El desarrollo de la maricultura en Costa Rica ha requerido de la validación, la innovación y la generación de conocimiento científico biotecnológico. Se presenta una revisión de los principales avances biotecnológicos sobre maricultura que han sido aplicados y desarrollados por la Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas de la Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica. La experimentación y optimización de la tecnología del cultivo de Crassostrea gigas ha impulsado la ostricultura en el país y el surgimiento de emprendimientos locales. La investigación científica realizada ha generado avances biotecnológicos de relevancia mundial sobre la biología reproductiva de camarones peneidos y ha permitido la reproducción controlada de peces marinos de interés comercial del Golfo de Nicoya, Costa Rica. Además, se han aplicado y evaluado técnicas biotecnológicas para el cultivo de microalgas, depuración bacteriana de moluscos, vigilancia de Floraciones Algales Nocivas y biorremediación. Se debe fortalecer la investigación biotecnológica sobre maricultura, fomentar la transferencia de la biotecnología desarrollada y promover la protección por medio de la propiedad intelectual de la innovación biotecnológica generada como herramientas para el desarrollo económico y social en Costa Rica.

Luminescence in bacteria is catalyzed by luciferase. When these microorganisms are exposed to toxic substances, the bioluminescent enzyme system can be inhibited. The objective of this study was to analyze the potential that these microorganisms offer as native bioindicators of coastal marine pollution. The dynamics of luminescence intensity by visual classification and the effect of metal concentration on the growth and luminescence of 25 strains of luminescent bacteria, isolated during 2016 from seawater samples from the gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, was evaluated by the disk diffusion method. The sensitivity of each strain to different concentrations (0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg mL-1) of Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn was determined by its bioluminescent phenotype. In susceptible strains, a range of metal concentrations less than the growth inhibitory concentration affected the expression of luminescence. Strains with intense luminescence and defined zones of luminescence inhibition were considered to have greater potential as native bioindicators for monitoring environmental toxicity. More studies are required to determine the minimum concentrations that inhibit growth and luminescence with respect to the tested metals and other potentially toxic substances for the coastal marine ecosystems of Costa Rica.

No abstract

No abstract

Paradoxically, the use of antibiotics has resulted in the proliferation of resistant microorganisms in environments where they were not thought to be likely to appear. In this context, this research aimed to evaluate the phytotelmata as a matrix to detect the presence of bacterial strains with antibiotic resistance in the deep understory of tropical cloud forest and in a nearby rural town. The study was carried out in the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve and the urban zone of the Santa Elena town, only 10 km. A compounded sample of phytotelm water was collected from 10—15 bromeliads and heliconia plants by site. Gram-negative bacterial strains found were evaluated to antibiotic susceptibility tests (13 antibiotics). In both sites, five strains presented multi-resistance to more than three antibiotics. Overall, antibiotics possessing cell wall synthesis inhibitor mechanisms were the most common with resistance for both sites followed by those acting as protein synthesis inhibitors. NMDS and PERMANOVA revealed that both environments had a similar response to antibiotic resistance (P > 0.05). The detection of bacterial multi-resistance to antibiotics in understory phytotelm water could become a quick tool to determine the degree of exposure of natural ecosystems to anthropogenic effects. This research opens the discussion of the potential dangers of the appearance of bacterial antibiotic multi-resistance in natural ecosystems, whose future impact is uncertain.