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Biomedical subjects

A Meinesz

Publications and source records attributed to A Meinesz.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Are the Mediterranean ascoglossan molluscs Oxynoe olivacea and Lobiger serradifalci suitable agents for a biological control against the invading tropical alga Caulerpa taxifolia?

The Mediterranean ascoglossan Oxynoe olivacea and Lobiger serradifalci, which are scarce in meadows of their usual food the alga Caulerpa prolifera, have become adapted to feeding on the invading tropical alga Caulerpa taxifolia. Grazing rates are low (O. olivacea destroys only a 5-cm C. taxifolia frond in 3-7 d). The grazing rates are a function of temperature. Despite a high spawning frequency (0.25 egg-mass.day-1) and a large number of eggs released per spawning event (O. olivacea: from 2,545 to 29,128 eggs.spawning-1; L. serradifalci: from 12,112 to 48,448 eggs.spawning-1), the recruitment on Caulerpa meadows is usually low due to the hazardous pelagic development of the larvae. The possible use of these molluscs as agents of biological control against C. taxifolia appears to be possible only through an artificial enhancement of their populations after cultivation of the veligers and release of juveniles during the winter season. This means of control is discussed and compared with the possible use of tropical ascoglossan species.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Cell growth inhibitory effects of caulerpenyne, a sesquiterpenoid from the marine algae Caulerpa taxifolia.

Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agardh (Ulvophyceae, Caulerpales) is an algae of tropical origin that was accidentally introduced into the Mediterranean in 1984. Caulerpenyne (Cau) is the major metabolite present in Caulerpa taxifolia. This metabolite has previously been shown to be cytotoxic against cell lines in culture as in KB cells and fibroblasts from hamsters. Cau along with 6 other drugs representative of the major classes of anticancer products was tested against 8 cancer cell lines of human origin. Cau demonstrated growth-inhibitory effects in all cases with some variability between cell lines; this inter-cell variability was, however, less marked than that observed with the anticancer drug tested. Cells of colorectal cancer origin were the most sensitive to the presence of Cau with IC50 values of 6.1 and 7.7 microM. Increasing the duration of contact between Cau and the cells from 75 min to 29.5 hr did not improve the cytotoxic efficacy of this compound. When Cau was pre-incubated in the culture medium for from 7 to 83 min before being exposed to CAL 27 cells (head and neck cancer origin), there was a constant loss of cytostatic action of Cau as a function of Cau pre-incubation time. As the bovine serum albumin concentration increased in the culture medium, the concentration-response curves showed a constant shift towards the right, indicating a loss of cytostatic activity of Cau. In the presence of Cau, cells in culture clearly exhibited an early and marked shift into S phase followed by a blockade into the premitotic G2 M phase. Possible targets for CAU remain to be identified. Cau needs to be tested on tumor bearing animals to confirm this promising antiproliferative activity.

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