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PubMed1999

Two new bromophenols from the red alga odonthalia corymbifera

Two novel bromophenols (1 and 2) were isolated from an extract of a red alga, Odonthalia corymbifera, together with a known bromophenol (3). The novel bromophenols were determined as 4-bromo-2, 3-dihydroxy-6-hydroxymethylphenyl 2, 5-dibromo-6-hydroxy-3-hydroxymethylphenyl ether (1) and bis(2, 3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl) ether (2), from spectroscopic evidence. Compounds 1-3 were found to be inactivators of alpha-glucosidase.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

A new tyrosine kinase inhibitor from the marine brown alga Stypopodium zonale.

From the lipophilic extract of the marine brown alga Stypopodium zonale (Dictyotaceae) the new terpenoid compound stypoquinonic acid (1) together with the known compounds taondiol (2) and atomaric acid (3) were isolated. The structures of all isolates were determined from their spectroscopic data, including 1- and 2-dimensional NMR methods. The new compound, 1, and atomaric acid (3), showed inhibition of tyrosine kinase (p56lck).

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1999

Nonhalogenated and halogenated phlorotannins from the brown alga carpophyllum angustifolium

Using HPLC, forty-five phloroglucinol derivatives were obtained from an ethanolic extract of the brown alga Carpophyllum angustifolium after peracetylation. Compounds of the fuhalol-B series are described. The structure of hydroxyheptafuhalol-B nonadecaacetate is confirmed by the addition of (13)C NMR spectral data, octafuhalol-C heneicosaacetate is described for the first time. The occurrence of four halogenated phlorotannins is reported: 2-chlorophloroglucinol triacetate, 2[D']iododiphlorethol pentaacetate, which had been isolated formerly only as a mixture, 3[A]chlorobifuhalol hexaacetate, and 3[A(4)]chlorodifucol hexaacetate. All substances were characterized by means of spectral analysis.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Apakaochtodenes A and B: two tetrahalogenated monoterpenes from the red marine alga Portieria hornemannii.

The structure of apakaochtodene A, the minor isomer of two tetrahalogenated ochtodene monoterpenes, isolated from the red marine alga Portieria hornemannii (Lyngbye) Silva has been identified as 6(S)-bromo-1,4(S),8(R)-trichloro-2(Z)-ochtodene (1) by NMR spectral and X-ray crystallographic analysis. Its geometrical isomer, apakaochtodene B (2), which could not be separated from 1 and thus characterized as a 95:5 mixture of 2:1 had (1)H and (13)C NMR spectral characteristics similar to previously known ochtodene (3) and the related tetrahalogenated monoterpene 4.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed2000

New triterpenoid sulfates from the red alga Tricleocarpa fragilis.

Ten new sulfated terpenoids, including six cycloartenol sulfates (1-6), two 29-nor-cycloartenol sulfates (7,8), and two 29-nor-lanosterol sulfates (9,10), were isolated from brine shrimp-toxic fractions of the methanolic extract of the red alga Tricleocarpa fragilis collected in Hawaiian waters. Structures 1-10 were elucidated by spectral methods, and the absolute stereochemistry for compound 1 at C23 was determined by Mosher analysis. Compounds 7 and 10 showed brine shrimp toxicity at 50 microg/mL, while 1 and 3 showed substantial activity at 17 microg/mL. Compounds 2, 4, 5, and 9 were inactive. In cytotoxicity assays, compounds 1-10 were inactive at concentrations tested.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Novel iodinated diterpenes from a marine cyanobacterium and red alga assemblage.

[structure: see text]. Tasihalides A and B have been isolated from an assemblage of a marine cyanobacterium, belonging to the genus Symploca, and an unidentified red alga. The gross structures and relative stereochemistries of these diterpenes were elucidated by spectroscopic means. In addition to possessing a novel cage structure, the tasihalides represent the only examples of iodinated diterpenes in nature.

Chromatography↗
PubMed2005

Antineoplastic diterpene-benzoate macrolides from the Fijian red alga Callophycus serratus.

[structures: see text] Three diterpene-benzoate natural products, with novel carbon skeletons and an unusual proposed biosynthesis, were isolated from extracts of the Fijian red alga Callophycus serratus and identified by a combination of X-ray crystallographic, NMR, and mass spectral analyses. Bromophycolide A (1) displayed cytotoxicity against several human tumor cell lines via specific apoptotic cell death. This represents the first discovery of natural products incorporating a diterpene and benzoate skeleton into a macrolide system.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2000

Quantitative structure-activity analysis of the algae toxicity of nitroaromatic compounds.

