Chemical Ecology and Bioactivity in the species Tritonia odhneri (Opisthobranchia, Dendronotacea) and Renilla sp. (Octocorallia, Pennatulacea) from Patagonia, Argentina

CLAUDIA MUNIAIN; STELLA MARIS GARCÍA; DANIELA BLIHOGHE; GUIDO CIMINO; ANGELO FONTANA

Ischia, Italia

Congreso; 5th European Conference on Marine Natural Products; 2007

Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare

Recent interdisciplinary studies have been conducted on the nudibranch Tritonia odhneri (Marcus, 1959) and the sea pen Renilla sp. for the first time. These species coinhabit from 13 m up to 108 m in depth in San Jorge Gulf (45º25´57´´S, 67º 05´ 77´´W, Chubut Province), being abundant as accompanying fauna of large fisheries1. SEM analysis of stomach content demonstrated the predator-prey interaction, suggesting a single-species diet in San Jorge Gulf and a multi-species diet in soft-corals in the rest of the Magellanic Region2,3. Chemical screening did not show this dietary relationship; the compounds mono-glyceryl ether, including 1-O-hexadecylglycerol (chimilic alcohol) and N-methyl-picolinic acid (homarine), with defensive function, were found in Tritonia, whereas in Renilla sp. a group of new fatty acids with important antifungal activity was detected. A checklist of dietary interactions, isolated chemical compounds, ecological role, and bioactivity known up to the present in dendronotacean species of the genera Arminia, Mariona, Tritonia, and Tritoniella, as well as in sea pens of the genus Renilla is presented4,5.