Pigments of marine invertebrates

Bandaranayake, W.M. (2006). The nature and role of pigments of marine invertebrates. Natural Product Reports, 23, 223 -255. 

Bandaranayake WM (2006) The Nature and Role of Pigments of Marine Invertebrates. Nat Prod Rep 23 223... 

Hemerythrin is an oxygen carrier iron protein found in certain species of marine invertebrates within the Annelida, Brachiopoda, Priapulida and Sipunculoidea. This respiratory pigment can be considered a rather remote non-haem evolutionary relative of haemoglobin. It binds one... 

The carotenoids are the most widespread group of pigments in nature, with an estimated yield of 100 million tonnes per annum. They are present in all photosynthetic organisms and responsible for most of the yellow to red colours of fruits and flowers. The characteristic colours of many birds, insects and marine invertebrates are also due to the presence of carotenoids, which have originated in the diet. Animals are unable to synthesise carotenoids de novo, and so rely upon the diet as the source of these compounds. Carotenoids found in the human diet are primarily derived from crop plants, where the carotenoids are located in roots, leaves, shoots, seeds, fruit and flowers. To a lesser extent, carotenoids are also ingested from eggs, poultry and fish. Commercially, carotenoids are used as food colourants and in nutritional supplements (Table 13.1). Over recent years there has been considerable... 

Across diverse taxonomic groups of marine organisms there are several classes of compounds that absorb UV and act as putative sunscreens. These include scytonemin (Figure 15.9), an extracellular cyanobacterial sheath pigment, and the mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs, Figures 15.3-15.6) that are usually located intracellularly in cyanobacteria, algae, invertebrates, and fish. These compounds are the major focus of this chapter and will be discussed in detail below. 

Phospholipid contents are very similar (about 1 to 2% dry matter) in microbial, plant, and animal tissues. If the content of neutral lipids is low, phospholipids may account for 20 to 40% of lipid extracts (e.g., in marine invertebrates). In egg yolk, 23% of the total lipids are phospholipids and other polar lipids (Kuksis, 1985). On the contfary, in adipose tissue or in oilseeds, the content of phospholipids is between 1 and 3% of total lipids. In oilseeds rich in oil (such as in rapeseed), it is lower than in oilseed with lower oil content (such as soybeans) when the results are expressed in % oil content, but much the same if the content is expressed in terms of total dry matter of the oilseed. Phospholipids are mainly extracted by nonpolar solvents, together with other lipids, and are obtained in the crude oil. However, in the original material, phospholipids are primarily bound to proteins (e.g., in membranes) or may be bound to other tissue components for example, phospholipids interact with chlorophyll pigments, where they may form complexes between the magnesium ion of the chlorophyll molecule and the phospho group of the phospholipids. 

Many marine species also possess the tyrosinase-mediated pathway to synthesize the UV-absorbing pigment melanin. Melanin occurs in a wide range of taxa including bacteria, fungi, invertebrates, and chordates. While much is known about the role of melanin in the UV protection of mammalian skin, very little research has been conducted to examine the efficiency of melanin as a UV-protective mechanism in aquatic taxa.9 It is known that melanin levels in juvenile hammerhead sharks, Sphyrna lewini, are directly correlated to solar UV exposure in the freshwater crustacean Daphnia pulex, melanin concentrations are genetically determined within populations and are correlated to UV sensitivity.50-51 The few studies that have been undertaken suggest that melanin has an important role in UV protection in aquatic environments. 

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