Alexandre Campos

CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research

Proteomic studies on cyanobacterial biofilms can be an effective approach to unravel metabolic pathways involved in biofilm formation and, consequently, obtain more efficient biofouling control strategies. Biofilm development by the filamentous cyanobacterium Toxifilum sp. LEGE 06021 was evaluated on different surfaces, glass and perspex, and at tw...

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silver (Ag) NPs are among the most used engineered inorganic nanoparticles (NPs); however, their potential effects to marine demersal fish species, are not fully understood. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the proteomic alterations induced by sub-lethal concentrations citrate-coated 25 nm (“P25”) TiO2 or polyvinylp...

Cyanotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by different types of cyanobacteria. Among them, Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) and Microcystins (MCs) stand out due to their wide geographical distribution and toxicity in various organs, including the kidney, which is involved in their distribution and elimination. However, the renal toxicity caused by CYN...

Over the last decades, global warming has increasingly raised the public concern upon the expansion of harmful cyanobacterial blooms (HCBs) in freshwater reservoirs worldwide. In eutrophic conditions, toxic cyanobacteria of HCBs thrive and release multiple variants of hepatotoxic and tumor-promoting cyanotoxins into the waterbody, chiefly microcyst...

Over the last years, the use of artificial lakes and ponds to irrigate agricultural crops has been intensified and cultivation methods have been diversified. Hydroponics is a type of hydroculture which usually involves growing plants in an inert substrate, by using nutrient-enriched water to support plant growth. However, irrigating plants in hydro...

Eutrophication of surface waters caused by toxic cyanobacteria such as Microcystis aeruginosa leads to the release of secondary metabolites called Microcystins (MCs), which are heptapeptides with adverse effects on soil microbiota, plants, animals, and human health. Therefore, to avoid succumbing to the negative effects of these cyanotoxins, variou...

Citation: Resende, D.I.S.P.; Almeida, J.R.; Pereira, S.; Campos, A.; Lemos, A.; Plowman, J.E.; Thomas, A.; Clerens, S.; Vasconcelos, V.; Pinto, M.; et al. From Natural Xanthones to Synthetic C-1 Aminated 3,4-Dioxygenated Xanthones as Abstract: Biofouling, which occurs when certain marine species attach and accumulate in artificial submerged structu...

Citation: Resende, D.I.S.P.; Almeida, J.R.; Pereira, S.; Campos, A.; Lemos, A.; Plowman, J.E.; Thomas, A.; Clerens, S.; Vasconcelos, V.; Pinto, M.; et al. From Natural Xanthones to Synthetic C-1 Aminated 3,4-Dioxygenated Xanthones as Abstract: Biofouling, which occurs when certain marine species attach and accumulate in artificial submerged structu...

Bivalves constitute an important source of proteins for human consumption, but some accumulate biotoxins such as diarrhetic shellfish toxins (DSTs), constituting a risk to human health. The cockle Cerastoderma edule is one of the most important species harvested in the Portuguese coast but also one of the most affected species due to recurrent DSTs...

Frequent toxic cyanoblooms in eutrophic freshwaters produce various cyanotoxins such as the monocyclic heptapeptides microcystins (MCs), known as deleterious compounds to plant growth and human health. Recently, MCs are a recurrent worldwide sanitary problem in irrigation waters and farmland soils due to their transfer and accumulation in the edibl...

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms (HCB) have severe impacts on marine and freshwater systems worldwide. They cause oxygen depletion and produce potent cyanotoxins that have detrimental effects on human and environmental health and deteriorate the water quality. Biological treatment of the water for control of cyanobacterial blooms and removal of cyanot...

Cyanobacteria blooms occur frequently in freshwaters around the world. Some can produce and release toxic compounds called cyanotoxins, which represent a danger to both the environment and human health. Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is the most toxic variant reported all over the world. Conventional water treatment methods are expensive and require specia...

Cyanobacteria have long been associated with harmful effects on humans, animals and aquatic biota. Cyanotoxins are their most toxic metabolite. This review summarizes the current research, impacts and future needs in cyanobacterial studies undertaken in Portugal, the south-ernmost country of Europe, and with a recent multiplication of cyanotoxicity...

Cyanobacteria are a group of photosynthetic prokaryotes that pose a great concern in the aquatic environments related to contamination and poisoning of wild life and humans. Some species of cyanobacteria produce potent toxins such as microcystins (MCs), which are extremely aggressive to several organisms, including animals and humans. In order to p...

We focus on the stalked goose barnacle L. anatifera adhesive system, an opportunistic less selective species for the substrate, found attached to a variety of floating objects at seas. Adhesion is an adaptative character in barnacles, ensuring adequate positioning in the habitat for feeding and reproduction. The protein composition of the cement mu...

