The vertebrate pineal hormone melatonin is produced by the brown alga Pterygophora californica and mimics dark effects on growth rate in the light |
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Authors: | Birgit Fuhrberg Ivonne Balzer Rüdiger Hardeland Astrid Werner Klaus Lüning |
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Affiliation: | (1) Zoologisches Institut, Universität Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany;(2) Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Notkestrasse 31, D-22607 Hamburg, Germany |
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Abstract: | Melatonin, a methoxylated indoleamine, plays a role as a mediator of darkness in animals as well as in the unicellular alga Gonyaulax polyedra Stein and was recently detected in higher plants. We report on the first finding of melatonin in a multicellular alga, the brown alga Pterygophora californica Rupr. Melatonin was identified in juvenile sporophytes of P. californica by two independent methods, reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detection, and radioimmunoassay. Another indolic metabolite, 5-methoxytryptophol, was also indentified by HPLC. The rapid decline of growth rate upon the onset of darkness in P. californica is mimicked by melatonin in the light, with increasing efficiency from 5 × 10–5M to 5 × 10–4M, while no effect was obtained at 10–5M.Abbreviations ANOVA analysis of variance - DMSO dimethyl sulfoxide - LD light-dark cycleK.L. and A.W. thank Petra Kadel for help with algal cultivation and evaluation of the experiments. |
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Keywords: | Circadian rhythm (growth rate) Dark effect Growth rate reduction Melatonin 5-Methoxytryptophol Pterygophora (Phaeophyta) |
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