Distribution and chemotaxonomic significance of acetylenic fatty acids in mosses of the dicranales

Kohn, Gerhard; Demmerle, Silvia; Vandekerkhove, O.; Hartmann, E.; Beutelmann, Peter

doi:10.1016/s0031-9422(00)84699-3

“…Thousands of secondary metabolites in marine and terrestrial plants are known to influence herbivory (Seigler 1998, Faulkner 2002), but herbivore feeding deterrents have only been described for five freshwater macrophytes Á watercress, Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum (Newman et al 1996), the waterspider bog orchid, Habenaria repens ), lizard's tail, Saururus cernuus (Kubanek et al 2001), baby's tears, Micranthemum umbrosum (Parker et al 2006) and Fontinalis novae-angliae (this study). The acetylenic acid that we isolated from Fontinalis as well as other acetylenic fatty acids are common to aquatic and terrestrial mosses (Anderson et al 1975, Jamieson and Reid 1976, Kohn et al 1987, Zinsmeister et al 1991 but are uncommon in vascular plants (Seigler 1998). Some acetylenic fatty acids have antimicrobial and antifungal properties (Borel et al 1993, Li et al 1994, suggesting other potential defensive roles for this compound.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Stream mosses as chemically-defended refugia for freshwater macroinvertebrates

Parker¹,

Burkepile²,

Collins³

et al. 2007

Oikos

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Marine and terrestrial studies show that small, sedentary herbivores that utilize plants as both food and habitat can gain enemy-free space by living on hosts that are chemically defended from larger, generalist consumers. Although large herbivores are increasingly recognized as important consumers of macrophytes in freshwater communities, the potential indirect effects of herbivory on plant-associated macroinvertebrates have rarely been studied. Here, we show that the large, generalist consumers in a riverine system, Canada geese, Branta canadensis , and crayfish, Procambarus spiculifer , both selectively consumed riverweed, Podostemum ceratophyllum , over an aquatic moss, Fontinalis novae-angliae, even though moss comprised 89% of the total plant biomass on riverine rocky shoals. Moss supported twice as many plant-associated macroinvertebrates as riverweed, suggesting that it might provide a spatial refuge from consumption by these larger consumers. Bioassay-guided fractionation of moss extracts led to the isolation of a C 18 acetylenic acid, octadeca-9,12-dien-6-ynoic acid, that deterred crayfish feeding. In contrast to results with Canada geese and crayfish, both the amphipod Crangonyx gracilis and the isopod Asellus aquaticus consumed significant amounts of moss but rejected riverweed in laboratory feeding assays. Moreover, neither amphipod nor isopod feeding was deterred by the crude organic extract of Fontinalis , suggesting that these mesograzers tolerate or circumvent the chemical defenses that deterred larger consumers. Thus, herbivory by large, generalist herbivores may drive freshwater plant community structure towards chemically defended plants and favor the ecological specialization of smaller, less mobile herbivores on unpalatable hosts that represent enemy-free space.

show abstract

“…Thousands of secondary metabolites in marine and terrestrial plants are known to influence herbivory (Seigler 1998, Faulkner 2002), but herbivore feeding deterrents have only been described for five freshwater macrophytes – watercress, Rorippa nasturtium‐aquaticum (Newman et al 1996), the waterspider bog orchid, Habenaria repens (Bolser et al 1998), lizard's tail, Saururus cernuus (Kubanek et al 2001), baby's tears, Micranthemum umbrosum (Parker et al 2006) and Fontinalis novae‐angliae (this study). The acetylenic acid that we isolated from Fontinalis as well as other acetylenic fatty acids are common to aquatic and terrestrial mosses (Anderson et al 1975, Jamieson and Reid 1976, Kohn et al 1987, Zinsmeister et al 1991) but are uncommon in vascular plants (Seigler 1998). Some acetylenic fatty acids have antimicrobial and antifungal properties (Borel et al 1993, Li et al 1994), suggesting other potential defensive roles for this compound.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stream mosses as chemically‐defended refugia for freshwater macroinvertebrates