Proliferation toxicity toward the algae Scenedesmus vacuolatus in a 24 h one-generation reproduction assay was determined for nitrobenzene and 18 derivatives, including two phenols. The resultant EC(50) values covering more than 4 orders of magnitude were subjected to a quantitative structure-activity analysis (QSAR) using hydrophobicity in terms of the octanol/water partition coefficient in logarithmic form, log K(ow), and 16 quantum chemical descriptors of molecular reactivity that were calculated with the AM1 scheme. For 13 mononitro derivatives and the highly hydrophobic trifluralin, a narcotic-type mode of action can explain most of the toxicity variation. Correction of log K(ow) for ionization for the phenols and quantification of the molecular susceptibility for one-electron reduction as apparently rate-determining biotransformation step by the energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, E(LUMO), yields a highly significant QSAR for all 19 compounds (r(adj)(2) = 0.90), which can be further improved when adding the maximum net atomic charge at the nitro nitrogen, q(nitro)(-)(N), as the third descriptor (r(adj)(2) = 0.93). Comparison of the energy of the singly occupied molecular orbital, E(SOMO), of the radical anions as initial metabolites with the E(SOMO) of known redox cyclers suggests that dinitrobenzenes and TFM as well as multiply chlorinated nitrobenzenes may also exert oxidative stress. This is based on an E(SOMO) window of -0.30 to 0. 55 eV as a tentative criterion for molecular structures to have the potential for redox cycling, derived from a set of eight known redox cyclers. The discussion includes a detailed analysis of apparently relevant metabolic pathways and associated modes of toxic action of nitroaromatics.

Cell Division↗
PubMed1997

LhcaR1 of the red alga Porphyridium cruentum encodes a polypeptide of the LHCI complex with seven potential chlorophyll a-binding residues that are conserved in most LHCs.

The accessory light-harvesting polypeptides associated with photosystem I (LHCI) in Porphyridium cruentum bind chlorophyll a, zeaxanthin and beta-carotene. A cDNA library of P. cruentum was screened with an antiserum specific to the LHCI polypeptides, and an 0.9 kb fragment was identified as coding for an LHCI polypeptide. This cDNA, which we named LhcaR1, has an open reading frame encoding 222 amino acid residues including a putative transit peptide of 28 amino acids. Hydropathy analysis suggests that there are three transmembrane helices in the mature polypeptide. Each of the amino acid residues that bind chlorophyll (six residues) and serve in stabilizing the helices in higher-plant LHCs are conserved in helices 1 and 3 of P. cruentum LhcaR1. The N-terminal flanking regions of these two helices also show high sequence conservation with other LHCs. Helix 2 contains a seventh putative chlorophyll-binding site, but resembles helix 2 of higher-plant LHCs to a lesser degree. A sequence motif of 11 residues found near the N-terminus and in each of the three helices suggests the possibility that the red algal LhcaR1 derives from a gene duplication. Polypeptides of the expected molecular weight in six other red algae (Achrochaetium, Bangia, Callithamnion, Cyanidium, Polysiphonia, Spermothamnion) were recognized by the antiserum to P. cruentum LHCI, indicating a wide distribution of LHCI in rhodophytes.

Algal Proteins↗
PubMed1998

Molecular characterization of a single mitochondria-associated double-stranded RNA in the green alga Bryopsis.

Mitochondria from the green alga Bryopsis sp. very often contained a 4.5 kb double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) at a defined level. Complementary DNA probes derived from the mitochondrial dsRNA hybridized with none of the algal chloroplast dsRNAs of 1.7 to 2.2 kb, but did hybridize with a similar-sized dsRNA among several dsRNAs from the mitochondria of B. maxima. Sequence analysis of the mitochondrial dsRNA from Bryopsis sp. revealed only two large, overlapping, open reading frames (ORFs) on one strand if UGA was taken as a non-termination codon, suggesting the independent phylogenetic evolution of the mitochondrial dsRNA. Consensus sequence for RNA-dependent RNA polymerase was found within the longer ORF (2472 bp) of the dsRNA. The overlapping 52 bp of the ORFs in different reading frames is suggestive of the occurrence of a -1 ribosomal frameshift in the mitochondrial translation system. The observed simple genetic structures suggest that the algal mitochondrial dsRNA might be deficient in a gene for movement from cell to cell in host plants and, hence, has a plasmid-like nature that is distinct from that of infectious plant viruses. The nature and origin of the endogenous dsRNAs of various sizes and their relationships are discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Two ftsH-family genes encoded in the nuclear and chloroplast genomes of the primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae.

