Effects of secondary metabolites from the tropical Brazilian brown alga Dictyota menstrualis on the amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 205:95-100 (2000) - doi:10.3354/meps205095 Effects of secondary metabolites from the tropical Brazilian brown alga Dictyota menstrualis on the amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis Renato C. Pereira1,*, Diana N. Cavalcanti1, 2, Valéria L. Teixeira1 1Departamento de Biologia Marinha, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) CP 100.644, CEP 24001-970, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2Pós-Graduação em Química Orgânica, Instituto de Química, UFF 24020-150, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *E-mail: egbrecp@vm.uff.br ABSTRACT: Diterpene metabolites produced by Dictyota species are known to inhibit feeding by several herbivorous species. We present the first evidence of feeding-deterrence of dictyotacean metabolites of an unusual compound belonging to a dichotomane diterpene skeleton type. Through experimental assay, we provide evidence of feeding-deterrent properties of lipid-soluble extracts of the Brazilian brown alga D. menstrualis (Hoyt) Schnetter, Hörnig & Weber-Peukert against the amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis Dana. Bioassay fractionation of this extract revealed the deterrent activity to be due to the diterpenoid (6R)-6-hydroxydichotoma-3,14-diene-1,17-dial, which was found to be the second most abundant metabolite (~0.2% dry mass) in D. menstrualis. In contrast to other studies, the major diterpenoid pachydictyol A, present as 0.4% (dry mass) in D. menstrualis, showed no anti-feeding properties. Our results suggest that chemical defense of Dictyota species may vary according to geographic region, thus explaining the presence of a metabolite other than pachydictyol A which functions as the anti-feedant metabolite in D. menstrualis from the Brazilian littoral zone. KEY WORDS: Amphipod · Chemical defense · Dictyota menstrualis · Herbivory · Parhyale hawaiensis · Diterpenes Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 205. Online publication date: October 19, 2000 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2000 Inter-Research.