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Hydrophobic molecules, in particular, carotenoids, have been directly extracted from Synechococcus bigranulatus ACUF680 by means of secondary amine switchable solvent N-ethylbutylamine (EBA) without any other pretreatment. EBA was able to extract hydrophobic molecules from both fresh and frozen biomass at the same extent of the conventional procedure (about 20% of dry biomass). In particular, selective extraction of a zeaxanthin-enriched fraction (green fraction, GF) and a β-carotene-enriched fraction (orange fraction, OF) was obtained. The ratio between zeaxanthin and β-carotene was 4.4 ± 1.5 for GF, 0.07 ± 0.06 for OF, and about 1 for conventional extraction. These fractions showed in vitro antioxidant activity (IC50 values of 0.056 ± 0.013 and 0.024 ± 0.008 mg mL-1 for GF and OF, respectively) and biocompatibility on immortalized cells. Moreover, OF and GF were able to protect cells from oxidative stress, both before and after thermal treatment. Results clearly indicate that EBA is a good candidate to specifically extract β-carotene and zeaxanthin from the wet biomass of S. bigranulatus without affecting their biological activity. Skipping energy-intensive operations to break the cells and using either fresh or frozen biomass may be the driving factors to use EBA switchable solvent on an industrial scale.

Primary productivity in the Ross Sea region is characterized by intense phytoplankton blooms whose temporal and spatial distribution are driven by changes in environmental conditions as well as interactions with the bacterioplankton community. However, the number of studies reporting the simultaneous diversity of the phytoplankton and bacterioplankton in Antarctic waters are limited. Here, we report data on the bacterial diversity in relation to phytoplankton community structure in the surface waters of the Ross Sea during the Austral summer 2017. Our results show partially overlapping bacterioplankton communities between the stations located in the Terra Nova Bay (TNB) coastal waters and the Ross Sea Open Waters (RSOWs), with a dominance of members belonging to the bacterial phyla Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. In the TNB coastal area, microbial communities were characterized by a higher abundance of sequences related to heterotrophic bacterial genera such as Polaribacter spp., together with higher phytoplankton biomass and higher relative abundance of diatoms. On the contrary, the phytoplankton biomass in the RSOW were lower, with relatively higher contribution of haptophytes and a higher abundance of sequences related to oligotrophic and mixothrophic bacterial groups like the Oligotrophic Marine Gammaproteobacteria (OMG) group and SAR11. We show that the rate of diversity change between the two locations is influenced by both abiotic (salinity and the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio) and biotic (phytoplankton community structure) factors. Our data provide new insight into the coexistence of the bacterioplankton and phytoplankton in Antarctic waters, suggesting that specific rather than random interaction contribute to the organic matter cycling in the Southern Ocean.

Galdieria spp. (Rhodophyta) are polyextremophile microalgae known for their important antioxidant properties in different biological systems. Nowadays, the beneficial and bio-stimulant effect of microalgal extracts is widely tested on crops. Here, for the first time, potential positive effects of aqueous extracts from Galdieria were tested on a second microalgal culture systems. Chlorella sorokiniana cultures were supplemented with Galdieria phlegrea extracts (EC) and the short-term (48 h) effects of extract addition on growth and biochemical and physiological parameters were monitored and compared to those of non-supplemented Chlorella (CC). Growth of Chlorella was improved in EC as shown by higher optical density and cells number in the enriched cultures. In addition, EC appreciably increased the pigments (chlorophyll (a and b) and carotenoids) contents of Chlorella cells. Increase of photosynthetic pigments was associated with higher photosynthesis and lower non-radiative dissipation of light in EC as indicated by chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. Reduced activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT and APX), but increased total antioxidant capacity (ABTS) were observed in EC, suggesting that this culture was under a low oxidative status, but can activate antioxidant defences if exposed to oxidative stress. In conclusion, a short-term positive effect of the addition of G. phlegrea extracts on growth and physiology of C. sorokiniana was demonstrated.

