Special Issue "Marine Bioactive Compounds Acting on Animal Reproduction"

Guest Editor
Dr. Elisabetta Tosti
Laboratory of Animal Physiology and Evolution, Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn”, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy
Website: www.szn.it
E-Mail:
Interests: marine animals reproduction; marine invertebrates; marine animal health/reproduction; risk assessment; marine natural products; marine biotechnology; ion channels; marine based anticancer research

Dear Colleagues,

Reproduction is a step by step process that starts at the production of gametes (gametogenesis), proceeds with their activation and interaction (fertilization) and virtually ends when full embryo development leads to the formation of a new adult individual. Electrical, morphological and biochemical modifications occurring through all the steps of the reproductive process involve ion channels activity, calcium release and oscillations, molecules, metabolites and messengers of different natures. Although it is known that marine-derived bioactive substances act on a series of biological processes, little is known on marine drugs affecting specific reproductive molecular dynamics. On the contrary, many information are available on marine natural products whose target molecules play a key role in the main steps of gametogenesis, fertilization and embryo development. The aim of this special issue is to report respectively i) the recognized impact of marine drugs of different origin on the reproductive process in animals; ii) their potential but unexplored role on the molecular mechanisms involved in the animal reproduction.

Elisabetta Tosti, Ph. D.
Guest Editor

Submission Information

All papers should be submitted to marinedrugs@mdpi.org with copy to the Editors. To be published continuously until the deadline and papers will be listed together at the special websites. Both, research articles and review articles are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editors for announcment on this website.

Submitted papers should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere. All papers are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed quarterly journal published by Molecular Diversity Preservation International.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a paper Open Access publication fees are 1000 CHF per paper. English correction fees (250 CHF) will be added in certain cases (1250 CHF per paper for those papers that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.).

• animal reproduction
• gametes maturation
• fertilization
• gametes activation
• embryo development
• marine animal health/reproduction
• environmental risk
• marine natural products

Type of Paper: Article
Title: Teratogenic Effects of Diatom Toxins on Sea Urchin Paracentrotus Lividus Embryos
Authors: Giovanna Romano, Antonio Miralto and Adrianna Ianora
Affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale 80121 Naples, Italy; E-Mails: romano@szn.it; miralto@szn.it; adrianna.ianora@szn.it
Abstract: Diatoms are small eukaryotic plants with over 1600 species, constituting one of the major components of the phytoplankton in freshwater and marine environments. Diatom blooms are believed to initiate and support the cycle of secondary production and growth of fish larvae that depend predominantly on the eggs and larval stages of planktonic copepod crustaceans, the dominant constituent of the zooplankton in most aquatic habitats. However, numerous laboratory studies have shown that when copepods are fed certain diatom diets, the eggs produced either fail to develop to hatching or hatch into teratogenic (malformed) nauplii. The compounds responsible for these effects are short-chain polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs) that arrest embryonic development in copepods and sea urchins, and have antiproliferative and apoptotic effects on human carcinoma cells. PUAs are cleaved from fatty acid precursors by enzymes activated within seconds after crushing of cells. Such compounds are activated chemical defences against grazers, potentially sabotaging future generations of copepods by inducing poor recruitment. Hence, certain diatom diets can negatively impact both copepod egg hatching success (up to 100%) and larval development and survival, with biomass build-up of blooms on the ocean floor that may have significant consequences for ocean ecology and biogeochemistry. However, diatom blooms are a potential energy source for benthic organisms as well, and the sinking of diatoms to the sediment at the end of the bloom is known to create a burst of reproductive activity in benthic populations. Several previous studies on benthic invertebrates have shown that DD inhibits fertilization and induces teratogenesis in several broadcast-spawning species. Here we investigate the effects of various diatom-derived PUAs on sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus early development and hatching success. We also compare the deleterious teratogenic effects of these compounds on sea urchin embryos with those of planktonic copepods.

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Impact of Marine Drugs on Cytoskeleton-Mediated Reproductive Events
Authors: Francesco Silvestre and Elisabetta Tosti*
Affiliation: Laboratory of Animal Physiology and Evolution, Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn”, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy; *E-mail: tosti@szn.it
Abstract: Marine organisms represent an important source of new bioactive compounds, often showing novel action mechanisms. So, marine drugs are a useful tool to study complex processes such as reproduction; this is characterized by many crucial steps that start at gamete maturation and activation and virtually end at the first developmental stages. During all this process, one of the key-roles is played by the cytoskeleton elements, i.e. microfilaments and microtubules. In this review, we show the impact of marine drugs affecting cytoskeleton on the reproduction processes; in particular, we describe: i) main steps of reproduction involving the cytoskeleton dynamics with a special focus on the role of microtubules and microfilaments; ii) principal marine compounds affecting cytoskeleton with proved impact on the reproduction; iii) marine drugs interfering with cytoskeleton with plausible, but not proved yet, effect on reproduction.