The red algal chloroplast genome encodes an essential prokaryotic cell division gene, ftsH, which has never been found in the mitochondrial genome of any organism. To compare the conserved prokaryote-derived mechanism for mitochondrial division with that of chloroplasts, we cloned chloroplast- and nuclear-encoded ftsH genes from the primitive red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae. The deduced amino-acid sequence of chloroplast ftsH (ftsHcp) consists of 603 amino acids and shows the highest similarity with algal-chloroplast and cyanobacterial FtsH. On the other hand, the nuclear-encoded ftsH (ftsH2) encodes a protein of 920 amino acids and has the highest similarity with two yeast mitochondrial FtsHs, Rca1p and Afg3p. Furthermore, the amino-terminal extension of FtsH2 appears to be an amphipathic alpha-helix, a characteristic mitochondrial targeting signal, suggesting that FtsH2 is a mitochondrial protein. Southern hybridization revealed that ftsH2 is a single gene located on chromosome III of the 17 C. merolae chromosomes. The level of expression of the 3.0 and 4.0 kb transcripts of this gene decreased in concert during the organelle division phase of a synchronized culture, indicating a cell-cycle-dependent manner of ftsH2 transcription, while northern hybridization did not detect ftsHcp transcripts. Nevertheless, reverse transcription-PCR and immunoblotting demonstrated for the first time that chloroplast-encoded ftsH is transcriptionally and translationally active. Overproduction of FtsHcp and FtsH2 in Escherichia coli disrupted cytokinesis and produced filamentous cells, but had no effect on the replication, segregation, or distribution of their nucleoids, as also occurs in ftsH-deficient E. coli. These observations suggest the possible involvement of both C. merolae FtsHs in organelle division.

ATP-Dependent Proteases↗
PubMed1999

Rubisco activase transcript (rca) abundance increases when the marine unicellular green alga Chlorococcum littorale is grown under high-CO2 stress.

cDNA and the corresponding genomic DNA region encoding Rubisco activase were isolated from the unicellular green alga Chlorococcum littorale. The deduced amino acid sequence encoded by the cDNA was 403 amino acids long and exhibited important homology with those of other known Rubisco activases. Its N-terminal sequence was similar to the chloroplastic transit peptides in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The mature protein had a predicted molecular mass of 42 kDa. Five introns were located inside the genomic gene encoding Rubisco activase (rca). Genomic Southern blots indicated that two copies of the rca gene were present in the genome of C. littorale. The level of rca messenger RNA increased when cells of C. littorale were subjected to high-CO2 stress (i.e. grown under at least 20% CO2). Hsp70 heat-shock protein was also induced under high-CO2 conditions and, as expected, was also induced at 35 degrees C. The rca gene, in contrast, was not induced at 35 degrees C, indicating that this gene was induced in response to the high CO2 concentration and not to general stress. A search of the promoter-binding proteins by a gel retardation assay showed that, under the high-CO2 conditions, a protein(s) which was probably an activator of the rca transcription was synthesized.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Chloroplasts of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii possess at least four distinct stromal processing proteases.

The majority of the proteins in the chloroplast are encoded in the nucleus and synthesised in the cytoplasm as precursors with N-terminal extensions. These targeting sequences guide the precursor proteins into the chloroplast where they are immediately cleaved off by a stromal processing protease (SPP). It is commonly assumed that in higher plant chloroplasts one general SPP processes almost all imported precursor proteins. In the green alga Chlamydomonas, however, there exist several different SPPs which process the various Chlamydomonas precursor proteins. The seven precursor proteins investigated here, which were all correctly imported into isolated chloroplasts, could be divided into two groups: Four precursor proteins were cleaved correctly when processed in vitro with an extract of stromal proteins. Four different SPPs were found in Chlamydomonas chloroplasts to be responsible for the processing of this class of precursors and these four activities were separated chromatographically, characterised and further distinguished by their sensitivity to different inhibitors. The three precursors of the second group were degraded completely by unidentified enzyme(s) present in the stromal extract. Degradation of these precursors was dependent on their conformational integrity as well as on the redox state in the stroma.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Inhibition of tumor invasion and metastasis by calcium spirulan (Ca-SP), a novel sulfated polysaccharide derived from a blue-green alga, Spirulina platensis.