The demand for natural antioxidants to be used in food industry is increasing, as synthetic antioxidants are toxic and have high production costs. Specifically, food processing and preservation require antioxidants resistant to thermal sterilization processes. In this study, twenty-five strains among microalgae and cyanobacteria were screened as antioxidants producers. The species Enallax sp., Synechococcus bigranulatus and Galdieria sulphuraria showed the highest content of chlorophyll a and total carotenoids. In vitro stability and antioxidant activity of the ethanolic extracts were performed. The results revealed that pigments present in the extracts, obtained from the previously mentioned species, were stable at room temperature and exhibited in vitro free radical scavenging potential with IC50 values of 0.099 ± 0.001, 0.048 ± 0.001 and 0.13 ± 0.02 mg mL-1, respectively. Biocompatibility assay showed that the extracts were not toxic on immortalized cell lines. The antioxidant activity was also tested on a cell-based model by measuring intracellular ROS levels after sodium arsenite treatment. Noteworthy, extracts were able to exert the same protective effect, before and after the pasteurization process. Results clearly indicate the feasibility of obtaining biologically active and thermostable antioxidants from microalgae. Green solvents can be used to obtain thermo-resistant antioxidants from cyanobacteria and microalgae which can be used in the food industry. Thus, the substitution of synthetic pigments with natural ones is now practicable. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Phytoplankton blooms in the Ross Sea generally occur during late spring-early summer, especially in the marginal ice zone, polynya areas and continental shelves. These blooms are generally dominated by many species of diatoms and the haptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica, and are driven by water column dynamics. However, most of the information on diatoms in the Ross Sea regards their ecological and biogeochemical role in Antarctic waters, with few and fragmented data describing the species composition. In order to contribute to the information on diatom diversity in the Ross Sea, data from two oceanographic cruises carried out in austral summers 2014 and 2017, have been analyzed also with respect to their spatial variability. Up to four genera, such as the pennates Fragilariopsis and Pseudo-nitzschia and the centrics Dactyliosolen and Chaetoceros, were mainly observed during the cruises. In both years, pennates dominated at coastal stations in early summer, while centric diatoms dominated in offshore waters particularly at 0 m in mid-summer. The most abundant species was Pseudo-nitzschia subcurvata contrarily to that reported by previous studies where Fragilariopsis curta and F. cylindrus were the most abundant species. Regarding the role of diatoms in the Antarctic food web, changes in species composition should be considered in light of recent studies on the effect of the ongoing climate change in the Ross Sea.

Timing and rates of release of particulate organic matter (POM) beneath the Antarctic sea ice during the melting season are relatively unknown. To shed light on this topic, we investigated: i) quantity and biochemical composition of POM released below annual sea ice in Terra Nova Bay (TNB, Ross Sea, Antarctica) through sediment traps deployed at 10- and 30-m depth; ii) the abundance and taxonomic composition of phytoplankton; iii) the abundance and biochemical composition of two zooplankton species, namely the pteropods Clione limacina antarctica and Limacina helicina antarctica. Overall, our results show that in late spring-early summer in TNB the melting of annual sea ice determines a rapid release of particles into the underlying water column, and that those particles are transported downward at the rate of hours to days. POM fluxes were dominated by lipids, which probably resulted from zooplankton grazing activity on sea-ice algae and faecal pellets that were released into the water column. This, after the initial injection of particles, which were likely associated with sinking sympagic microalgal biomass derived from the sea ice melting, enhanced the nutritional value of POM. POM released beneath the sea ice, in turn, had a possible effect on the biochemical composition of the two pteropod species. Our results confirm that melting of sea ice in spring-summer each year in Antarctic coastal waters represents a fundamental step in the transfer of energy towards the higher trophic levels. Evidence of a decline in Antarctic sea ice over the last five years, plausibly as a consequence of global warming, underlines a conspicuous decline in habitat availability for sea-ice algae and, as a consequence, a drop in the availability of food for pteropods and the higher trophic levels of the coastal Antarctic Ocean.