Microcystins (MCs) produced in eutrophic waters may decrease crop yield, enter food chains and threaten human and animal health. The main objective of this research was to highlight the role of rhizospheric soil microbiota to protect faba bean plants from MCs toxicity after chronic exposure. Faba bean seedlings were grown in pots containing agricul...

Here we provide all datasets and details applied in the construction of a composite protein database required for the proteogenomic analyses of the article "Putative Antimicrobial Peptides of the Posterior Salivary Glands from the Cephalopod Octopus vulgaris Revealed by Exploring a Composite Protein Database". All data, subdivided into six datasets...

The molecular pathways behind the toxicity of diarrheic shellfish toxins (DSTs) in bivalves have been scarcely studied. Thus, a shotgun proteomics approach was applied in this work to understand bivalves’ molecular responses to the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima (1.0x106 cells/L). Protein expression along with toxins levels were analyzed in the g...

Cephalopods, successful predators, can use a mixture of substances to subdue their prey, becoming interesting sources of bioactive compounds. In addition to neurotoxins and enzymes, the presence of antimicrobial compounds has been reported. Recently, the transcriptome and the whole proteome of the Octopus vulgaris salivary apparatus were released,...

Diarrhetic shellfish toxins (DSTs) are among the most prevalent marine toxins in Europe’s and in other temperate coastal regions. These toxins are produced by several dinoflagellate species; however, the contamination of the marine trophic chain is often attributed to species of the genus Dinophysis. This group of toxins, constituted by okadaic aci...

The development of alternative ecological and effective antifouling technologies is still challenging. Synthesis of nature-inspired compounds has been exploited, given the potential to assure commercial supplies of potential ecofriendly antifouling agents. In this direction, the antifouling activity of a series of nineteen synthetic small molecules...

Cyanobacteria promote marine biofouling with significant impacts. A qualitative proteomic analysis, by LC-MS/MS, of planktonic and biofilm cells from two cyanobacteria was performed. Biofilms were formed on glass and perspex at two relevant hydrodynamic conditions for marine environments (average shear rates of 4 s−1 and 40 s−1). For both strains a...

Ascidians are marine invertebrates associated with diverse microbial communities, embedded in their tunic, conferring special ecological and biotechnological relevance to these model organisms used in evolutionary and developmental studies. Next-generation sequencing tools have increased the knowledge of ascidians’ associated organisms and their pr...

Adhesive secretion has a fundamental role in barnacles’ survival, keeping them in an adequate position on the substrate under a variety of hydrologic regimes. It arouses special interest for industrial applications, such as antifouling strategies, underwater industrial and surgical glues, and dental composites. This study was focused on the goose b...

Toxic cyanobacterial blooms are a major contaminant in inland aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, toxic blooms are carried downstream by rivers and waterways to estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Concerning marine and estuarine animal species, very little is known about how these species are affected by the exposure to freshwater cyanobacteria and cyan...

The aim of this study was to optimize the extraction conditions of Microcystin-LR (MC-LR), Microcystin-RR (MC-RR), Microcystin-YR (MC-YR) and Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) simultaneously from mussels by using response surface methodology (RSM) and to validate the method by a dual solid phase extraction (SPE) system combined with ultra-performance liquid...

Cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins constitute a serious environmental and human health problem. Moreover, concerns are raised with the use of contaminated water in agriculture and vegetable production as this can lead to food contamination and human exposure to toxins as well as impairment in crop development and productivity. The objective of this work...

The cyclic peptides portoamides produced by the cyanobacterium Phormidium sp. LEGE 05292 were previously isolated and their ability to condition microcommunities by allelopathic effect was described. These interesting bioactive properties are, however, still underexplored as their biotechnological applications may be vast. This study aims to invest...

Adhesion in barnacles is still poorly understood. The cement gland secretes an insoluble multi-protein complex, which adheres very strongly to a variety of substrates in the presence of water. This adhesion mechanism is bioinspiring for the engineering of new adhesive materials, but to replicate this adhesive system, the genes coding for the cement...

Previous studies have demonstrated the modulation of glutathione transferases (GSTs) induced by microcystin (MC) alone or in combination with other cyanobacterial secondary metabolites in bivalves. However, interspecies information about which and how GST isoforms are affected by these secondary metabolites is still scarce, especially considering t...

Cyanotoxins are a large group of noxious metabolites with different chemical structure and mechanisms of action, with a worldwide distribution, producing effects in animals, humans, and crop plants. When cyanotoxin-contaminated waters are used for the irrigation of edible vegetables, humans can be in contact with these toxins through the food chain...

Reports on the occurrence of the cyanobacterial toxin cylindrospermopsin (CYN) have increased worldwide because of CYN toxic effects in humans and animals. If contaminated waters are used for plant irrigation, these could represent a possible CYN exposure route for humans. For the first time, a method employing solid phase extraction and quantifica...

