Speaker
Description
The orders Ceramiales and Gigartinales are among the largest and most diverse taxonomic groups of red algae. Their representatives dominate the flora of Arctic and tempered seas, providing habitat and food for numerous marine species. Furthermore, many of these algae serve as sources of valuable marine-derived compounds: agar, carrageenans, biologically active phenolic substances etc. A detailed study of the biochemical composition of these organisms (“biochemical fingerprinting”) is of considerable interest both from the perspective of revealing fundamental patterns of seaweed metabolism evolved within the orders and for their valorisation. Our study focuses on the comparison of the biochemical characteristics of ceramialean and gigartinalean algae.
Nine ceramialean (Ceramium virgatum, Ptilota gunneri, Phycodrys rubens, Polysiphonia stricta, Savoiea arctica, Vertebrata fucoides, Odonthalia dentata, Rhodomela confervoides, and R. lycopodioides) and six gigartinalean (Polyides rotunda, Coccotylus brodiei, Euthora cristata, Furcellaria lumbricalis, Cystoclonium purpureum, and Fimbrifolium dichotomum) algae were collected in the White Sea. The following parameters were considered: content of photosynthetic pigments (spectrophotometry), total protein (Lowry assay), carbohydrates (anthrone method), and profiles of low molecular weight metabolites (GC-MS analysis).
Even when inhabiting similar environments, the representatives of the two orders exhibited numerous biochemical peculiarities. Compared to gigartinalean algae, Ceramiales contain twice as much chlorophyll and phycoerythrin and relatively high amounts of protein (up to 32% DW) and free amino acids. Furthermore, ceramialean algae tend to accumulate organic acids from the TCA cycle, but also various halogenated phenolic compounds. The latter especially relates to the representatives of the family Rhodomelaceae, featuring a broad spectrum of bromophenols. Gigartinalean algae were distinguished by relatively high amounts of carbohydrates, including specific glycosides and polyols, and sterols. Remarkably, the only phenolic-rich gigartinalean alga (F. lumbricalis) showed a unique molecular profile of these metabolites with predominance of phenolic acids. This metabolic diversity is discussed with respect to the physiological appearance within the specific habitats of the different species.
| Status Group | Senior Scientist |
|---|---|
| FOR TALKS: Poster Presentation Option | Yes, I’m willing to present as a poster. |