We collected live mixed natural samples from the northeastern Ross Sea during the austral summer of 2017 and isolated a novel Prorocentrum sp. (Dinophyceae) associated with mucilaginous Phaeocystis antarctica (Coccolithophyceae) colonies. The haptophyte P. antarctica is a key species of the phytoplankton community in the Ross Sea, where blooms are subjected to iron limitation and/or co-limitation with other micronutrients (e.g., vitamin B12) during the summer. We first performed preliminary genetic analyses to determine the specific identity of the novel Prorocentrum sp., which indicated that it represented a previously undescribed species. The formal description of this new species is in process. To further assess its relationship with P. antarctica, we obtained their monospecific and mixed cultures and evaluated their responses to different irradiance levels and iron and vitamin B12 limitation. Our results indicated differential susceptibility of the two species to iron limitation and differential photosynthetic plasticity under high irradiance. Iron limitation reduced colony formation in P. antarctica and decreased the chlorophyll-a content in Prorocentrum sp., whereas B12 limitation did not affect growth or photosynthetic efficiency in either species. In addition, P. antarctica could photosynthesize efficiently under different irradiance levels, due to its ability to modulate the light adsorption cross-section of PSII, whereas Prorocentrum sp. exhibited lower photosynthetic plasticity and an inability to modulate both the maximum photochemical efficiency and effective adsorption cross-section of PSII under high irradiance. The trophic interaction between Prorocentrum sp. and P. antarctica could present ecological implications for the food webs and biogeochemical cycles of the Antarctic ecosystem. Considering the predicted climate-driven shifts in global ocean surface light regimes and changes in iron or vitamin B12 transfer, which are most likely to impact changes in the phytoplankton community structure, our results present implications for carbon export to deeper waters, ecological functioning, and associated biogeochemical changes in the future.

Human use of the world’s seas and oceans is causing cumulative pressures on, and changes to, coastal marine habitats. The Gulf of Pozzuoli (GoP) is one of the three marginal sub-basins identifiable in the Gulf of Naples which have been affected by strong anthropogenic pressure since the end of the 19th century. While several studies demonstrated sediment and water contamination in the GoP, to date, few and fragmented data have described the effects on the phytoplankton community in such a coastal system. In order to contribute to a more detailed picture of the ecological status of the GoP, we have analysed the phytoplankton community in terms of biomass and functional diversity, particularly in relation to water salinity and nutrient availability. Our results reveal the presence of two different trophic areas in the GoP. The first one is located in the eastern sector, which is more sensitive to land run-off and characterized by a higher level of biomass. The second one is situated in the western sector, and is characterized by a higher salinity and lower level of biomass. Diatoms and haptophytes were the most representative groups; other minor groups showed higher spatial and temporal variability, especially in coastal stations. The weakening gradient of salinity from the coast to open water and the point distribution of nutrients suggest that the GoP is affected by scattered anthropogenic sources, the contribution of which to the overall system is irregular and depends on dilution dynamics. Despite this, the GoP presents mean Chl a concentrations similar to those of oligotrophic environments, and, the high variability observed underlines the importance of applying the appropriate sampling scales to measure coastal systems subject to point anthropogenic pressures.

A bloom of loricate choanoflagellates was recorded for the first time in the Ross Sea polynya during the austral summer 2017. Both individual cells and uncommon large-size colonies (200 μm length) represent the 42-55% of the total plankton community (i.e. specimens from 5 to 150 μm length). Choanoflagellates serve as a link between low and mid trophic levels since they prey on bacteria and in turn are ingested by zooplankton. This twofold role and the unusual abundance recorded in the Antarctic ecosystem may have relevant but still unknown effects on food web structure and dynamics in that area.

This study focuses on the potential explanations for a Phaeocystis antarctica summer bloom occurred in stratified waters of Terra Nova Bay (TNB) - which is part of the Antarctic Special Protected Area (n.161) in the Ross Sea - trough a multi-parameter correlative approach. Many previous studies have highlighted that water column stratification typically favors diatom dominance compared to the colonial haptophyte P. antarctica, in the Ross Sea, and this correlation has often been used to explain the historic dominance of diatoms in TNB. To explore the spatial and temporal progression of P. antarctica bloom in coastal waters, four stations were sampled three times each between December 31, 2009 and January 13, 2010. Taxonomic and pigment composition of phytoplankton communities, macro-nutrient concentrations and various different indices, all indicated the relative dominance of P. antarctica. Cell abundances revealed that P. antarctica contributed 79% of total cell counts in the upper 25 m and 93% in the lower photic zone. Similarly, a strong correlation was observed between Chl-a and the Hex:Fuco pigment ratio, corroborating the microscopic analyses. Recent studies have shown that iron can trigger colonial P. antarctica blooms. Based on the Hex:Chl-c3 proxy for iron limitation in P. antarctica, we hypothesize that anomalously higher iron fluxes were responsible for the unusual bloom of colonial P. antarctica observed in TNB.