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Plant hormones and pheromones are natural compounds involved in the growth, development, and reproductive processes. There is a plethora of studies on hormones and pheromones in terrestrial plants, but such investigations are few in the phycological literature. There are striking similarities between the chemical diversity, biosynthetic processes, roles, and actions of hormones and pheromones in both higher angiospermic plants and algae. However, there are substantial knowledge gaps in understanding the genes responsible for hormone biosynthesis and regulation in algae. Efforts have focused on identifying the genes and proteins involved in these processes, shedding light on lateral gene transfer and evolutionary outcomes. This comprehensive review contributes to benchmarking data and essential biotechnological tools, particularly for the aquaculture industry where seaweed is economically crucial. Advanced techniques in plant hormones and pheromones can revolutionize commercial aquaculture by using synthetic analogs to enhance growth, yield, and reproductive control, thereby addressing seasonal limitations and enabling sustainable seedling production. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive review that focuses on biosynthetic pathways and modes of action (of five plant hormones and five pheromones), roles (of 11 hormones and 29 pheromones), and extraction protocols (of four hormones and six pheromones) reported in the phycological domain. Full article

The to-date studies on extreme halophiles were focused on shake flask cultivations. Bioreactor technology with quantitative approaches can offer a wide variety of biotechnological applications to exploit the special biochemical features of halophiles. Enabling industrial use of Haloferax mediterranei, finding the optima of cultivation parameters is of high interest. In general, process parameter optimizations were mainly carried out with laborious and time-consuming chemostat cultures. This work offers a faster alternative for process parameter optimization by applying temperature ramps and pH shifts on a halophilic continuous bioreactor culture. Although the hydraulic equilibrium in continuous culture is not reached along the ramps, the main effects on the activity from the dynamic studies can still be concluded. The results revealed that the optimal temperature range may be limited at the lower end by the activity of the primary metabolism pathways. At the higher end, the mass transfer of oxygen between the gaseous and the liquid phase can be limiting for microbial growth. pH was also shown to be a key parameter for avoiding overflow metabolism. The obtained experimental data were evaluated by clustering with multivariate data analyses. Showing the feasibility on a halophilic example, the presented dynamic methodology offers a tool for accelerating bioprocess development. Full article