| 1. |
- Abbas, Aamer, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Chemical images of marine bio-active compounds by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy and transposed orthogonal partial least squares (T-OPLS)
- 2012
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Ingår i: Analytica Chimica Acta. - : Elsevier BV. - 0003-2670 .- 1873-4324. ; 737, s. 37-44
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy combined with transposed Orthogonal Partial Least Squares (T-OPLS) was shown to produce chemical images of the natural antibacterial surface-active compound 1,1,3,3-tetrabromo-2-heptanone (TBH) on Bonnemaisonia hamifera. The use of gold colloids function-alised with the internal standard 4-mercapto-benzonitrile (MBN) made it possible to create images of the relative concentration of TBH over the surfaces. A gradient of TBH could be mapped over and in the close vicinity of the B. hamifera algal vesicles at the attomol/pixel level. T-OPLS produced a measure of the spectral correlation for each pixel of the hyperspectral images whilst not including spectral variation that was linearly independent of the target spectrum. In this paper we show the possibility to retrieve specific spectral information with a low magnitude in a complex matrix.
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| 2. |
- Nylund, Göran M., 1974, et al.
(författare)
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Increased resistance towards generalist herbivory in the new range of a habitat-forming seaweed
- 2012
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Ingår i: Ecosphere. - 2150-8925. ; 3:12, s. 1-13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Interactions between plants and their biotic environment can drastically change during range- expansion and result in rapid adaptive evolution of plant traits. According to the influential evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis escape from specialist natural enemies will lead to a reduction in defense levels, but the way in which generalist consumers in the new ranges affect the evolution of plant defenses remains poorly understood. We conducted a four month controlled environment experiment to examine if the high densities of the generalist herbivore Idotea baltica in the Baltic Sea have selected for increased grazer-resistance in Fucus vesiculosus, a North Atlantic seaweed that has expanded into large parts of the brackish Baltic Sea. Genetic analysis using microsatellites showed that the sampled populations are genetically distinct, which strongly suggests that traits under divergent selection may readily diverge and populations evolve local adaptations. Feeding trials and measurements of defense metabolites, i.e., phlorotannins, showed that F. vesiculosus from the Baltic Sea was least preferred and contained more than 50% higher constitutive levels of phlorotannins than conspecifics in the North Sea (Skagerrak), while algae from the Öresund, one of the sounds connecting the Baltic Sea to the Skagerrak, had intermediate resistance levels both in terms of grazer preference and phlorotannin levels. These results suggest that the higher grazing pressure on F. vesiculosus expanded into the Baltic Sea has resulted in the evolution of increased resistance towards generalist grazing.
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| 3. |
- Enge, Swantje, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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An exotic chemical weapon explains low herbivore damage in an invasive alga
- 2012
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Ingår i: Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0012-9658. ; 93:12, s. 2736-2745
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Invasion success of introduced species is often attributed to a lack of natural enemies as stated by the enemy release hypothesis (ERH). The ERH intuitively makes sense for specialized enemies, but it is less evident why invaders in their new area escape attacks by generalist enemies. A recent hypothesis explains low herbivore damage on invasive plants with plant defense chemicals that are evolutionarily novel to native herbivores. Support for this novel weapon hypothesis (NWH) is so far based on circumstantial evidence. To corroborate the NWH, there is a need for direct evidence through explicit characterizations of the novel chemicals and their effects on native consumers. This study evaluated the NWH using the highly invasive red alga Bonnemaisonia hamifera. In pairwise feeding experiments, preferences between B. hamifera and native competitors were assessed for four common generalist herbivores in the invaded area. Through a bioassay-guided fractionation, we identified the deterrent compound and verified its effect in an experiment with the synthesized compound at natural concentrations. The results showed that native herbivores strongly preferred native algae to B. hamifera. The resistance against herbivores could be tracked down to the algal metabolite 1,1,3,3-tetrabromo-2-heptanone, a compound not known from native algae in the invaded area. The importance of the chemical defense was further underlined by the feeding preference of herbivores for individuals with a depleted content of 1,1,3,3-tetrabromo-2-heptanone. This study thus provides the first conclusive example of a highly successful invader where low consumption in the new range can be directly attributed to a specific chemical defense against evolutionarily naive native generalists. In conclusion, our results support the notion that novel chemical weapons against naive herbivores can provide a mechanistic explanation for plant invasion success.
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| 4. |
- Enge, Swantje, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Native generalist herbivores promote invasion of a chemically defended seaweed via refuge-mediated apparent competition
- 2013
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Ingår i: Ecology Letters. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 16:4, s. 487-492
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Refuge-mediated apparent competition was recently suggested as a mechanism that enables plant invasions. The refuge characteristics of introduced plants are predicted to enhance impacts of generalist herbivores on native competitors and thereby result in an increased abundance of the invader. However, this prediction has so far not been experimentally verified. This study tested if the invasion of a chemically defended seaweed is promoted by native generalist herbivores via refuge-mediated apparent competition. The invader was shown to offer herbivores a significantly better refuge against fish predation compared with native seaweeds. Furthermore, in an experimental community, the presence of herbivores decreased the performance of neighbouring native seaweeds, but increased growth and relative abundance of the invader. These results provides the first experimental evidence that native generalist herbivores can shift a community towards a dominance of a well-defended invader, inferior to native species in direct competitive interactions, by means of refuge-mediated apparent competition.
