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Cover Picture: LOX‐Induced Lipid Peroxidation Mechanism Responsible for the Detrimental Effect of Marine Diatoms on Zooplankton Grazers (ChemBioChem 15/2007)
Author(s) -
Fontana Angelo,
d'Ippolito Giuliana,
Cutignano Adele,
Romano Giovanna,
Lamari Nadia,
Massa Gallucci Alexia,
Cimino Guido,
Miralto Antonio,
Ianora Adrianna
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
chembiochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1439-7633
pISSN - 1439-4227
DOI - 10.1002/cbic.200790051
Subject(s) - copepod , zooplankton , diatom , biology , polyunsaturated fatty acid , pelagic zone , docosahexaenoic acid , marine ecosystem , biochemistry , fatty acid , ecology , zoology , ecosystem , crustacean
The cover picture shows the TUNEL‐stained “phantom” of a malformed and apoptotic newborn nauplius of the copepod Temora stylifera generated from mothers fed on marine diatoms. Teratogenesis and apoptosis are responsible for a drastic reduction in copepod progeny and for the detrimental impact of bloom‐forming diatoms on zooplankton communities in many pelagic ecosystems of the world. In their article on p. 1810 ff., A. Fontana et al. show that the process is not neccessarily dependent on the synthesis of polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs), as hitherto believed. On the contrary, the toxic effects of diatoms on copepods are associated with an oxidative imbalance that follows lysis of the unicellular algae. Early activation of lypolitic and lipoxygenase enzymes causes a massive synthesis of fatty acid hydroperoxides and highly reactive oxygen species, as well as a blended mixture of undisclosed oxylipins, that explain the lethal impact of diatom diets on copepod reproduction.