Lessonia nigrescens

Lessonia nigrescens
Lessonia nigrescens at El Quisco beach, Chile
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Chromalveolata
Division: Heterokontophyta
Class: Phaeophyceae
Order: Laminariales
Family: Lessoniaceae
Genus: Lessonia
Species: L. nigrescens
Binomial name
Lessonia nigrescens
Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1826

Lessonia nigrescens, the grey weed or giant grey weed, is a South American kelp species in the genus Lessonia.

There is at least two populations of the seaweed, marked by the difference in phenolic content. There is a subtidal population with higher phenol content and an intertidal population with a lighter phenol content. The difference in the phenolic content can be explained by the herbivory selection pressure due to the sea snail Tegula tridentata.[1]

UV treatment induces the production of phlorotannins that accumulate in physodes.[2]

This weed contains the phytosterol saringosterol that shows an inhibitory effect on Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth.[3]

llustration from "Nordisk familjebok".

References

  1. ↑ Micropopulation differentiation in phenol content and susceptibility to herbivory in the Chilean kelp Lessonia nigrescenss (Phaeophyta, Laminariales). Enrique A. Martínez, Hydrobiologia, July 1996, Volume 326-327, Issue 1, pages 205-211, doi:10.1007/BF00047808
  2. ↑ Induction of Phlorotannins During UV Exposure Mitigates Inhibition of Photosynthesis and DNA Damage in the Kelp Lessonia nigrescens. Ivan Gómez and Pirjo Huovinen, Photochemistry and Photobiology, September/October 2010, Volume 86, Issue 5, pages 1056–1063, doi:10.1111/j.1751-1097.2010.00786.x
  3. ↑ Inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth by saringosterol from Lessonia nigrescens. Wächter Gerald A, Franzblau Scott G, Montenegro Gloria, Hoffmann Joseph J, Maiese William M and Timmermann Barbara N, Journal of natural products, 2001, volume 64, number 11, pages 1463-1464, INIST:14134197

External links