Scientific stay in Kochi to study the elemental cellular location

23 January 2024

Antón Váquez-Arias spent September to December 2023 in Kochi (Japan) at the Marine Core Research Institute (Kochi Univertsity) – Kochi Institute for Core Research JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine – Erth Science and Technology), in the NanoSIMS laboratory of Prof. Motoo Ito and under the supervision of Yosuke Yamada. This allowed us to study the localisation of elements within cells and their changes during charging and discharging processes in marine algae using Espectrometría nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS). For this purpose, a cross-transplantation experiment of the species Fucus vesiculosus (Ochrophyta) was performed. The transplants were prepared for NanoSIMS analysis by cryofixation and the results are ready, a new publication will follow soon!

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Marine ecosystems and the impact of heavy metal pollution (HM).

Marine ecosystems, especially those in coastal areas, are particularly vulnerable to heavy metal (HM) pollution since they are subject to both land- and ocean-based pollution sources. Due to their toxicity, persistence, and capacity to biomagnify in the food chain, HMs pose an important threat through lethal and sub-lethal effects at the individual level that might have far-reaching consequences at higher hierarchical levels: populations, communities, and even entire ecosystems.

The cascading effects of pollution can thus jeopardize ecosystems' integrity and undermine their resilience, especially when they impact species with critical ecosystem roles, like macroalgal foundation species.