{"title":"Mucus from the Pulmonate Sea Slug Onchidium typhae: Biochemical composition and ecological implications for the intertidal community","authors":"Kannapoj Techawongstien, Thaithaworn Lirdwitayaprasit, Supanut Pairohakul","doi":"10.1111/maec.12702","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Many marine organisms, especially molluscs, produce mucus, which can be used in several physiological processes, such as locomotion and defence. In addition to utilization for themselves, mollusc mucus may influence intertidal community dynamics. Therefore, the biochemical composition of <i>Onchidium typhae</i> Buchannan, 1800 mucus was investigated. The effects of mucus on the microphytobenthos growth rate, representing the ecological functions of the mucus, were also tested. The results showed that the mucus was mainly composed of water (82.5%), and a large proportion of the organic content in mucus consisted of proteins (40%), followed by carbohydrates (13.33%) and lipids (0.19%). The effects of mucus on microphytobenthos growth were conditional and genus-specific. Growth of <i>Navicular</i> sp. and <i>Nitzschia</i> sp. significantly responded to different concentrations and incubation times of the slug mucus. Fresh and concentrated mucus inhibited the growth of both species; low mucus concentration and longer incubation time showed a significant increase in the growth rates of both species. However, no effect of mucus on the <i>Thalassiosira</i> sp. growth rate was observed. These effects of mucus on diatom growth are discussed. Moreover, our findings suggested that the intertidal slug <i>O</i>. <i>typhae</i> may act as an intertidal ecosystem engineer, which can facilitate and influence benthic phytoplankton community dynamics.</p>","PeriodicalId":49883,"journal":{"name":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","volume":"43 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2022-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Marine Ecology-An Evolutionary Perspective","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maec.12702","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"MARINE & FRESHWATER BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
Many marine organisms, especially molluscs, produce mucus, which can be used in several physiological processes, such as locomotion and defence. In addition to utilization for themselves, mollusc mucus may influence intertidal community dynamics. Therefore, the biochemical composition of Onchidium typhae Buchannan, 1800 mucus was investigated. The effects of mucus on the microphytobenthos growth rate, representing the ecological functions of the mucus, were also tested. The results showed that the mucus was mainly composed of water (82.5%), and a large proportion of the organic content in mucus consisted of proteins (40%), followed by carbohydrates (13.33%) and lipids (0.19%). The effects of mucus on microphytobenthos growth were conditional and genus-specific. Growth of Navicular sp. and Nitzschia sp. significantly responded to different concentrations and incubation times of the slug mucus. Fresh and concentrated mucus inhibited the growth of both species; low mucus concentration and longer incubation time showed a significant increase in the growth rates of both species. However, no effect of mucus on the Thalassiosira sp. growth rate was observed. These effects of mucus on diatom growth are discussed. Moreover, our findings suggested that the intertidal slug O. typhae may act as an intertidal ecosystem engineer, which can facilitate and influence benthic phytoplankton community dynamics.
期刊介绍：
Marine Ecology publishes original contributions on the structure and dynamics of marine benthic and pelagic ecosystems, communities and populations, and on the critical links between ecology and the evolution of marine organisms.
The journal prioritizes contributions elucidating fundamental aspects of species interaction and adaptation to the environment through integration of information from various organizational levels (molecules to ecosystems) and different disciplines (molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, marine biology, natural history, geography, oceanography, palaeontology and modelling) as viewed from an ecological perspective. The journal also focuses on population genetic processes, evolution of life histories, morphological traits and behaviour, historical ecology and biogeography, macro-ecology and seascape ecology, palaeo-ecological reconstruction, and ecological changes due to introduction of new biota, human pressure or environmental change.
Most applied marine science, including fisheries biology, aquaculture, natural-products chemistry, toxicology, and local pollution studies lie outside the scope of the journal. Papers should address ecological questions that would be of interest to a worldwide readership of ecologists; papers of mostly local interest, including descriptions of flora and fauna, taxonomic descriptions, and range extensions will not be considered.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
