Variability of non-polar secondary metabolites in the red alga Portieria.

Dioli Ann Payo,Hilconida Calumpong,Joannamel Colo,Olivier De Clerck

doi:10.3390/md9112438

Abstract

Possible sources of variation in non-polar secondary metabolites of Portieria hornemannii, sampled from two distinct regions in the Philippines (Batanes and Visayas), resulting from different life-history stages, presence of cryptic species, and/or spatiotemporal factors, were investigated. PCA analyses demonstrated secondary metabolite variation between, as well as within, five cryptic Batanes species. Intraspecific variation was even more pronounced in the three cryptic Visayas species, which included samples from six sites. Neither species groupings, nor spatial or temporal based patterns, were observed in the PCA analysis, however, intraspecific variation in secondary metabolites was detected between life-history stages. Male gametophytes (102 metabolites detected) were strongly discriminated from the two other stages, whilst female gametophyte (202 metabolites detected) and tetrasporophyte (106 metabolites detected) samples were partially discriminated. These results suggest that life-history driven variations, and possibly other microscale factors, may influence the variation within Portieria species.

Highlights

Natural products, and in particular secondary metabolites, have been the focus of study in many marine macroalgae
Some authors have emphasized the necessity to genotype the organisms in order to better understand the mechanisms that regulate the production of specific natural products [5,26,27,28].We found evidence for a large number of cryptic species within Portieria in the Philippines [29], but the effect of intraspecific genetic variation in relation to secondary metabolites has not been tested to date
Portieria species in the Philippines are a rich source of secondary metabolites

Summary

Introduction

In particular secondary metabolites, have been the focus of study in many marine macroalgae. Seaweeds interact with their environment utilizing a rich variety of secondary metabolites [1,2,3,4]. These chemical compounds have no explicit role in the internal metabolism of the organisms [1,5,6] but serve as defense mechanisms against grazers, competitors, fouling organisms and pathogens [7,8,9]. The inconsistent availability of this compound from natural populations prevented further drug development

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