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Chemical defenses of tunicates of the genus Aplidium from the Weddell Sea (Antarctica)

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Abstract

Predation and competition are important factors structuring Antarctic benthic communities and are expected to promote the production of chemical defenses. Tunicates are subject to little predation, and this is often attributed to chemical compounds, although their defensive activity has been poorly demonstrated against sympatric predators. In fact, these animals, particularly the genus Aplidium, are rich sources of bioactive metabolites. In this study, we report the natural products, distribution and ecological activity of two Aplidium ascidian species from the Weddell Sea (Antarctica). In our investigation, organic extracts obtained from external and internal tissues of specimens of A. falklandicum demonstrated to contain deterrent agents that caused repellency against the Antarctic omnivorous predator, the sea star Odontaster validus. Chemical analysis performed with Antarctic colonial ascidians Aplidium meridianum and Aplidium falklandicum allowed the purification of a group of known bioactive indole alkaloids, meridianins A-G. These isolated compounds proved to be responsible for the deterrent activity.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank W. Arntz and the R/V Polarstern crew for their help and support during the ANT XXI/2 cruise, as well as the BIO Hespérides and the BAE “Gabriel de Castilla” teams during the ECOQUIM cruise. Funding was provided by the Ministry of Science and Education of Spain through the ECOQUIM Projects (REN2003-00545, REN2002-12006E ANT and CGL2004-03356/ANT). Also thanks are due to S. Taboada for his laboratory support, as well as in the field work. We are thankful to J. Vázquez, B. Figuerola and D. Melck for helping in the laboratory and in the preparation of the experiments and to F. J. Cristobo, J. L. Moya and M. Ballesteros and the Bentart team for their help in collecting the sea stars in Deception Island during the ECOQUIM 2006 cruise. Thanks are also due to “Servizo de Apoio a Investigación (SAI-UDC)” for instrumental support. L. Núñez-Pons was consecutively supported by PharmaMar S.A., an I3P (CSIC) grant and a FPU Fellowship from the Ministry of Education (MEC) during this study. Finally, we wish to thank the reviewers for their helpful comments and the Serveis Lingüístics of the UB for reviewing our English.

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  1. M. Varela

    Present address: Departamento Ecoloxia e Bioloxia Animal, Facultad de Ciencias do Mar, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, Universidad de Vigo, 36310, Vigo, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departament de Biologia Animal (Invertebrats), Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain

    L. Núñez-Pons, M. Nappo & C. Avila

  2. Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare, CNR, Comprensorio Olivetti, Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy

    R. Forestieri, M. Nappo, F. Castelluccio, M. Carbone & M. Gavagnin

  3. Departamento de Química Fundamental, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus da Zapateira, Universidade da Coruña, 15071, A Coruña, Spain

    R. M. Nieto, J. Rodríguez & C. Jiménez

  4. Departamento de Ciencias del Mar y Biología Aplicada, Universidad de Alicante, Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690, Alicante, Spain

    M. Varela & A. Ramos-Espla

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  1. L. Núñez-Pons
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Correspondence to L. Núñez-Pons.

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Núñez-Pons, L., Forestieri, R., Nieto, R.M. et al. Chemical defenses of tunicates of the genus Aplidium from the Weddell Sea (Antarctica). Polar Biol 33, 1319–1329 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0819-7

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