Lipid-Derived Secondary Metabolites from Phytoplankton: Chemical and Functional Diversity
A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2022) | Viewed by 4342
Special Issue Editors
Interests: marine biology; marine ecology; gene expression; copepods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: diatoms; microalgae; molecular biology and biochemistry; bioinformatics; pharmacological and nutraceutical activity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Phytoplankton species are a rich source of primary metabolites such as carbohydrate and lipids, thus, supporting marine food webs in planktonic and benthic ecosystems, fisheries, aquaculture, and, ultimately, biogeochemical cycles through sinking and degradation. However, lipids are also the main chemical source of numerous bioactive secondary metabolites that play important roles as chemical mediators in algal–algal communication, allelopathy, microzooplankton and mesozooplankton grazer defense, prey–predator recognition. Among them are oxylipins, derived from the lipoxygenase-mediated oxygenation of free fatty acids, functioning as infochemicals in prey–prey and prey–predator interactions. Recently, prostaglandins, hormone-like mediators that play a role in inflammatory responses as well as in many other physiological processes in animals, have also been identified in marine microeukaryotes such as diatoms. However, the biological and ecological role of these molecules in the phytoplankton are still unknown.
This Special Issue will explore the chemical diversity of lipid-derived secondary metabolites produced by phytoplankton in response to different abiotic, physiological, and genetic factors, and also highlight the variety of biological and ecological function they may have on marine organisms. In addition, the Special Issue encourages studies that investigate the production of these metabolites in natural phytoplankton communities, to help to better estimate their potential ecological role at sea.
Dr. Ylenia Carotenuto
Dr. Valeria Di Dato
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- Phytoplankton
- Lipids
- Chemical communication
- Functional plasticity
- Defense
- Allelopathy
- Secondary metabolites
- Molecular ecology
- Chemical structure
- Network interactions