We have investigated the effect of calcium spirulan (Ca-SP) isolated from a blue-green alga, Spirulina platensis, which is a sulfated polysaccharide chelating calcium and mainly composed of rhamnose, on invasion of B16-BL6 melanoma, Colon 26 M3.1 carcinoma and HT-1080 fibrosarcoma cells through reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel). Ca-SP significantly inhibited the invasion of these tumor cells through Matrigel/fibronectin-coated filters. Ca-SP also inhibited the haptotactic migration of tumor cells to laminin, but it had no effect on that to fibronectin. Ca-SP prevented the adhesion of B16-BL6 cells to Matrigel and laminin substrates but did not affect the adhesion to fibronectin. The pretreatment of tumor cells with Ca-SP inhibited the adhesion to laminin, while the pretreatment of laminin substrates did not. Ca-SP had no effect on the production and activation of type IV collagenase in gelatin zymography. In contrast, Ca-SP significantly inhibited degradation of heparan sulfate by purified heparanase. The experimental lung metastasis was significantly reduced by co-injection of B16-BL6 cells with Ca-SP. Seven intermittent i.v. injections of 100 microg of Ca-SP caused a marked decrease of lung tumor colonization of B16-BL6 cells in a spontaneous lung metastasis model. These results suggest that Ca-SP, a novel sulfated polysaccharide, could reduce the lung metastasis of B16-BL6 melanoma cells, by inhibiting the tumor invasion of basement membrane probably through the prevention of the adhesion and migration of tumor cells to laminin substrate and of the heparanase activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Viruses infecting marine brown algae.

Viruses infecting algal hosts possess large double-stranded DNA as genomes. We have recently identified a family of viruses specific for filamentous brown algae. In contrast to the better known Chlorella viruses with their lytic infection cycle, marine brown algal viruses latently occur in their host cells and are induced to multiply in response to a variety of external stimuli such as change in light and temperature. Here, I summarize the known properties of this family of viruses and discuss their taxonomic classification.

DNA Viruses↗
PubMed2000

Short- and long-term redox regulation of photosynthetic light energy distribution and photosystem stoichiometry by acetate metabolism in the green alga, Chlamydobotrys stellata.

The effect of acetate metabolism on the light energy distribution between the two photosystems, on the PS II/PS I stoichiometry and on the expression of psbA and psbB and psaA genes was investigated in the green alga, Chlamydobotrys stellata during autotrophic (CO(2)), mixotrophic (CO(2) plus acetate) and photoheterotrophic (only acetate) cultivation. It was observed that acetate assimilation in the glyoxylate cycle resulted in a large drop in the ATP content and a concomitant increase in the NADPH content of the cells. The combined effect of high NADPH concentration and linear electron transport brought about an over-reduction of the inter-photosystem electron transport components. The reduced state of the inter-photosystem components initiated a state 1/state 2 transition of LHC II and a decrease in the PS II/PS I ratio. The PS II/ PS I ratio was reduced because the synthesis of PS II reaction centers was repressed and that of the PS I reaction centers was slightly enhanced by acetate cultivation. The amount of PsbA and PsbB proteins of PS II and the abundance of psbA mRNA decreased. The abundance of PS I PsaA protein and psaAmRNA were only slightly increased. All of the acetate-induced effects were reversible when the cells were transferred back to an acetate-free medium. Our observations demonstrate that the expression of the PS II psbA and psbB and PS I psaA genes is regulated by the redox state of the inter-photosystem components at the transcriptional level. Experiments carried out in the presence of DBMIB which facilitates the reduction of plastoquinone pool indicate that the expression of genes encoding the components of PS II and PS I are controlled by the redox state of a component (cytochrome b/f complex) located behind the plastoquinone pool.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

The gene family coding for the light-harvesting polypeptides of Photosystem I of the red alga Galdieria sulphuraria.

Recently [Marquardt et al. (2000) Gene 255: 257-265], we isolated a gene encoding a polypeptide of the light-harvesting complex of Photosystem I (LHC I) of the red alga Galdieria sulphuraria. By screening a G. sulphuraria cDNA library with a DNA probe coding for the conserved first transmembrane helix of this protein we isolated four additional genes coding for LHC I polypeptides. The deduced preproteins had calculated molecular masses of 24.6-25.6 kDa and isoelectric points of 8.09-9.82. N-terminal sequencing of a LHC I polypeptide isolated by gel electrophoresis allowed us to determine the cleavage site of the transit peptide of one of the deduced polypeptides. The mature protein has a calculated molecular mass of 20.6 kDa and an isoelectric point of 7.76. The genes were amplified from nuclear G. sulphuraria DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using oligonucleotides annealing in the regions of the start and stop codons as primers. All genomic sequences were 80-300 base pairs longer than the PCR products obtained from the respective cDNA clones, pointing to the existence of 1-5 introns per gene. The G. sulphuraria genes form a homogeneous gene family with overall pairwise amino acid identities of 46.0-56.6%. Homology to two diatom, one cryptophytic and two higher plant light-harvesting polypeptides was lower with pairwise identities of 21.1-34.1%. Only one diatom polypeptide showed a higher degree of identity of up to -39.3%.

Journal Article↗