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National Committee on Marine Sciences (NCMS)

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    Community structure of periphytic diatoms in early-stage marine biofilms in a mariculture-impacted area
    Baure, Jerwin; San Diego-McGlone, Maria Lourdes; Juinio–Meñez, Marie Antonette (Science and Technology Information Institute, 2022-07-06)
    Periphytic diatoms constitute a major part of complex unicellular aggregations called marine biofilm or periphyton, of which little is known about in tropical marine environments. The early-stage community structure of periphytic diatom genera on two artificial substrates – glass slide and polycarbonate sheets was characterized. These artificial substrates were placed underwater for 6 d and examined on Days 1, 3, and 6 in four sites around Santiago Island, Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines, with different relative distances from the intensive milkfish mariculture area. Correlations of diatom community structures in these sites with physico-chemical factors were investigated. The five most abundant diatom genera – namely, Cylindrotheca, Nitzschia, Navicula, Amphora, and Pleurosigma – exhibited a weak correlation with nutrients. Less abundant genera Pseudonitzschia, Haslea, Bacillaria, Thalassionema, Rhizosolenia, Eucampia, Diploneis, Asterionellopsis, Chaetoceros, Bacteriastrum, Licmophora, Skeletonema, Lioloma, Thalassiosira, and Thalassiothrix showed a positive correlation with nutrients. Among sites, the highest benthic diatom cell densities (4.6 × 105 cells cm−2) after 6 d was found in Lucero. Generic richness and diversity varied among sites, with the highest diversity (H’ = 1.58) on Day 1 in Tomasa, the site nearest to the mariculture area, whereas the highest richness (D = 2.17–3.26) for all days and diversity (H’ = 1.38–1.52) for Days 3 and 6 were recorded in Silaqui, the most distal site. Generally, the highest diversity and richness were found on Day 1, which then decreased on succeeding days in all sites. The lack of a clear patternin community structure among sites relative to the proximity of these sites to the mariculture area may in part be attributed to the presence of other nutrient sources. Results of the study provide baseline information on the variability of periphytic diatom community structure in a mariculture-impacted area, and insights on how benthic diatoms may be used in monitoring the impacts of nutrient pollution.
    This work was supported by the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development under Grant QMSR-MRRDMEC-295-1449. The authors would like to thank Tirso O. Catbagan and Garry R. Bucol for their assistance during field sampling, and Timothy James Cipriano for the site map. We would also like to thank the Marine Biogeochemistry Laboratory of the Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman for providing environmental data.
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    Modified oxylipins as inhibitors of biofilm formation in Staphylococcus epidermidis
    Peran, Jacquelyn E.; Salvador-Reyes, Lilibeth A. (Frontiers Media SA, 2024-05-23)
    New approaches to combating microbial drug resistance are being sought, with the discovery of biofilm inhibitors considered as alternative arsenal for treating infections. Natural products have been at the forefront of antimicrobial discovery and serve as inspiration for the design of new antibiotics. We probed the potency, selectivity, and mechanism of anti-biofilm activity of modified oxylipins inspired by the marine natural product turneroic acid. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) evaluation revealed the importance of the trans-epoxide moiety, regardless of the position, for inhibiting biofilm formation. trans-12,13-epoxyoctadecanoic acid (1) and trans-9,10 epoxyoctadecanoic acid (4) selectively target the early stage of biofilm formation, with no effect on planktonic cells. These compounds interrupt the formation of a protective polysaccharide barrier by significantly upregulating the ica operon’s transcriptional repressor. This was corroborated by docking experiment with SarA and scanning electron micrographs showing reduced biofilm aggregates and the absence of thread-like structures of extrapolymeric substances. In silico evaluation revealed that 1 and 4 can interfere with the AgrA-mediated communication language in Staphylococci, typical to the diffusible signal factor (DSF) capacity of lipophilic chains.
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    Microbial community structure and settlement induction capacity of marine biofilms developed under varied reef conditions
    Padayhag, Blaire M.; Nada, Michael Angelou L.; Baquiran, Jake Ivan P.; Sison-Mangus, Marilou P.; San Diego-McGlone, Maria Lourdes; Cabaitan, Patrick C.; Conaco, Cecilia (Elsevier, 2023-08)
    Coral larval settlement relies on biogenic cues such as those elicited by microbial biofilm communities, a crucial element of coral recruitment. Eutrophication can modify these biofilm-associated communities, but studies on how this affects coral larval settlement are limited. In this study, we developed biofilm communities on glass slides at four sites with increasing distance from a mariculture zone. Biofilms farthest from the mariculture area were more effective at inducing the settlement of Acropora tenuis larvae. These biofilms were characterized by a greater proportion of crustose coralline algae (CCA) and gammaproteobacterial taxa compared to biofilms from sites closer to the mariculture zone, which had a greater proportion of cyanobacteria and no CCA. These findings suggest that nutrient enrichment due to mariculture activities alters the composition of biofilm-associated microbiome at nearby reef sites and indirectly causes poor coral larval settlement.