and immunomodulation and anti‐inflammatory activity in all vertebrates tested. Moreover, its waning production during aging may indicate senescence in terms of a bio‐clock in many organisms. Conversely, high melatonin levels can serve as a signal of vitality and health. The multiple biological functions of melatonin can partially be attributed to its unconventional metabolism which is comprised of multi‐enzymatic, pseudo‐enzymatic and non‐enzymatic pathways. As a result, several bioactive metabolites of melatonin are formed during its metabolism and some of the presumed biological functions of melatonin reported to date may, in fact, be mediated by these metabolites. The changing biological roles of melatonin seem to have evolved from its primary function as an antioxidant.     

Resistance and biomass in Arabidopsis: a new model for Salicylic Acid perception

Salicylic acid (SA) is an essential hormone for plant defence and development. SA perception is usually measured by counting the number of pathogens that grow in planta upon an exogenous application of the hormone. A biological SA perception model based on plant fresh weight reduction caused by disease resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana is proposed. This effect is more noticeable when a chemical analogue of SA is used, like Benzothiadiazole (BTH). By spraying BTH several times, a substantial difference in plant biomass is observed when compared with the mock treatment. Such difference is dose‐dependent and does not require pathogen inoculation. The model is robust and allows for the comparison of different Arabidopsis ecotypes, recombinant inbreed lines, and mutants. Our results show that two mutants, non‐expresser of pathogenesis‐related genes 1 (npr1) and auxin resistant 3 (axr3), fail to lose biomass when BTH is applied to them. Further experiments show that axr3 responds to SA and BTH in terms of defence induction. NPR1‐related genotypes also confirm the pivotal role of NPR1 in SA perception, and suggest an active program of depletion of resources in the infected tissues.     

Antiangiogenic and Antitumor Effects of Trypanosoma cruzi Calreticulin

Background

In Latin America, 18 million people are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas'' disease, with the greatest economic burden. Vertebrate calreticulins (CRT) are multifunctional, intra- and extracellular proteins. In the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) they bind calcium and act as chaperones. Since human CRT (HuCRT) is antiangiogenic and suppresses tumor growth, the presence of these functions in the parasite orthologue may have consequences in the host/parasite interaction. Previously, we have cloned and expressed T. cruzi calreticulin (TcCRT) and shown that TcCRT, translocated from the ER to the area of trypomastigote flagellum emergence, promotes infectivity, inactivates the complement system and inhibits angiogenesis in the chorioallantoid chicken egg membrane. Most likely, derived from these properties, TcCRT displays in vivo inhibitory effects against an experimental mammary tumor.

Methodology and Principal Findings

TcCRT (or its N-terminal vasostatin-like domain, N-TcCRT) a) Abrogates capillary growth in the ex vivo rat aortic ring assay, b) Inhibits capillary morphogenesis in a human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) assay, c) Inhibits migration and proliferation of HUVECs and the human endothelial cell line Eahy926. In these assays TcCRT was more effective, in molar terms, than HuCRT: d) In confocal microscopy, live HUVECs and EAhy926 cells, are recognized by FITC-TcCRT, followed by its internalization and accumulation around the host cell nuclei, a phenomenon that is abrogated by Fucoidin, a specific scavenger receptor ligand and, e) Inhibits in vivo the growth of the murine mammary TA3 MTXR tumor cell line.

Conclusions/Significance

We describe herein antiangiogenic and antitumor properties of a parasite chaperone molecule, specifically TcCRT. Perhaps, by virtue of its capacity to inhibit angiogenesis (and the complement system), TcCRT is anti-inflammatory, thus impairing the antiparasite immune response. The TcCRT antiangiogenic effect could also explain, at least partially, the in vivo antitumor effects reported herein and the reports proposing antitumor properties for T. cruzi infection.     

Prevention and treatment of influenza with hyperimmune bovine colostrum antibody

Background

Despite the availability of specific vaccines and antiviral drugs, influenza continues to impose a heavy toll on human health worldwide. Passive transfer of specific antibody (Ab) may provide a useful means of preventing or treating disease in unvaccinated individuals or those failing to adequately seroconvert, especially now that resistance to antiviral drugs is on the rise. However, preparation of appropriate Ab in large scale, quickly and on a yearly basis is viewed as a significant logistical hurdle for this approach to control seasonal influenza.

Methodology/Principal Findings

In this study, bovine colostrum, which contains approximately 500 g of IgG per milking per animal, has been investigated as a source of polyclonal antibody for delivery to the respiratory tract. IgG and F(ab'')2 were purified from the hyperimmune colostrum of cows vaccinated with influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (PR8) vaccine and were shown to have high hemagglutination-inhibitory and virus-neutralizing titers. In BALB/c mice, a single administration of either IgG or F(ab'')2 could prevent the establishment of infection with a sublethal dose of PR8 virus when given as early as 7 days prior to exposure to virus. Pre-treated mice also survived an otherwise lethal dose of virus, the IgG- but not the F(ab'')2-treated mice showing no weight loss. Successful reduction of established infection with this highly virulent virus was also observed with a single treatment 24 hr after virus exposure.

Conclusions/Significance

These data suggest that a novel and commercially-scalable technique for preparing Ab from hyperimmune bovine colostrum could allow production of a valuable substitute for antiviral drugs to control influenza with the advantage of eliminating the need for daily administration.     

Anhydrobiotic Survival in Populations of the Tardigrades Richtersius coronifer and Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri from Italy and Sweden

We report a study on anhydrobiotic survival in the eutardigrades Richtersius coronifer and Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri. In each of these species, we investigated the anhydrobiotic survival of two populations, one from Sweden and one from Italy. We found that anhydrobiotic survival was similar in the Swedish and the Italian populations in both species, indicating no divergence with respect to anhydrobiotic capacity. Body size had a strong effect on the probability to recover from anhydrobiosis, but the effect was in opposite direction in the two tardigrade species. Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri had a considerable higher overall survival (66%) than R. coronifer (40%). This result is in line with earlier studies that found R. oberhaeuseri to have a very high water-retentive capacity.     

Nonribosomal peptide synthetase genes occur in most cyanobacterial genera as evidenced by their distribution in axenic strains of the PCC

Previous studies largely carried out with environmental samples or axenic and non-axenic cultures suggested that cyanobacteria may be a rich source of hitherto unexplored bioactive compounds. This has been confirmed in the present study by a screening of 146 axenic strains from the Pasteur Culture Collection (PCC) of cyanobacteria. Use of degenerate PCR primers, designed on the basis of conserved sequence motifs in the aminoacyl-adenylation domain of peptide synthetases, revealed the presence of the corresponding genes in the majority (75.3%) of the strains examined. Among unicellular cyanobacteria, only Chamaesiphon sp. strain PCC 6605, two strains of Gloeocapsa and most Microcystis isolates (22 out of 24) contained these genes; no amplicons were detected for any members of the genera Cyanothece, Gloeobacter and Gloeothece and the genetically diverse representatives of Synechococcus and Synechocystis. By contrast, eight out of ten pleurocapsalean members, 16 out of 25 oscillatorian strains, and all but two of the 63 filamentous heterocystous cyanobacteria tested gave positive amplification results. This information will be highly valuable for further exploring the corresponding cyanobacterial peptides and for elucidating the bioactivity of such non-ribosomally synthesized molecules.