Abstract
Although the chemical warfare between invasive and native species has become a central problem in invasion biology, the molecular mechanisms by which bioactive metabolites from invasive pests influence local communities remain poorly characterized. This study demonstrates that the alkaloid caulerpin (CAU)—a bioactive component of the green alga Caulerpa cylindracea that has invaded the entire Mediterranean basin—is an agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs). Our interdisciplinary study started with the in silico prediction of the ligand-protein interaction, which was then validated by in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro assays. On the basis of these results, we candidate CAU as a causal factor of the metabolic and behavioural disorders observed in Diplodus sargus, a native edible fish of high ecological and commercial relevance, feeding on C. cylindracea. Moreover, given the considerable interest in PPAR activators for the treatment of relevant human diseases, our findings are also discussed in terms of a possible nutraceutical/pharmacological valorisation of the invasive algal biomasses, supporting an innovative strategy for conserving biodiversity as an alternative to unrealistic campaigns for the eradication of invasive pests.
Highlights
Biological invasions are a main component of global change with profound ecological, economic and social consequences [1]
A multi-alignment between two sparid fish (Sparus aurata and Dentex dentex) and human PPARα sequences (Figure 2) shows that both sparids share 68% of sequence identity and 80%
Our previous investigations on this species revealed the onset of oxidative stress conditions related to the dietary accumulation of CAU, an alkaloid abundant in the green alga C. cylindracea, which is highly invasive in the Mediterranean and has become an important food item in the diet of D. sargus
Summary
Biological invasions are a main component of global change with profound ecological, economic and social consequences [1]. Since the pioneering efforts of Ernesto Fattorusso [6,7], both marine macrophytes and dinoflagellates are especially known to contain several bioactive natural products of ecological and ecotoxicological interest [8,9]. In this respect, crucial questions have been raised by some of the worst invasive macroalgae in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to the genus Caulerpa [4,5,10,11,12]. C. cylindracea (previously known as C. racemosa var. cylindracea), which is native to South-western
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