Search results for "Algal"
showing 10 items of 94 documents
The ER-Membrane Transport System Is Critical for Intercellular Trafficking of the NSm Movement Protein and Tomato Spotted Wilt Tospovirus.
2015
Plant viruses move through plasmodesmata to infect new cells. The plant endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is interconnected among cells via the ER desmotubule in the plasmodesma across the cell wall, forming a continuous ER network throughout the entire plant. This ER continuity is unique to plants and has been postulated to serve as a platform for the intercellular trafficking of macromolecules. In the present study, the contribution of the plant ER membrane transport system to the intercellular trafficking of the NSm movement protein and Tomato spotted wilt tospovirus (TSWV) is investigated. We showed that TSWV NSm is physically associated with the ER membrane in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. An…
Temporal and spatial variation of the algal community in a southern Mediterranean shallow system
2010
The algal community of a shallow system located in Western Sicily (Mediterranean Sea) has been investigated over 1 year in eight ponds (fredde). The spatio-temporal variation in total algal coverage, species richness and coverage in relation to environmental variables has been analysed. The algal community was very species-poor. A total of 50 taxa, mainly detached algae, were identified. A dominance of filamentous and foliose taxa was observed. Significant spatio-temporal differences in total algal coverage, species richness and coverage between the ponds of group A and those of group B were found. The separation into groups A and B was made a priori on the basis of different levels of prox…
Note su un bloom di Prymnesium parvum Carter (Haptophyta) nel lago di Pergusa e sue conseguenza sulla fauna.
2008
Dal 17 febbraio ai primi giorni di marzo 2008 è stata registrata una morìa di centinaia di Carpe (Cyprinus carpio) nel Lago di Pergusa, in coincidenza di un’anomala colorazione giallastra delle acque ascrivibile ad un intenso bloom dell’aptofita ittiotossica Prymnesium parvum. La microalga manifesta comunemente bloom e tossicità in acque eutrofiche poco profonde, con salinità comprese fra 1 e 12 PSU. Il bloom tossico nel Lago Pergusa, per quanto determinato dalla complessa interazione di numerosi fattori ambientali, è essenzialmente connesso alle mutate condizioni di salinità del corpo idrico negli ultimi 5 anni (da >20 PSU a <5 PSU). Sebbene non abbia causato mortalità nelle popolazioni di…
Altered epiphyte community and sea urchin diet in Posidonia oceanica meadows in the vicinity of volcanic CO2 vents
2017
Ocean acidification (OA) predicted for 2100 is expected to shift seagrass epiphyte communities towards the dominance of more tolerant non-calcifying taxa. However, little is known about the indirect effects of such changes on food provision to key seagrass consumers. We found that epiphyte communities of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica in two naturally acidified sites (i.e. north and south sides of a volcanic CO2 vent) and in a control site away from the vent at the Ischia Island (NW Mediterranean Sea) significantly differed in composition and abundance. Such differences involved a higher abundance of non-calcareous crustose brown algae and a decline of calcifying polychaetes in both acidif…
Effects of fish-farm biodeposition on periphyton assemblages on artificial substrates in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Gulf of Castellammare, Sicily)
2007
An algal assemblage growing on artificial substrata of fish-farm cages was investigated. Specifically, algal response to the effects of fish-farm facilities was studied, in order to identify a possible future descriptor of biodeposition impact. Some sites were positioned upstream of the farms (at least 750 m; ‘controls’) and other sites were positioned downstream of the farms (‘impacts’). All sites were situated in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Control and impact sites differed significantly with regard to the dissolved nutrient profile. The fouling community (samples were scraped from buoys) displayed a reduction gradient in diversity which increased with the effect of fish farms. A total of 51 taxa…
MACROALGAL BIODIVERSITY RESPONSE UNDER A MULTIPLE STRESSOR SCENARIO
2019
Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function experimental stu- dies focusing on marine systems are few and produce contrasting outcomes. Here, we provide experimental proofs on how communities, on a natural gradient of diversity, respond under stressful conditions in inter- tidal habitats. In August 2017 a field experiment was performed in Western Sicily (Italy) in a site charac- terized by tidal pools whose biodiversity structure and composition change as a function of the distance from the low tide mark. The pools closer to the sea are more stable from a thermal and oxic point of view and characterized by high algal biodiversity. Those further from the sea are highly variable with extreme conditions a…
Nest building in a Mediterranean wrasse (Symphodus ocellatus): are the algae used randomly chosen or actively selected?
2014
To increase their reproductive success, fish species have evolved various strategies, including both simple processes and more complex mechanisms that involve parental care by nest-building. In Symphodus ocellatus, a species that lives in rocky infralittoral zones of the Mediterranean Sea, during the reproductive period, the male builds a nest within a hole or crevice using fragments of algae and/or sand particles. Data on the nesting activity of wrasses are rare, and previous descriptions regarding the algal composition of nests have provided conflicting results. In this regard, it is unclear whether territorial males actively select algal species for nest construction or algal choice is r…
Modificazioni nelle comunità fitobentoniche di fouling in relazione all’impatto antropico ed alla geometria del substrato
2006
Questo studio è stato condotto nella primavera del 2006 in due località del Golfo di Palermo (Arenella e Bandita) a differente grado di impatto antropico. All’interno di ogni località, sono stati scelti siti a differente inclinazione (orizzontale vs verticale). Sono stati campionati i popolamenti mesolitorali dei massi frangiflutti che, insieme a quelli della frangia infralitorale, risentono maggiormente dell’eventuale presenza di inquinamento organico. Le comunità algali nelle due località hanno mostrato differenze in funzione delle diverse caratteristiche ambientali e dei diversi livelli di impatto antropico, in termini di copertura %, strutturazione e diversità specifica. Sono stati inol…
Larval Development of Arbacia lixula (Linneo, 1758) in two Marine Protected Area: preliminary data.
2010
The sea urchin Arbacia lixula is a crucial species in driving the algal assemblages dynamic of the infralittoral zone. A. lixula is considered a thermophilic species and its increase in abundance in western Mediterranean waters, probably is due to an increase in seawater temperature. The aim of this study was to examine the reproductive success of A. lixula by larval development. The study was conducted within two Sicilian MPA (Capo Gallo-Isola delle Femmine and Ustica), characterized by photophilic algae, the same exposure and seawater temperature. In each area, twenty random specimens was sampled from May to September 2010, and mature gametes were collected from six males and six females …
Synthetic Haptens and Monoclonal Antibodies to the Cyanotoxin Anatoxin‐a
2019
Early warning systems for monitoring toxic events may benefit from the availability of monoclonal antibodies enabling the sensitive and specific detection of anatoxin-a, a cyanotoxin involved in numerous cases of animal poisoning resulting from toxic algal blooms in freshwaters. Through the synthesis of three functionalized derivatives of anatoxin-a, we have succeeded in generating the first-ever reported immunoreagents (bioconjugates and antibodies) suitable for the development of immunoanalytical approaches aimed at rapid and onsite detection of this harmful cyanotoxin.