Among filter-feeders, pennatulids are the most complex and polymorphic members of the cnidarian class Anthozoa. They display a wide distribution throughout all the oceans, constituting a significant component of the sessile megafauna from intertidal to abyssal depths. In this study, a total of 118 bacterial isolates from enrichment cultures, carried out with homogenates of the sea pen Pteroeides spinosum (Ellis, 1764), were screened for hydrocarbon utilization by using the 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol assay. Among them, 83 hydrocarbon-oxidizing isolates were analyzed for biosurfactant production by standard screening tests (i.e., emulsifying activity, E24 detection, surface tension measurement, microplate assay). The 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed the affiliation of the most promising isolates to the genera Brevibacterium and Vibrio. Biosurfactant production resulted strongly affected by salinity and temperature conditions, and occurred in the presence of diesel oil and/or crude oil, whereas no production was observed when isolates were grown on tetradecane. The strains resulted able to create stable emulsions, thus suggesting the production of biosurfactants. Further analyses revealed a glycolipidic nature of the biosurfactant extracted from Vibrio sp. PBN295, a genus that has been only recently reported as biosurfactant producer. Results suggest that pennatulids could represent a novel source for the isolation of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria with potential in biosurfactant production.
The effect of heavy metals on the activity of biosurfactants produced by Joostella strain A8 from the polychaete Megalomma claparedei was investigated. Biosurfactant activity was first improved by evaluating the influence of abiotic parameters. Higher E(24) indices were achieved at 25 °C in mineral salt medium supplemented with 2 % glucose, 3 % sodium chloride (w/v) and 0.1 % ammonium chloride (w/v). Considerable surface tension reduction was never recorded. Heavy metal tolerance was preliminarily assayed by plate diffusion method resulting in the order of toxicity Cd > Cu > Zn. The activity of biosurfactants was then evaluated in the presence of heavy metals at different concentrations in liquid cultures that were incubated under optimal conditions for biosurfactant activity. The production of stable emulsions resulted generally higher in the presence of metals. These findings suggest that biosurfactant production could represent a bacterial adaptive strategy to defend cells from a stress condition derived from heavy metals in the bulk environment.
Ruppia cirrhosa growth cycle was analysed in a southern Mediterranean shallow system throughout 1 year. We examined the temporal variation in R. cirrhosa cover percentage, shoot density, biomass, leaf length, no. flowers m 22 and no. fruits m 22 in two groups of pond characterized by differences in some environmental parameters. Ponds were comparable for salinity and temperature but they differed for other environmental parameters such as water depth, level of suspended organic matter and chlorophyll a (CHL a). Biological parameter values were higher in B ponds, characterized by lower values of water depth, suspended organic matter and CHL a. A seasonal trend for all considered biological parameters in both typologies of ponds with maximum values in summer was also observed. Moreover, differences were observed between the two groups of ponds in relation to the reproductive strategy adopted by the plant, with populations subjected to a higher organic input and a lower water depth displaying an annual cycle. Results showed how R. cirrhosa is able to resist and to adapt to variations in environmental conditions because of the plasticity and flexibility in the growth cycle and in the reproductive effort.
The effects of climate change-induced ice melting on the microbial communities in different glacial-fed aquatic systems have been reported, but seasonal dynamics remain poorly investigated. In this study, the structural and functional traits of the aquatic microbial community were assessed along with the hydrological and biogeochemical variation patterns of the Arctic Pasvik River under riverine and brackish conditions at the beginning (May = Ice-melt (−)) and during the ice-melting season (July = Ice-melt (+)). The microbial abundance and morphometric analysis showed a spatial diversification between the riverine and brackish stations. Results highlighted different levels of microbial respiration and activities with different carbon and phosphorous utilization pathways, thus suggesting an active biogeochemical cycling along the river especially at the beginning of the ice-melting period. At Ice-melt (−), Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria were dominant in riverine and brackish stations, respectively. Conversely, at Ice-melt (+), the microbial community composition was more homogeneously distributed along the river (Gammaproteobacteria > Alphaproteobacteria > Bacteroidetes). Our findings provide evidence on how riverine microbial communities adapt and respond to seasonal ice melting in glacial-fed aquatic ecosystems.
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