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Mycosporines from freshwater yeasts: a trophic cul-de-sac?

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Abstract

Mycosporine-like amino-acids (MAAs) are found in aquatic bacteria, algae, and animals. A related compound, the mycosporine-glutaminol-glucoside (myc-glu-glu), has recently been reported in freshwater yeasts. Although animals depend on other organisms as their source of MAAs, they can efficiently accumulate them in their tissues. In this work we assessed the potential transfer of the yeast mycosporine myc-glu-glu from the diet into the copepod Boeckella antiqua and the ciliate Paramecium bursaria. For this purpose, we performed experiments to study the feeding of B. antiqua and P. bursaria on the yeast Rhodotorula minuta and their ability to bioaccumulate myc-glu-glu. Bioaccumulation of myc-glu-glu in B. antiqua was assessed through long-term factorial experiments manipulating the diet (Chlamydomonas reinhardii and C. reinhardii + yeasts) and radiation exposure (PAR and PAR + UVR). Shorter term experiments were designed in the case of P. bursaria. The composition and concentration of MAAs in the diet and in the consumers were determined by HPLC analyses. Our results showed that even though both consumers ingested yeast cells, they were unable to accumulate myc-glu-glu. Moreover, when exposed to conditions that stimulated the accumulation of photoprotective compounds (i.e. UVR exposure), an increase in MAAs concentration occurred in copepods fed C. reinhardii plus yeasts as well as in those fed only C. reinhardii. This suggests that the copepods were able to modify their tissue concentrations of MAAs in response to environmental clues but also that the contribution of yeast mycosporines to total MAAs concentration was negligible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Fotobiología, Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, U. P. Universidad, 8400, Bariloche, Argentina

    Patricia Pérez & María del Carmen Diéguez

  2. Laboratorio de Microbiologia aplicada y Biotecnología, Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, U. P. Universidad, 8400, Bariloche, Argentina

    Diego Libkind & María van Broock

  3. Laboratory of Aquatic Photobiology and Plankton Ecology, Institute of Zoology and Limnology, University of Innsbruck, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Monika Summerer, Bettina Sonntag & Ruben Sommaruga

  4. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas-Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús, CONICET, Chascomús, Argentina

    Horacio E. Zagarese

Authors
  1. Patricia Pérez
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  2. Diego Libkind
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  3. María del Carmen Diéguez
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  4. Monika Summerer
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  6. Ruben Sommaruga
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  7. María van Broock
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  8. Horacio E. Zagarese
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Correspondence to Patricia Pérez.

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Pérez, P., Libkind, D., Diéguez, M.d.C. et al. Mycosporines from freshwater yeasts: a trophic cul-de-sac?. Photochem Photobiol Sci 5, 25–30 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1039/b509764a

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/b509764a

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