Taxonomic characterization was performed on the putative N(2)-fixing microbiota associated with the coral species Mussismilia hispida, and with its sympatric species Palythoa caribaeorum, P. variabilis, and Zoanthus solanderi, off the coast of São Sebastião (São Paulo State, Brazil). The 95 isolates belonged to the Gammaproteobacteria according to the 16S rDNA gene sequences. In order to identi...

Palytoxin (PLTX) and its analogues are marine polyethers identified in Palythoa Zoanthus corals, Ostreopsis dinoflagellates, Trichodesmium cyanobacteria. Humans can be exposed to these toxins by different routes with a series of adverse effects but the most severe risk is associated poisonings consumption edible organisms accumulating toxins, as occurs (sub)-tropical areas. In temperate areas, ...

The coral reefs of Pirangi beach have suffered the impact of anthropic actions, mainly those related to tourism. To evaluate these effects, algal samples were collected at nine stations, distributed along the reef fringe. The macrobenthic community (algae/coral) was identified through photographic methods. A total of thirty species of algae, five species of coral, and one species of mollusk wer...

QUANTITATIVE STEROL COMPOSITIONS OF CULTURED ZOOXANTHELLAE ISOLATED FROM VARIOUS PACIFIC AND ATLANTIC INVERTEBRATE HOSTS: Zoanthus sociatus (a zoanthid), Oculina diffusa (a scleractian coral), Tridacna gigas (a giant clam), Melibe pilosa (a nudibranch), and Aiptasia pulchella (a sea anemone) are reported. The results clearly demonstrate large differences in sterol patterns of zooxanthellae and ...

The phylum Cnidaria is an ancient group of venomous animals, specialized in the production and delivery of toxins. Many species belonging to the class Anthozoa have been studied and their venoms often contain a group of peptides, less than 10 kDa, that act upon ion channels. These peptides and their targets interact with high affinity producing neurotoxic and cardiotoxic effects, and even death...

Abstract Populations of some zoantharian species (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) have been able to proliferate in locations where abiotic conditions hinder scleractinian corals’ survival. One the contributing factors might be advantageous host-symbiont associations that could lead holobionts more resilient environmental variation, even marginal-environments. However, few studies addressed these Zoantharia...

Here we present the study of the chromophore structure of the purple chromoprotein from Condylactis gigantea. Tandem mass spectrometry and H and C NMR of the chromopeptide reveal that the protein contains a chromophore with a chemical structure identical to that of the red fluorescent protein from Discosoma sp. A single A63G substitution demonstrates that the nature of the first amino acid of t...

We analyzed the diversity and population structure of the 775 Vibrio isolates from different locations of the southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SAO), including St. Peter and St. Paul Archipelago (SPSPA), Abrolhos Bank (AB) and the St. Sebastian region (SS), between 2005 and 2010. In this study, 195 novel isolates, obtained from seawater and major benthic organisms (rhodoliths and corals), were compa...