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| 5. |
- Nylund, Göran M., 1974, et al.
(författare)
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Costs and Benefits of Chemical Defence in the Red Alga Bonnemaisonia hamifera
- 2013
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Ingår i: Plos One. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 8:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A number of studies have shown that the production of chemical defences is costly in terrestrial vascular plants. However, these studies do not necessarily reflect the costs of defence production in macroalgae, due to structural and functional differences between vascular plants and macroalgae. Using a specific culturing technique, we experimentally manipulated the defence production in the red alga Bonnemaisonia hamifera to examine if the defence is costly in terms of growth. Furthermore, we tested if the defence provides fitness benefits by reducing harmful bacterial colonisation of the alga. Costly defences should provide benefits to the producer in order to be maintained in natural populations, but such benefits through protection against harmful bacterial colonisation have rarely been documented in macroalgae. We found that algae with experimentally impaired defence production, but with an externally controlled epibacterial load, grew significantly better than algae with normal defence production. We also found that undefended algae exposed to a natural epibacterial load experienced a substantial reduction in growth and a 6-fold increase in cell bleaching, compared to controls. Thus, this study provides experimental evidence that chemical defence production in macroalgae is costly, but that the cost is outweighed by fitness benefits provided through protection against harmful bacterial colonisation.
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| 6. |
- Nylund, Göran M., 1974, et al.
(författare)
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Metabolomic Assessment of Induced and Activated Chemical Defence in the Invasive Red Alga Gracilaria vermiculophylla
- 2011
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Ingår i: PloS One. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 6:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In comparison with terrestrial plants the mechanistic knowledge of chemical defences is poor for marine macroalgae. This restricts our understanding in the chemically mediated interactions that take place between algae and other organisms. Technical advances such as metabolomics, however, enable new approaches towards the characterisation of the chemically mediated interactions of organisms with their environment. We address defence responses in the red alga Gracilaria vermiculophylla using mass spectrometry based metabolomics in combination with bioassays. Being invasive in the north Atlantic this alga is likely to possess chemical defences according to the prediction that well-defended exotics are most likely to become successful invaders in systems dominated by generalist grazers, such as marine macroalgal communities. We investigated the effect of intense herbivore feeding and simulated herbivory by mechanical wounding of the algae. Both processes led to similar changes in the metabolic profile. Feeding experiments with the generalist isopod grazer Idotea baltica showed that mechanical wounding caused a significant increase in grazer resistance. Structure elucidation of the metabolites of which some were up-regulated more than 100 times in the wounded tissue, revealed known and novel eicosanoids as major components. Among these were prostaglandins, hydroxylated fatty acids and arachidonic acid derived conjugated lactones. Bioassays with pure metabolites showed that these eicosanoids are part of the innate defence system of macroalgae, similarly to animal systems. In accordance with an induced defence mechanism application of extracts from wounded tissue caused a significant increase in grazer resistance and the up-regulation of other pathways than in the activated defence. Thus, this study suggests that G. vermiculophylla chemically deters herbivory by two lines of defence, a rapid wound-activated process followed by a slower inducible defence. By unravelling involved pathways using metabolomics this work contributes significantly to the understanding of activated and inducible defences for marine macroalgae.
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| 7. |
- Nylund, Göran M., 1974, et al.
(författare)
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The red alga Bonnemaisonia asparagoides regulates epiphytic bacterial abundance and community composition by chemical defence
- 2010
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Ingår i: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 71:1, s. 84-93
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ecological research on algal-derived metabolites with antimicrobial activity has recently received increased attention and is no longer only aimed at identifying novel natural compounds with potential use in applied perspectives. Despite this progress, few studies have so far demonstrated ecologically relevant antimicrobial roles of algal metabolites, and even fewer have utilized molecular tools to investigate the effects of these metabolites on the natural community composition of bacteria. In this study, we investigated whether the red alga Bonnemaisonia asparagoides is chemically defended against bacterial colonization of its surface by extracting surface-associated secondary metabolites and testing their antibacterial effects. Furthermore, we compared the associated bacterial abundance and community composition between B. asparagoides and two coexisting macroalgae. Surface extracts tested at natural concentrations had broad-spectrum effects on the growth of ecologically relevant bacteria, and consistent with this antibacterial activity, natural populations of B. asparagoides had significantly lower densities of epibacteria compared with the coexisting algae. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis further showed that B. asparagoides harboured surface-associated bacteria with a community composition that was significantly different from those on coexisting macroalgae. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that B. asparagoides produces surface-bound antibacterial compounds with a significant impact on the abundance and composition of the associated bacterial community.
