We have recently discovered a variety of unrelated phototrophic microorganisms (two microalgae and one cyanobacteria) in specialized terrestrial habitats at The Coastal Range of the Atacama Desert. Interestingly, morphological and molecular evidence suggest that these three species are all recent colonists that came from aquatic habitats. The first case is Cyanidiales inhabiting coastal caves. ...

DEAE-Dextran, Dunaliella, Membrane Permeability, Photosynthesis, Polycations As a prerequisite for studies o f the intracellular distribution o f enzymes o f the glycerol cycle in Dunaliella parva, the effect o f the polycation DEAE-dextran on the permeability o f membranes for various endogenous compounds and on photosynthesis was investigated. DEAE-dextran induces an increase o f the permeabi...

Glycerol is an important osmotically compatible solute in Dunaliella. Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) is a key enzyme in the pathway of glycerol synthesis, which converts dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) to glycerol-3-phosphate. Generally, the glycerol-DHAP cycle pathway, which is driven by G3PDH, is considered as the rate-limiting enzyme to regulate the glycerol level under osmotic...

The effects of osmotic shocks on polyphosphates and on the vacuolar fluorescent indicator atebrin have been investigated to test whether acidic vacuoles in the halotolerant alga Dunaliella salina have a role in osmoregulation. Upshocks and downshocks induce different patterns of polyphosphate hydrolysis. Upshocks induce rapid formation of new components, tentatively identified as 5 or 6 linear ...

Vitamin A is involved in regulation of glucose concentrations, lipid metabolism, and inflammation, which are major risk factors for atherogenesis. However, the effect of vitamin A deficiency on atherogenesis has not been investigated. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to examine whether vitamin A deficiency accelerates atherogenesis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice (apoE(-/-))...

− New techniques – called software sensors – issued from the non-linear automatic control field and initially developed for non-linear chemical systems have been applied to a continuous culture of phytoplankton. A software sensor (or ‘observer’) combines an analytical differential equation based model and partial measurements of the system in order to estimate the non-measured state variables. ...