ALBERT

Description: A total of 19 naturally occurring bromophenols, with six new and 13 known structures, were isolated and identified from the methanolic extract of the marine red alga Rhodomela confervoides. The new compounds were identified by spectroscopic methods as 3,4-dibromo-5-((methylsulfonyl)methyl)benzene-1,2-diol (1), 3,4-dibromo-5-((2,3-dihydroxypropoxy)methyl)benzene-1,2-diol (2), 5-(aminomethyl)-3,4-dibromobenzene-1,2-diol (3), 2-(2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxyphenyl)acetic acid (4), 2-methoxy-3-bromo-5-hydroxymethylphenol (5), and (E)-4-(2-bromo-4,5-dihydroxyphenyl)but-3-en-2-one (6). Each compound was evaluated for free radical scavenging activity against DPPH (α,α-diphenyl-β-dipicrylhydrazyl) and ABTS [2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)diammonium salt] radicals. Most of them exhibited potent activities stronger than or comparable to the positive controls butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and ascorbic acid. The results from this study suggest that R. confervoides is an excellent source of natural antioxidants, and inclusion of these antioxidant-rich algal components would likely help prevent the oxidative deterioration of food.

Description: Poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA), PEGDMA-co-glycidyl methacrylate (PEGDMA-co-GMA), and PEGDMA-co-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PEGDMA-co-HEMA) hydrogels were polymerized using ammonium persulfate and ascorbic acid as radical initiators. Surface energies of the hydrogels and a standard, poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomer (PDMSe), were characterized using captive bubble and sessile drop measurements, respectively (γ = 52 mN/m, γ0 = 19 mN/m). The chemical composition of the hydrogels was characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. All three hydrogel compositions reduced significantly (p = 0.05) initial attachment of zoospores of the green alga Ulva linza (up to 97%), cells of the diatom Navicula incerta (up to 58%) and the bacterium Cobetia marina (up to 62%), compared to a smooth PDMSe standard. A shear stress (45 Pa), generated in a water channel, eliminated up to 95% of the initially attached cells of Navicula from the smooth hydrogel surfaces relative to smooth PDMSe surfaces. Compared to the PDMSe standard, 79% of the cells of C. marina were removed from all smooth hydrogel compositions when exposed to a 50 Pa wall shear stress. Attachment of spores of the green alga Ulva to microtopographies replicated in PEGDMA-co-HEMA was also evaluated. The Sharklet AF microtopography patterned, PEGDMA-co-HEMA surfaces reduced attachment of spores of Ulva by 97% compared to a smooth PDMSe standard. The attachment densities of spores to engineered microtopographies in PDMSe and PEGDMA-co-HEMA were shown to correlate with a modified attachment model through the inclusion of a surface energy term. Attachment densities of spores of Ulva to engineered topographies replicated in a material other than PDMSe are now correlated with the attachment model (R2 = 0.80).

Description: Specific UV absorbance (SUVA) is defined as the UV absorbance of a water sample at a given wavelength normalized for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration. Our data indicate that SUVA, determined at 254 nm, is strongly correlated with percent aromaticity as determined by 13C NMR for 13 organic matter isolates obtained from a variety of aquatic environments. SUVA, therefore, is shown to be a useful parameter for estimating the dissolved aromatic carbon content in aquatic systems. Experiments involving the reactivity of DOC with chlorine and tetra- methylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), however, show a wide range of reactivity for samples with similar SUVA values. These results indicate that, while SUVA measurements are good predictors of general chemical characteristics of DOC, they do not provide information about reactivity of DOC derived from different types of source materials. Sample pH, nitrate, and iron were found to influence SUVA measurements.

Description: While thousands of environmental metagenomes have been mined for the presence of novel biosynthetic gene clusters, such computational predictions do not provide evidence of their in vivo biosynthetic functionality. Using fluorescent in situ enzyme assay targeting carrier proteins common to polyketide (PKS) and nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS), we applied fluorescence-activated cell sorting to tunicate microbiome to enrich for microbes with active secondary metabolic capabilities. Single-cell genomics uncovered the genetic basis for a wide biosynthetic diversity in the enzyme-active cells and revealed a member of marine Oceanospirillales harboring a novel NRPS gene cluster with high similarity to phylogenetically distant marine and terrestrial bacteria. Interestingly, this synthase belongs to a larger class of siderophore biosynthetic gene clusters commonly associated with pestilence and disease. This demonstrates activity-guided single-cell genomics as a tool to guide novel biosynthetic discovery.

Description: Iron is the most important micronutrient in the ocean, but the nature and magnitude of its sources and sinks to the ocean are poorly constrained. Here we assess our understanding of the sources and sinks of iron in margin environments by synthesizing observations from the U.S. GEOTRACES GP16 Eastern Tropical Pacific Zonal Transect (EPZT) cruise near the Peru margin. GP16 observations showed elevated dissolved iron (dFe) concentrations along the margin, but a larger westward plume of dFe at slope depths (1000–3000 m) in oxygenated waters, rather than at shelf depths (100–300 m) in oxygen deficient waters. We examine the potential explanations for this unexpected observation. Multiple tracers from GP16 suggest that sediment resuspension was important at slope depths, which would lead to enhanced benthic flux of dFe above what was previously measured. The difference in the apparent persistence and penetration of shelf versus slope plumes of dFe into the interior of the ocean likely results from faster removal rates of the shelf dFe compared to slope dFe. The dFe sourced from the shelf was almost entirely in the dFe(II) form, whereas dFe sourced from the slope was almost entirely in the dFe(III) form. Although benthic dFe(II) diffuses into oxygen deficient overlying waters, there is still oxidation of dFe(II), which precipitates to particulate Fe(III). In contrast, the slope plume appears to persist in a stabilized dFe(III) form. We hypothesize that sediment porewaters with moderate organic carbon delivery to sediments and shallow oxygen penetration are especially good sources of persistent dFe to the water column.