The Evolution Road of Seaweed Aquaculture: Cultivation Technologies and the Industry 4.0.

Seaweeds (marine macroalgae) are autotrophic organisms capable of producing many compounds of interest. For a long time, seaweeds have been seen as a great nutritional resource, primarily in Asian countries to later gain importance in Europe and South America, as well as in North America and Australia. It has been reported that edible seaweeds are rich in proteins, lipids and dietary fibers. Moreover, they have plenty of bioactive molecules that can be applied in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic areas. There are historical registers of harvest and cultivation of seaweeds but with the increment of the studies of seaweeds and their valuable compounds, their aquaculture has increased. The methodology of cultivation varies from onshore to offshore. Seaweeds can also be part of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), which has great opportunities but is also very challenging to the farmers. This multidisciplinary field applied to the seaweed aquaculture is very promising to improve the methods and techniques; this area is developed under the denominated industry 4.0.

Seaweed-Based Products and Mushroom ß-Glucan as Tomato Plant Immunological Inducers.

The effects of the abiotic inducers ß-glucan, extracted from Shiitake (Lentinula edodes), BFIICaB® (Kappaphycus alvarezii) and BKPSGII® (K. alvarezii X Sargassum sp.) on tomato plants infected with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL) were evaluated through the activity of enzymes related to the induction of resistance at 5 and 10 days after inoculation (DAI). Tomato plants (21 days old, after germination) were inoculated with the pathogen conidia suspension and sprayed with 0.3% aqueous solutions of the inducers. The activities of the enzymes ß-1,3-glucanase, peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) were evaluated in fresh tomato leaves collected at 5 and 10 DAI. In all treatments, peroxidase showed the highest enzymatic activity, followed by ß-1,3-glucanase and PAL. Between the seaweeds, the inducers extracted from the red alga Kappaphycus alvarezii (BFIICaB®) promoted the highest enzymatic activity. The exception was BKPSGII® (K. alvarezii X Sargassum sp.) where the influence of Sargassum sp. resulted in higher peroxidase activity (4.48 Δab600 mg P-1 min-1) in the leaves, 10 DAI. Both the red seaweed K. alvarezii and the brown alga Sargassum sp. promoted activities of ß-1,3-glucanase, peroxidase and PAL.

Functional diversity of zooplankton communities in two tropical estuaries (NE Brazil) with different degrees of human-induced disturbance.

This study assessed the functional diversity (FD) of copepod communities along the environmental gradient of two tropical estuaries with different intensities of human impact - the environmentally protected "Mamanguape" and the urbanised "Paraiba". Different trait-based approaches were used: functional groups identification and description, and FD indices estimation. The results showed similar functional groups and functional indices between the two estuaries with some variability attributed to seasonality. Copepods in each estuary seemed to perform similar functions. Overall, biomass was more evenly distributed among groups, and mean total biomass and FD indices were slightly higher in the Mamanguape. Nevertheless, both estuaries presented comparable FD, indicating that environmental filters may be the main driver of species coexistence within systems. Results also pointed towards anthropogenic disturbance, despite the protection status of the Mamanguape.