Isolation of marine compounds from living invertebrates represents a major challenge for sustainable and environmentally friendly exploitation of marine bio-resources. To develop innovative technology to trap invertebrate compounds in the open sea, the proof of concept of a system combining external continuous circulation of water with XAD-amberlite solid-phase extraction was validated in an aquarium. In this work, we reported the elicitation of guanidine alkaloid production of Crambe crambe in the presence of Anemonia sulcata, both collected from the Mediterranean Sea. Besides the previously reported crambescidin 359 (1), and crambescidin acid (2), three new compounds were isolated; one carboxylated analog of 1 named crambescidin 401 (3), and two analogs of crambescin B, crambescin B 281 (4) and crambescin B 253 (5). Based on these results, a technology named Somartex^® for “Self Operating MARine Trapping Extractor” was patented and built to transfer the concept from closed aquarium systems to open marine ecosystems.

Chlorophenols (CPs) are environmental pollutants that are produced through various anthropogenic activities and introduced in the environment. Living organisms, including humans, are exposed to these toxic xenobiotics and suffer from adverse health effects. More specifically, 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) is released in high amounts in the environment and has been listed as a priority pollutant by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Bioremediation has been proposed as a sustainable alternative to conventional remediation methods for the detoxification of phenolic compounds. In this work, we studied the potential of fungal strains isolated as symbionts of marine invertebrates from the underexplored mesophotic coral ecosystems. Hence, the unspecific metabolic pathways of these fungal strains are being explored in the present study, using the powerful analytical capabilities of a UHPLC-HRMS/MS. The newly identified 2,4-DCP metabolites add significantly to the knowledge of the transformation of such pollutants by fungi, since such reports are scarce.

Sea urchins are invertebrates that play a crucial role in marine ecosystems by controlling benthic algal communities and whose natural populations are being affected by different biotic and abiotic factors. Triggering physiological processes promotes the activation of certain metabolic pathways, so oxidative status markers could be a suitable tool to asses maturation stage in which natural populations are. Antioxidant status of three species of Mediterranean Sea urchins, A. lixula, P. lividus and S. granularis, was evaluated in gonadal and digestive tissue. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione s-transferase (GST), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) and lipid peroxidation were assayed. Significant differences were found among species, displaying in general higher antioxidant activity in A. lixula and S. granularis compared to P. lividus. A significant effect of sex was observed with females exhibiting a higher gonadosomatic index and higher levels of lipid peroxidation mainly in A. lixula. These results seem to be related to metabolic fluctuations associated with the gonadal maturation stage. Changes in digestive tissue were less evident, but some differences among species could be related to triggered digestive processes for replenishment of energy reserves in gonads. Oxidative status can be a useful complementary tool to evaluate gonadal condition in species of sea urchin from the same habitat. Integrative physiological and biochemical studies will contribute to the knowledge of invertebrate physiology.