Exploitation of marine algae: biogenic compounds for potential antifouling applications

Abstract

Marine algae are one of the largest producers of biomass in the marine environment. They produce a wide variety of chemically active metabolites in their surroundings, potentially as an aid to protect themselves against other settling organisms. These active metabolites, also known as biogenic compounds, produced by several species of marine macro- and micro-algae, have antibacterial, antialgal, antimacrofouling and antifungal properties, which are effective in the prevention of biofouling, and have other likely uses, e.g. in therapeutics. The isolated substances with potent antifouling activity belong to groups of fatty acids, lipopeptides, amides, alkaloids, terpenoids, lactones, pyrroles and steroids. These biogenic compounds have the potential to be produced commercially using metabolic engineering techniques. Therefore, isolation of biogenic compounds and determination of their structure could provide leads for future development of, for example, environmentally friendly antifouling paints. This paper mainly discusses the successes of such research, and the future applications in the context of understanding the systems biology of micro-algae and cyanobacteria.

Charged hydrophilic polymer brushes and their relevance for understanding marine biofouling

“…The fact that propagules of marine fouling organisms settle and attach easily on immersed untreated solid surfaces, while many slimy or gel-like surfaces, such as marine algae (Bhadury & Wright 2004) and sea anemones (Atalah et al 2013) are more resistant to epibiosis, has inspired to explore the potential of hydrogels and other highly hydrophilic materials for the control of marine biofouling (Ekblad et al 2008, Larsson et al 2007, Yandi et al 2014, and for informing the development of useful coatings. The prevention of epibiosis of marine organisms is sometimes the combined result of a strongly hydrated surface and, for example, secretion of substances with antifouling activity by the basibiont (Dobretsov et al 2013, Fusetani 2004, Rickert et al 2015, continuous production of mucus (Wahl et al 1998), or other specifically developed antifouling mechanisms.…”

Bioactivity of the red algae Asparagopsis taxiformis collected from the Southwestern coast of India

“…Biofouling alone causes an annual global loss of more than $6.5 million in the maritime domain (BHADURY; WRIGHT, 2004). Similarly, algal blooms may have many harmful effects including the development of high biomass and scums, acute toxicity to fish and shellfish, suffocation of fish and crustaceans from mucus production and gill interference (GLIBERT, 2007).…”

Heterotrophic Pioneers Facilitate Phototrophic Biofilm Development

“…There is a growing interest in the application of phototrophic biofilms, for instance in wastewater treatment in constructed wetlands, bioremediation [26,30], aquaculture [3], and in the development of antifouling agents [4,5,22]. To be able to optimize biofilm development for specific applications it is key to understand the structure and functioning of phototrophic biofilms.…”