About Book

The human body of knowledge regarding the relationship between life in the sea and important cycles is rapidly growing, with new discoveries being made nearly every day. Marine biology is the study of life in the oceans and other saltwater environments such as estuaries and wetlands. Marine life is a vast resource, providing food, medicine and raw materials, in addition to helping to support recreation and tourism all over the world. At a fundamental level, marine life helps determine the very nature of our planet. Marine organisms contribute significantly to the oxygen cycle, and are involved in the regulation of the Earth's climate. Many species are economically important to humans, including both finfish and shellfish. It is also becoming understood that the well-being of marine organisms and other organisms are linked in fundamental ways. Large areas beneath the ocean surface still remain effectively unexplored. This book attempts to understand the multiple branches that fall under the discipline of marine biology and how such concepts have practical applications. It deals with marine origin, marine algae, bioactive polyesters, marine environments, marine biomass, biological invasions and marine microorganisms. Different approaches, evaluations and methodologies and advanced studies on this subject have been included in the book. Coherent flow of topics, student- friendly language and extensive use of examples make this book an invaluable source of knowledge. As this field is emerging at a rapid pace, the contents of this book will help the readers understand the modern concepts and applications of the subject.

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 Biosurfactants from Marine Microorganisms .....................................1

Absract....................................................................................................1

1. Introduction............................................................................................2

2. Biosurfactants.........................................................................................3

3. Natural roles and biotechnological applications............................7

4. Methods and screening procedure for testing BS production.....9

5. Genetic regulation...............................................................................13

6. Conclusions..........................................................................................15

Chapter 2 The Marine Biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea in a Changing Climate: The Impact of Biological Invasions....................................23

Abstract.................................................................................................23

1. Introduction..........................................................................................24

2. History of the Mediterranean Sea...................................................25

3. The Mediterranean: a hotspot of biodiversity under threat......26

4. Climate change and its effects on Mediterranean biodiversity.28

5. Alien species in the Mediterranean Sea: pathways and

impacts..................................................................................................30

6. Invasive alien species (IAS) in the Mediterranean Sea...............33

7. Ten of the worst marine invasive species......................................35

8. Managing and prevention strategies...............................................43

Acknowledgements.............................................................................45

Chapter 3 Biosorption of Lanthanides Using Select Marine Biomass............57

1. Introduction..........................................................................................57

2. Experimental work..............................................................................59

3. Results and discussion .....................................................................61

4. Conclusion............................................................................................82

Acknowledgement .............................................................................83

Chapter 4 Crude Oil Biodegradation in the Marine Environments................87

1. Introduction..........................................................................................87

2. The composition of crude oil...........................................................87

3. Oil pollution as an environmental problem..................................89

4. The fate of oil in the marine environment....................................91

5. Response of marine microbial community to oil pollution.......94

6. Crude oil degrading microorganisms.............................................94

7. Pathway for biodegradation of some compartment of crude

oil...........................................................................................................97

8. Factors affected crude oil biodegradation in marine

environment.......................................................................................104

9. Biodegradation strategy for crude oil removal from marine

environment (biostimulation and bioaugmentation).................106

10. Field evaluation of marine oil spill...............................................111

11. Conclusion and future prospects...................................................117

Chapter 5 Bioactive Polyesters in Marine and Plant Endophytic Fungi......129

1. Introduction........................................................................................129

2. New methodology for rapid isolation and identification of known

bioactive polyesters...........................................................................130

3. Novel macrocyclic polyesters from fungus menisporopsis

theobromae .......................................................................................137

4. Macrosphelides A and B, novel inhibitors of cell-cell adhesion

molecule from microsphaeropsis sp. FO-5050 ...........................138

5. Macrosphelides C and D, novel inhibitors of cell adhesion ..139

6. Macrosphelides J (14) and K (15) .................................................140

7. Conclusion .......................................................................................142

Acknowledgement ...........................................................................142

Chapter 6 Bioactive Compounds from Bacteria Associated to Marine

Algae..........................................................................................................145

1. Introduction........................................................................................145

2. Anticancer activity ..........................................................................146

3. Resistance to antibiotics .................................................................147

4. Factors that enhance the resistance appearance to the

antimicrobial effects..........................................................................148

5. Distribution and economic importance of marine algae .........149

6. Marine algae as producers of secondary metabolites ..............149

7. Bacteria associated with marine algae ........................................151

8. Marine bacteria as producers of secondary metabolites .........152

9. Interactions between bacterial species..........................................154

10. Techniques used for bacteria identification.................................155

11. Microbial diversity cultivation dependent techniques ...........156

12. Molecular techniques for bacteria identification ......................157

13. Extraction of bioactive compounds from bacteria associated with

marine algae.......................................................................................159

14. Conclusion .........................................................................................162

15. Acknowledgment .............................................................................165

Chapter 7 Genomics of Bacteria from an Ancient Marine Origin: Clues to Survival in an Oligotrophic Environment........................................171

1. Introduction........................................................................................171

2. Bacterial comparative genomics: Clues to evolution, geological

history, and ecology.........................................................................173

3. Using genes to understand the environment: A case study....177

4. Strategies of bacteria for dealing with limited phosphorous..183

5. Carotenes and gene transfer of bacteriorhodopsin:

A good combination in a high-radiation environment.............187

6. Core and pan-genome of the Bacillus genus.............................187

7. Genomics in the aid of phylogeny................................................190

8. Molecular clock..................................................................................190

9. Future directions...............................................................................193

10. Conclusion..........................................................................................194

11. Acknowledgments.............................................................................194

Citation......................................................................................................201

Index...........................................................................................................203

About Author

Goretti Myers pursued her M.Sc. in Earth Sciences and Ph.D. in Oceanography from Science University, British Columbia. She serves as a Research Professor at Public State University, Sinaloa. Her primary areas of scholarly and research interests lie in the fields of oceanography and geomorphology. Her research has been a valuable contribution to those who hold keen interest in the varied fields of earth sciences. Myers is an active member of several biological and agricultural societies and participates in national conferences, workshops and symposiums on a regular basis.