Parker¹,

Burkepile²,

Collins³

et al. 2007

Oikos

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Marine and terrestrial studies show that small, sedentary herbivores that utilize plants as both food and habitat can gain enemy-free space by living on hosts that are chemically defended from larger, generalist consumers. Although large herbivores are increasingly recognized as important consumers of macrophytes in freshwater communities, the potential indirect effects of herbivory on plant-associated macroinvertebrates have rarely been studied. Here, we show that the large, generalist consumers in a riverine system, Canada geese, Branta canadensis , and crayfish, Procambarus spiculifer , both selectively consumed riverweed, Podostemum ceratophyllum , over an aquatic moss, Fontinalis novae-angliae, even though moss comprised 89% of the total plant biomass on riverine rocky shoals. Moss supported twice as many plant-associated macroinvertebrates as riverweed, suggesting that it might provide a spatial refuge from consumption by these larger consumers. Bioassay-guided fractionation of moss extracts led to the isolation of a C 18 acetylenic acid, octadeca-9,12-dien-6-ynoic acid, that deterred crayfish feeding. In contrast to results with Canada geese and crayfish, both the amphipod Crangonyx gracilis and the isopod Asellus aquaticus consumed significant amounts of moss but rejected riverweed in laboratory feeding assays. Moreover, neither amphipod nor isopod feeding was deterred by the crude organic extract of Fontinalis , suggesting that these mesograzers tolerate or circumvent the chemical defenses that deterred larger consumers. Thus, herbivory by large, generalist herbivores may drive freshwater plant community structure towards chemically defended plants and favor the ecological specialization of smaller, less mobile herbivores on unpalatable hosts that represent enemy-free space.

show abstract

“…A high content of 18:4a was also observed as a major constituent in aquatic moss Ceratodon purpureus (family‐Ditrichaceae), but only in NL (Anderson et al, ). The chemotaxonomic significance of NL specific AFA in Dicranales was proposed by Kohn et al (). In the present study, the abundance of 18:4a in Pottiaceae raises a question to qualify “Dicranin” as a “chemical marker” of the family Dicranaceae.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mosses, a member of the bryophyte group of plants, have been under scrutiny for their heterogeneous fatty acid (FA) content in both membrane polar lipid (PL) and storage neutral lipid (NL) fractions. A progressive study on lipids and FA of different plant groups, including mosses had been undertaken in the past few years for a better understanding of their ecological interactions and chemotaxonomy (Dussert, Laffargue, Kochko, & Joët, ; Kohn, Demmerle, Vandekerkhove, Hartmenn, & Beutelmann, ; Kumari, Bijo, Mantri, Reddy, & Jha, ). This article is a novel attempt to report the peculiarity, observed in the phospholipid fraction in terms of the presence of acetylenic FA (AFA) in two Eastern Himalayan mosses Oreoweisia laxifolia (Hook.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Dicranin” in the Membrane Phospholipids of a Dicranaceae and Pottiaceae Moss Member of the Eastern Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot

Chowdhuri

¹

,

Biswas-Raha

²

,

Mitra³

et al. 2018

Lipids

4

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The phospholipids of two moss samples Oreoweisia laxifolia (Hookf.) Kindb. (family-Dicranaceae Schimp.) and Leptodontium viticulosoides (P. Beauv.) Wijk & Margad (family-Pottiaceae Schimp.) of the Eastern Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot were investigated to find out any peculiarity in their fatty acid profiles. Detailed analysis of phospholipid classes and the respective fatty acids was performed using high-performance thin-layer chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. An array of different saturated and unsaturated fatty acids were detected in both the samples. Although it has been proposed previously that acetylenic fatty acids are associated only with triacylglycerol of storage lipids, the most striking observation of the present investigation is the abundance of an acetylenic fatty acid, octadeca-6-yn-9,12,15-trienoic acid (18:4a), or Dicranin, in the phospholipids of both the mosses. The position of the triple bond in the hydrocarbon chain of the fatty acids was confirmed by dimethyloxazoline derivatization of fatty acids and their characteristic mass fragmentation pattern. The occurrence of Dicranin in phospholipids and in the Pottiaceae family is reported for the first time, with substantial explanations of the observed results. This may raise the issue of rethinking "Dicranin" as a chemotaxonomic marker of Dicranaceae.

show abstract

Distribution and chemotaxonomic significance of acetylenic fatty acids in mosses of the dicranales

Cited by 42 publications

References 11 publications

Stream mosses as chemically-defended refugia for freshwater macroinvertebrates

Stream mosses as chemically-defended refugia for freshwater macroinvertebrates

Stream mosses as chemically‐defended refugia for freshwater macroinvertebrates

“Dicranin” in the Membrane Phospholipids of a Dicranaceae and Pottiaceae Moss Member of the Eastern Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About