Project description:Development of semi-closed containment systems is a promising strategy to further expand Atlantic salmon production. The technology operates with higher production intensities where skin integrity is recognized as a central factor for animal health and welfare. This study investigate the skin development and its immune status in healthy Atlantic salmon growers reared in a semi-closed containment system and a traditional open net-pen system (control).
Project description:Dinoflagellates are phytoplanktonic organisms found in both freshwater and marine habitats. They are often studied because related to harmful algal blooms responsible for impacts on ecosystem functioning, economic damages for aquaculture and fishery industries and/or deleterious impacts for human health. In addition they are also known to produce bioactive compounds, such as for the treatment of cancer or beneficial effects for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The dinoflagellate Amphidinium sp. is a cosmopolitan dinoflagellate species known to produce both cytotoxic and beneficial compounds. However, several studies reported that environmental changes (e.g. nutrient starvation, UV radiation and ocean acidification) may alter this production. The aim of this study was to sequence the full transcriptome of the dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae in both nitrogen- starved and -repleted culturing conditions (1) to evaluated its response to nitrogen starvation, (2) to look for possible polyketide synthases (PKSs), involved in the synthesis of various compounds, in this studied clone, (3) if present, to evaluate if nutrient starvation can influence PKS activity, (4) to test strain cytotoxicity on human cells and (5) to look for other possible enzymes/proteins of biotechnological interest.
2017-12-01 | GSE94355 | GEO
Project description:Dinoflagellate cyst in surface sediment of Tongyeong, Korea
Project description:Abstract The coral–dinoflagellate symbiosis is increasingly disrupted by global and local anthropogenic stressors. Coral bleaching is primarily a result of high sea surface temperatures, while eutrophication is associated with reef ecosystem degradation. Excess inorganic nitrogen relative to phosphate has been proposed to directly sensitise corals to thermal bleaching and accelerate reef decline. We assessed the proteomic response of the dinoflagellate coral symbiont Symbiodinium microadriaticum to elevated temperatures under multiple nutrient conditions by mass spectrometry. Elevated temperatures resulted in reductions of many chloroplast proteins, particularly light-harvesting complexes, with simultaneous increases in chaperone proteins. N:P imbalance had a larger effect on the proteome than temperature, but the biological processes and proteins responding to each stressor largely overlapped. The proteomes were highly similar at low N:P ratios but were strongly affected by phosphate starvation. High N:P ratios inhibited cell division, reflected by changes in proteins involved in protein translation. Imbalanced N:P did not increase sensitivity to high temperatures as measured by physiological means; however, imbalanced N:P strongly upregulated cell redox homeostasis proteins at high temperatures. As redox balance is critical during thermal bleaching, these data provide insight into the mechanisms of cellular responses to thermal and multiple stresses in the coral–dinoflagellate symbiosis.
Project description:In dinoflagellates, the most unique and divergent nuclear organization among the known diversity of eukaryotes has evolved. The list of highly unusual features of dinoflagellate nuclei and genomes is long -- permanently condensed liquid crystalline chromosomes, in which histones are not the main packaging component, genes organized as very long unidirectional gene arrays, general absence of transcriptional regulation, high abundance of the otherwise very rare DNA modification 5-hydroxymethyluracil (5-hmU), and many others. Most of these fascinating properties were originally identified in the 1970s and 1980s but have received very little attention in recent decades using modern genomic tools. In this work, we address some of the outstanding questions regarding dinoflagellate genome organization by mapping the genome-wide distribution of 5-hmU (using both immunoprecipitation-based and basepair-resolution chemical mapping approaches) and of chromatin accessibility in the genome of the dinoflagellate Breviolum minutum. We find that the 5-hmU modification is preferentially enriched over certain classes of repetitive elements, and also often coincides with the boundaries between gene arrays. It is generally anti-correlated with chromatin accessibility, the levels of which are lower in those regions. We discuss the potential roles of 5-hmU in the functional organization of dinoflagellate genomes and its relationship to the transcriptional landscape of gene arrays.
Project description:The intestinal microbiome has been associated with response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in humans, and causally implicated in ICI responsiveness in animal models. Therapeutic augmentation of the microbiome in ICI recipients is being investigated in multiple ongoing human clinical trials. We conducted an early phase clinical trial of a cultivated, orally-delivered 30-species microbial consortium (microbial ecosystem therapeutic-4, MET4) designed for co-administration with ICIs and assessed safety, tolerability and ecological responses in patients with advanced solid tumors.
2022-03-26 | GSE199245 | GEO
Project description:Zooplankton metabarcoding in the California Current Ecosystem
Project description:Glaciers are populated by a large number of microorganisms including bacteria, archaea and microeukaryotes. From an ecological point of view, three ecosystems can be differentiated in glaciers: the supraglacial ecosystem, the subglacial ecosystem and the englacial ecosystem. Several factors such as solar radiation, nutrient availability and water content greatly determine the diversity and abundance of microbial populations, the type of metabolism and the biogeochemical cycles. Firstly, the supraglacial ecosystem, sunlit and oxygenated, is predominantly populated by autotrophic microorganisms. Secondly, the subglacial ecosystem contains a majority of chemoautrotophs that are fed on the mineral salts of the rocks and basal soil. Lastly, the englacial ecosystem is the less studied and the one that contains the smallest number of microorganisms. However, these unknown englacial microorganisms establish a true trophic chain and appear to have an active metabolism. In order to study their metabolic potentials, samples of englacial ice were taken from an Antarctic glacier. The cells were harvested and their proteins were extracted and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI/TOF/TOF). Several proteins and enzymes were found that demonstrate the existence of cellular activity at subzero temperatures. In this way it is shown that the englacial microorganisms are not quiescent, but that they maintain an active metabolism and play an important role in the glacial microbial community.