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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Activated Defense Systems In Marine Macroalgae: Evidence For An Ecological Role For Dmsp Cleavage, Kathryn L. Van Alstyne Dr., Gordon V. Wolfe, Tess L. Freidenburg, Anna Neill, Corrine Hicken
Activated Defense Systems In Marine Macroalgae: Evidence For An Ecological Role For Dmsp Cleavage, Kathryn L. Van Alstyne Dr., Gordon V. Wolfe, Tess L. Freidenburg, Anna Neill, Corrine Hicken
Shannon Point Marine Center Faculty Publications
Activated defenses against herbivores and predators are defenses whereby a precursor compound is stored in an inactive or mildly active form. Upon damage to the prey, the precursor is enzymatically converted to a more potent toxin or feeding deterrent. In marine systems, activated defenses are only known to exist in a few species of tropical macroalgae. In this study, we examined an activated defense system in temperate marine macroalgae in which the osmolyte dimethylsulfo- niopropionate (DMSP) is converted to acrylic acid or acrylate, depending upon the pH, and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) by the enzyme DMSP lyase upon damage to the …