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The insidious effect of diatoms on copepod reproduction

Nature volume 402, pages 173–176 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

The productive regions of the ocean are characterized by seasonal blooms of phytoplankton which are generally dominated by diatoms. This algal class has, therefore, traditionally been regarded as providing the bulk of the food that sustains the marine food chain to top consumers and important fisheries. However, this beneficial role has recently been questioned on the basis of laboratory studies showing that although dominant zooplankton grazers such as copepods feed extensively on diatoms, the hatching success of eggs thus produced is seriously impaired1. Here we present evidence from the field showing that the hatching success of wild copepods feeding on a diatom-dominated bloom is also heavily compromised, with only 12% of the eggs hatching compared with 90% in post-bloom conditions. We report on the structure of the three aldehydes isolated from diatoms that are responsible for this biological activity, and show that these compounds arrest embryonic development in copepod and sea urchin bioassays and have antiproliferative and apoptotic effects on human carcinoma cells.

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Figure 1: In situ relationship between diatom densities and copepod reproductive success during three cruises along four transects in the North Adriatic Sea during 1997–1998.
Figure 2: Effect of aldehydes on cell division.

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Acknowledgements

We thank E. Trivellone and T. Tancredi of the Core Facility, CNR Naples, for NMR assistance, and M. Di Pinto, F. Esposito and V. Mirra for technical help. This work was funded by the Stazione Zoologica and Roscoff Marine Station and an Italian MURST programme PRISMA II, Biogeochemical Cycles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stazione Zoologica “A. Dohrn”, Villa Comunale, Naples, 80121, Italy

    A. Miralto, G. Romano, A. Ianora, I. Buttino & M. Laabir

  2. Dipartimento di Chimica Organica e Biologica, Università di Napoli “Federico II”, Via Mezzocannone 16, Naples, 80134, Italy

    G. Barone

  3. Station Biologique de Roscoff, CNRS, Place Georges Teissier, Roscoff, 29682, France

    S. A. Poulet

  4. Istituto di Scienze dell'Alimentazione, CNR, Avellino, 83100, Italy

    G. L. Russo & G. Mazzarella

  5. Laboratorio di Biologia Marina, Via August Piccard 54, Trieste, 34040, Italy

    M. Cabrini

  6. Istituto Sperimentale Talassografico CNR, Via San Ranieri 86, Messina, 98122, Italy

    M. G. Giacobbe

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  1. A. Miralto
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  2. G. Barone
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Correspondence to A. Miralto.

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Miralto, A., Barone, G., Romano, G. et al. The insidious effect of diatoms on copepod reproduction. Nature 402, 173–176 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/46023

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