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| 8. |
- Pavia, Henrik, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Chemical defences against herbivores
- 2012
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Ingår i: Chemical ecology in aquatic systems. - New York, US : Oxford University Press. - 9780199583096 ; , s. 210-235
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In recent years it has become increasingly clear that chemical interactions play a fundamental role in aquatic habitats and have far-reaching evolutionary and ecological consequences. A plethora of studies have shown that aquatic organisms from most taxa and functional groups respond to minute concentrations of chemical substances released by other organisms. However, our knowledge of this 'chemical network' is still negligible. Chemical interactions can be divided into two larger sub-areas based on the function of the chemical substance. First, there are interactions where chemical substances are toxic to other organisms and are used as a defense against consumers (including both herbivores and predators) or a weapon against competitors (allelopathy). Second, chemical substances mey be used as a source for information of the environment; for example: how can I find the optimal habitat, the best food, the nicest partner, and avoid being eaten? Aquatic organisms are able to detect and respond to extremely low concentrations of chemical cues to answer all these questions. The book aims at connecting these intriguing chemical interactions with traditional knowledge of organism interactions. Chemical ecology in aquatic systems covers a wide range of studies, both plant and animal, from different geographic regions and habitats-pelagic as well as benthic. Most of the chemical interactions are similar in freshwater and marine habitats and this book therefor strives at integrating work on both systems. This accessible, research-level text is aimed at graduate students and professional researchers in the fields of limnology, marine ecology, evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, and chemical ecology.
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| 9. |
- Persson, Frank, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Ecological role of a seaweed secondary metabolite for a colonizing bacterial community
- 2011
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Ingår i: Biofouling. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0892-7014 .- 1029-2454. ; 27:6, s. 579-588
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bacteria associated with seaweeds can both harm and benefit their hosts. Many seaweed species are known to produce compounds that inhibit growth of bacterial isolates, but the ecological role of seaweed metabolites for the associated bacterial community structure is not well understood. In this study the response of a colonizing bacterial community to the secondary metabolite (1,1,3,3-tetrabromo-2-heptanone) from the red alga Bonnemaisonia hamifera was investigated by using field panels coated with the metabolite at a range of concentrations covering those measured at the algal surface. The seaweed metabolite has previously been shown to have antibacterial effects. The metabolite significantly affected the natural fouling community by (i) altering the composition, (ii) altering the diversity by increasing the evenness and (iii) decreasing the density, as measured by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism in conjunction with clone libraries of the 16S rRNA genes and by bacterial enumeration. No single major bacterial taxon (phylum, class) was particularly affected by the metabolite. Instead changes in community composition were observed at a more detailed phylogenetic level. This indicates a broad specificity of the seaweed metabolite against bacterial colonization, which is supported by the observation that the bacterial density was significantly affected at a lower concentration (0.02 μg cm -2) than the composition (1-2.5 μg cm -2) and the evenness (5 μg cm -2) of the bacterial communities. Altogether, the results emphasize the role of secondary metabolites for control of the density and structure of seaweed-associated bacterial communities.
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| 10. |
- Svensson, J. Robin, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Novel chemical weapon of an exotic macroalga inhibits recruitment of native competitors in the invaded range
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 101:1, s. 140-148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. Allelopathy is an important non-resource interaction in terrestrial plant communities that may affect invasions by non-indigenous plants. The ‘novel weapons hypothesis’ (NWH) predicts that non-indigenous plants will become invasive if they have allelopathic compounds that assem- blages in the new range are not adapted to. Recently, the non-indigenous, chemically rich macroalga Bonnemaisonia hamifera (Hariot) has become one of the most abundant filamentous red algae in Scandinavian waters. 2. We used B. hamifera to specifically test the aspect of the NWH that concerns invasion success based on novel allelochemicals in the invaded range. Allelopathic interactions were tested through effects on the growth rate of adult native macroalgae in co-cultures with B. hamifera and through the settlement success of native macroalgal propagules and microalgae on surfaces coated with 1,1,3,3-tetrabromo-2-heptanone. We also investigated whether 1,1,3,3-tetrabromo-2-heptanone can be transferred from B. hamifera to its native host algae, as a means of pre-emptive competition. 3. The settlement of native macroalgal propagules and microalgae was strongly inhibited on surfaces coated with 1,1,3,3-tetrabromo-2-heptanone at ecologically relevant concentrations, but there were no effects of adult B. hamifera on growth rates of adults of the six native naturally co-occurring spe- cies. The compound was shown to be transferred from B. hamifera to the surface of its native host algae at inhibitory concentrations in both laboratory and field experiments. 4. By inhibiting the settlement of propagules on its thallus and on surrounding surfaces, B. hamifera achieves a competitive advantage over native macroalgae, a finding that parallels previous reports on soil- and litter-mediated allelopathic interactions among vascular plants. Because competition for available substrata in marine benthic systems is intense, the ability to reserve space may be vital for B. hamifera’s successful invasion. This is the first example of an allelopathic compound that can be transferred by direct contact from an exotic to a native species, with an active and unaltered func- tion. 5. Synthesis. Our results clearly show that the main secondary metabolite of the invasive red alga B. hamifera has strong allelopathic effects towards native competitors, suggesting that its novel chemical weapon is important for the highly successful invasion of new ranges.
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