The macroalgal forest is being transformed to barren ground in coastal areas due to climate change. Current recovery technologies are ineffective, and an understanding of the fouling mechanism of macroalgae would assist restoration of macroalgal forests. Here, it is attempted to promote the growth of Ulva fasciata spores using an artificial biofilm composed of alginate and silica particles (the most abundant polymers and inorganics in marine biofilms) by mimicking marine environments. The presence of silica particles in the artificial biofilm increased the average germling length of Ulva spores, suggesting that mechanical stimuli generated by the silica particles enhanced growth of Ulva spores. As the stiffness of the model substrates (polystyrene, hydrophilic silica, hydrophobic silica, PDMS) increased, the germling length of the spores increased irrespective of surface chemistry and hydrophobicity. These results suggest that manipulation of the mechanical stimuli generated by the substrate could enable control of macroalgal fouling.

中文翻译：

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机械刺激增强生长石莼fasciata（绿藻）孢子

由于气候变化，沿海沿海地区的大型藻类林地正在转变为荒芜的土地。当前的恢复技术是无效的，并且对大型藻类的结垢机制的理解将有助于大型藻类森林的恢复。在这里，试图通过模仿海洋环境，使用由藻酸盐和二氧化硅颗粒（海洋生物膜中最丰富的聚合物和无机物）组成的人工生物膜，促进筋膜孢子的生长。人造生物膜中二氧化硅颗粒的存在增加了Ulva孢子的平均成胚长度，表明二氧化硅颗粒产生的机械刺激增强了Ulva的生长孢子。随着模型基质（聚苯乙烯，亲水性二氧化硅，疏水性二氧化硅，PDMS）的刚度增加，孢子的出芽长度增加，而与表面化学性质和疏水性无关。这些结果表明，由基质产生的机械刺激的操纵可以实现对大藻类结垢的控制。