The hERG channel has a relatively slow activation process but an extremely fast and voltage-sensitive inactivation process. Direct measurement of hERG's gating current (Piper, D.R., A. Varghese, M.C. Sanguinetti, and M. Tristani-Firouzi. 2003. PNAS. 100:10534-10539) reveals two kinetic components of gating charge transfer that may originate from two channel domains. This study is designed to ad...

In the Marseilles region (French Mediterranean coast), A. clausi is one of the most abundant copepod species of the Gulf of Fos while A. tonsa constitutes the almost exclusive copepod species of the Berre lagoon, a neighbouring semi-closed brackish area communicating with the gulf. As different ecophysiological capabilities to stand the various temperature, salinity and food conditions could ex...

The photosynthetic and respiratory behaviors of two Dunaliella salina strains (IR-1 and Gh-U) were investigated at two temperature treatments and two assay temperatures. Net photosynthetic rate (P ), photonN saturated net photosynthetic rate (P ), irradiance required to Saturate Photosynthetic (SI), respiration and Nmax pigment changes in D. salina strains, containing different chlorophyll (Chl...

The halotolerant green alga Dunaliella salina (isolate SEA003) recently isolated from salt march at Zaranik nature reserve, North Sinai , (Egypt) was cultivated in the arti ficial seawater medium (ASW) with di fferent sal ini ty levels (0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 M), under continuous i llumination of two dif ferent li ght intensities: 50 and 200 μmol m 2s , during 30 day of incubation. The maximum gro...

Total, free and conjugated forms (steryl esters, steryl glycosides and acyl steryl glycosides) of sterols from three microalgae that are extensively used in mariculture (Tetraselmis chuii, Nannochloropsis salina and Skeletonema costatum) were examined. The results revealed that cholesterol is the only common fraction detected in all investigated species and distributed in free and all conjugate...

The microalgal pigment phycoerythrin (PE) is of commercial interest as natural colorant in food and cosmetics, as well as fluoroprobes for laboratory analysis. Several methods for extraction and quantification of PE are available but they comprise typically various extraction buffers, repetitive freeze-thaw cycles and liquid nitrogen, making extraction procedures more complicated. A simple meth...

We have made a detailed phenotypic characterisation of the type strains of 21 species within the genus Halomonas and have also studied any possible intraspecific variation of strains within H. eurihalina, H. halophila, H. maura and H. salina. We used 234 morphological, physiological, biochemical, nutritional and antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Nutritional assays were carried out using both ...

We recently evaluated the relationship between abiotic environmental stresses and lutein biosynthesis in the green microalga Dunaliella salina and suggested a rational design of stress-driven adaptive evolution experiments for carotenoids production in microalgae. Here, we summarize our recent findings regarding the biotechnological production of carotenoids from microalgae and outline emerging...