Integrative physiology in macroalgae: exploratory study of chemical biodiversity

• Grant number: 10/02948-3
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2010
• End date: July 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Applied Botany
• Principal Investigator: Fanly Fungyi Chow Ho
• Grantee: Fanly Fungyi Chow Ho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Cláudia Maria Furlan ; Déborah Yara Alves Cursino dos Santos

Abstract

Macroalgae are one of the most diverse groups of photosynthetic organisms and represent a strategic natural resource for national biotechnological development. The searching for understanding of biological processes and potential exploration of biodiversity has been an interesting subject for researchers and enterprises. Integrative approaches of macroalgae physiology are fundamental to combine knowledge underlying physiological, biochemistry and molecular aspect and to contribute for advancing of strain selection, stimulating biosynthesis of substances, improving mariculture systems, proposing metabolic models for regulatory studies, helping on molecular research and selecting potential species for biotechnological applications. Therefore, studies of physiological processes regarding stress damage and tolerance and acclimation mechanisms in macroalgae will contribute with the growing up of phycological scientific and technological knowledge, and will improve researches concerning to exploration, monitoration and mariculture of economical interesting species. The aim of this project is to characterize the biological responds of some benthic macroalgae species under an integrative perspective (physiology, biochemistry, and molecular), correlating dates with some aspects of environmental global changing and identifying potential biomolecules of commercial interest. In this study we pretend to congregate different visions about two fundamental aspects: (a) study the physiology and gene expression of some macroalgae submitted to laboratory conditions (ex. light intensity) and (b) characterize biochemical profile of macroalgae with potential for bioprospection. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

TORRES, PRISCILA B.; CHOW, FUNGYI; SANTOS, DEBORAH Y. A. C.. Growth and photosynthetic pigments of Gracilariopsis tenuifrons (Rhodophyta, Gracilariaceae) under high light in vitro culture. JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYCOLOGY, v. 27, n. 3, p. 1243-1251, JUN 2015. (10/02948-3)

TORRES, PRISCILA B.; CHOW, FUNGYI; FERREIRA, MARCELO J. P.; DOS SANTOS, DEBORAH Y. A. C.. Mycosporine-like amino acids from Gracilariopsis tenuifrons (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta) and its variation under high light. JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYCOLOGY, v. 28, n. 3, p. 2035-2040, JUN 2016. (13/50731-1, 10/02948-3)

TORRES, PRISCILA BEZERRA; CHOW, FUNGYI; FURLAN, CLAUDIA MARIA; MANDELLI, FERNANDA; MERCADANTE, ADRIANA; ALVES CURSINO DOS SANTOS, DEBORAH YARA. Standardization of a protocol to extract and analyze chlorophyll a and carotenoids in Gracilaria tenuistipitata Var. Liui. Zhang and Xia (Rhodophyta). Brazilian Journal of Oceanography, v. 62, n. 1, p. 57-63, JAN-MAR 2014. (10/02948-3)