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Topic Review
Mechanisms and Impact of Biofilms
Biofilms comprising aggregates of microorganisms or multicellular communities have been a major issue as they cause resistance against antimicrobial agents and biofouling. To date, numerous biofilm-forming microorganisms have been identified, which have been shown to result in major effects including biofouling and biofilm-related infections. Quorum sensing (which describes the cell communication within biofilms) plays a vital role in the regulation of biofilm formation and its virulence. As such, elucidating the various mechanisms responsible for biofilm resistance (including quorum sensing) will assist in developing strategies to inhibit and control the formation of biofilms in nature. Employing biological control measures (such as the use of bioactive compounds) in targeting biofilms is of great interest since they naturally possess antimicrobial activity among other favorable attributes and can also possibly act as potent antibiofilm agents.
  • 1.0K
  • 13 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Marine Microorganisms Using Co-Culture Strategy
The isolation and identification of an increasing number of secondary metabolites featuring unique skeletons and possessing diverse bioactivities sourced from marine microorganisms have garnered the interest of numerous natural product chemists. There has been a growing emphasis on how to cultivate microorganisms to enhance the chemical diversity of metabolites and avoid the rediscovery of known ones. Given the significance of secondary metabolites as a means of communication among microorganisms, microbial co-culture has been introduced. By mimicking the growth patterns of microbial communities in their natural habitats, the co-culture strategy is anticipated to stimulate biosynthetic gene clusters that remain dormant under traditional laboratory culture conditions, thereby inducing the production of novel secondary metabolites.
  • 101
  • 12 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Mangrove Forest Functions and Services
Mangroves stand out as one of the most diverse and biologically significant natural systems in the world. Playing critical roles in maintaining the health and productivity of coastal ecosystems, mangroves provide a range of services and functions, including habitat for local fauna and flora, food and other goods, carbon sequestration, and protection from natural disasters such as storm surges and coastal erosion. 
  • 798
  • 12 Sep 2023
Topic Review
List of Polychaete Worms of South Africa
The list of polychaete worms of South Africa is a list of species that form a part of the class Polychaeta (Phylum Annelida) fauna of South Africa. The list follows the SANBI listing. 
  • 385
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Invasive Species in Marine Protected Areas of Turkey
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are one of the most effective conservation tools in the management of marine ecosystem alterations around the world, by maintaining natural ecological processes, increasing ecosystem resilience, preserving genetic diversity, ensuring the sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems, restoring the biomass and structure of species assemblages, and providing socio-economic benefits. The majority of Mediterranean MPAs are at a high risk of invasion and their boundaries offer almost no protection from many high-impact invasive species.
  • 579
  • 26 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Invasion of African Clarias gariepinus in Bangladesh
The African catfish Clarias gariepinus has been introduced for aquaculture in Bangladesh due to the scarcity of indigenous C. batrachus fingerlings. The African catfish Clarias gariepinus is a highly carnivorous species and predates small indigenous freshwater fishes when escaping into natural water bodies. However, the government of Bangladesh has banned the farming of C. gariepinus due to the carnivorous nature of this species. The introduction of C. gariepinus caused native biodiversity loss due to its predatory nature.
  • 670
  • 25 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Increased Crop Genetic Diversity in the Fields
Crop genetic diversity is the most important factor for a long-term sustainable production system. Breeding and production strategies for developing and growing uniform and homogenous varieties have created many problems. Such populations are static and very sensitive to unpredictable stresses.
  • 333
  • 09 May 2023
Topic Review
Importance of Access to Genetic Diversity for Breeding
Plant breeders develop competitive, high-yielding, resistant crop varieties that can cope with the challenges of biotic stresses and tolerate abiotic stresses, resulting in nutritious food for consumers worldwide. To achieve this, plant breeders need continuous and easy access to plant genetic resources (PGR) for trait screening, to generate new diversity that can be built into newly improved varieties. International agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and the Nagoya Protocol recognized the sovereign rights of countries over their genetic resources. However, some of the rules and conditions that regulate access and benefit-sharing arrangements have been established under these framework agreements hamper or limit access of public and private plant breeders as well as other users of these increasingly threatened plant genetic resources. Thus, these restrictive conditions cause a potential threat to the continued improvement and adaptation of crops and varieties to the ever-changing growing conditions.
  • 315
  • 29 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Impacts of Exotic Pests on Forest Ecosystems
Pests (e.g., insects, pathogens) affect forest communities through complex interactions with plants, other animals, and the environment. While the effects of exotic (non-native) pests on trees received broad attention and were extensively studied, fewer studies addressed the ecosystem-level consequences of these effects. Related studies so far mostly only targeted a very few dominant pests (e.g., hemlock woolly adelgid—HWA, beech bark disease—BBD, and spongy moth—SM) and were limited to aspects of the complex situation such as (1) pests’ direct physical disturbance to forest ecosystems, (2) altered geochemical elements of soils, water, and air (e.g., excretion), and (3) feedback effects from the alteration of ecosystems on plants, native insects, and present and future pest invasions. New studies also show that, in general, planted forests appear to be more prone to exotic pest invasions and thus suffer greater impacts than natural forests. Integrated studies are critically needed in the future to address (1) direct/indirect interactions of pests with ecosystem elements, (2) both short- and long-term effects, and (3) feedback effects. The implications of the new findings and corresponding management strategies are discussed.
  • 306
  • 11 May 2023
Topic Review
Human Communities in Protected Natural Areas
The mission of natural heritage conservation through different modalities has its main instrument in the creation and management of protected natural areas (PNAs) based on a conservation culture of natural ecosystems and sustainable development. Protected areas are well received throughout the world as environmental policy tools characterized by the preservation and protection of diverse ecosystems, where the original environment has not been essentially altered, producing a series of increasingly valued environmental services.
  • 752
  • 08 Jun 2022
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