Cnidarian toxic products, particularly peptide toxins, constitute a promising target for biomedicine research. Indeed, cnidarians are considered as the largest phylum of generally toxic animals. However, research on peptides and toxins of sea anemones is still limited. Moreover, most of the toxins from sea anemones have been discovered by classical...

Toxic cyanobacterial blooms are often found in aquatic ecosystems, spanning from fresh to brackish waters and marine waters, and may reflect the increased eutrophication of these environments and alterations in climate. Cyanobacterial toxins (cyanotoxins) are secondary metabolites, with very different chemical structures, and highly reactive to var...

Aquaculture is a growing sector of the food industry that actively tries to integrate scientific knowledge into its management strategies. Aquaculture faces several key challenges including the provision of high-quality nutritional sources that serve to address both quality and safety, thus transforming production and management strategies to integ...

Portoamides are cyclic peptides produced and released by the cyanobacterial strain Phormidium sp. presumably to interfere with other organisms in their ecosystems ("allelopathy"). Portoamides were previously demonstrated to have an antiproliferative effect on human lung carcinoma cells, but the underlying mechanism of this activity has not been des...

Relative proportions of portoamides A and B. Absorption spectra (A) obtained by the analytic method with the absorbance as function of time. The first peak represents portoamide A, while the second peak is portoamide B. The PDA spectrum (B), for each absorbance spectrum, with absorbance in the wavelength of 276.0 nm. (TIF)

Data from CellProfiler analyses. Raw data are given as derived from the CellProfiler software after analysis of fluorescent images, and included 40 parameters of mitochondria used for the principal component analysis. CS, solvent control; PA, portoamides 0.5 μg/mL; PB, portoamides 1 μg/mL. (XLSX)

Cyanobacterial toxins, particularly microcystins (MCs) and cylindrospermopsin (CYN), are responsible for toxic effects in humans and wildlife. In order to counteract or prevent their toxicity, various strategies have been followed, such as the potential application of chemoprotectants. A review of the main substances evaluated for this aim, as well...

Pelagia noctiluca is the most venomous jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea where it forms dense blooms. Although there is several published research on this species, until now none of the works has been focused on a complete protein profile of the all body constituents of this organism. Here, we have performed a detailed proteomics characterization...

Toxic cyanobacterial blooms are often observed in freshwaters and may reflect the increased eutrophication of these environments and alterations in climate. Cyanotoxins, such as microcystins (MCs), are an effective threat to many life forms, ranging from plants to humans. Despite the research conducted to date on cyanotoxins, the risks associated t...

Natural toxins produced by freshwater cyanobacteria, such as cylindrospermopsin, have been regarded as an emergent environmental threat. Despite the risks for food safety, the impact of these water contaminants in agriculture is not yet fully understood. Carrots (Daucus carota) are root vegetables, extensively consumed worldwide with great importan...

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing world industries due to the increased demand of fishery products for human consumption and capture restrictions as a result of aquatic ecosystems exploitation. Aquaculture is therefore an extremely competitive business with major challenges to keep a high quality farmed fish through a sustainable production...

Purpose: In this work, we analysed the potential of picoplanktonic marine cyanobacteria strains as a source of anticancer compounds by elucidating the cytotoxic mechanisms of an ethyl acetate fraction of Cyanobium sp. (LEGE06113) and the Synechocystis salina (LEGE06155) on the RKO colon adenocarcinoma cell line. Methods: Cytotoxicity was analysed b...

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) and cylindrospermopsin (CYN) are the most representative cyanobacterial cyanotoxins. They have been simultaneously detected in aquatic systems, but their combined ecotoxicological effects to aquatic organisms, especially microalgae, is unknown. In this study, we examined the effects of these cyanotoxins individually and as a...

Purpose: In this work, we analysed the potential of picoplanktonic marine cyanobacteria strains as a source of anticancer compounds by elucidating the cytotoxic mechanisms of an ethyl acetate fraction of Cyanobium sp. (LEGE06113) and the Synechocystis salina (LEGE06155) on the RKO colon adenocarcinoma cell line. Methods: Cytotoxicity was analyse...

Seasonal weight loss (SWL) is the most important limitation to animal production in the Tropical and Mediterranean regions, conditioning producer's incomes and the nutritional status of rural communities. It is of importance to produce strategies to oppose adverse effects of SWL. Breeds that have evolved in harsh climates have acquired tolerance to...

Microcystins (MCs) are the most commonly occurring hepatotoxins produced by cyanobacteria. The inhibition of PP2A is widely assumed as the principal mechanism of toxicity of MCs, however recently it has been found that MC modulates PP2A activity not only by direct inhibition of its activity, but also by regulating its expression. Nevertheless the m...

The alkaloid cylindrospermopsin has been recognized of increased concern due to the global expansion of its main producer, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. Previous studies have shown that bivalves can accumulate high levels of cylindrospermopsin. Based on the potential for human health risks, a provisional tolerable daily intake of 0.03 μg/kg-body...