Cytotoxic diterpenoid chlorodesmin

In contrast to generalist consumers, specialists that recruit to and feed only from certain hosts may be stimulated by unique metabolites produced only by that host. This is true for the crab Caphyra rotundifrons which feeds only on the chemically defended tropical seaweed Chlorodesmis fastigiata. The cytotoxic diterpenoid chlorodesmin (Fig. 3.2a), the major secondary metabolite of Chlorodesmis, deters fishes from consuming this alga, but stimulates feeding by the specialist crab when it is applied to a red alga (Fig. 3.3) that the crab will not normally consume (Hay et al. 1989). There are numerous similar cases where specialist crabs, amphipods, or... 

Fig. 3.3 The crab Caphyra rotundifrons on its host alga, Chlorodesmisfastigiata, which produces the cytotoxic diterpenoid chlorodesmin. When a nonhost (Acantophora sp.) is treated with chlorodesmin, the crab consumes the nonhost. Data redrawn from Hay et al. (1989). With kind permission from Springer Science + Business Media...

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ , ]

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