Volatile substances from adult extracts induce larval settlement of the barnacle balanus amphitrite
Titel:
Volatile substances from adult extracts induce larval settlement of the barnacle balanus amphitrite
Auteur:
Mishra, Jayant K. Kitamura, Hitoshi Ishibashi, Fumito Tomoda, Keijiro
Verschenen in:
Biofouling
Paginering:
Jaargang 17 (2001) nr. 1 pagina's 23-28
Jaar:
2001-04
Inhoud:
The volatile substance extracted from conspecific adults induces larval settlement of the barnacle Balanus amphitrite. The settlement inducing activity of the volatile fractions was checked monthly from June, 1997 to December, 1998. Both water soluble extracts and volatile fractions from the barnacle were prepared by the steam distillation. The active cue in the volatile fraction was always extracted with n-pentane under acidic conditions, although settlement inducing activity varied with the sample. GC-MS analysis of the active and inactive pentane fractions revealed 1, 2, 3-trimethyl-benzene as the settlement inducing substance. Commercially available 1, 2, 3-trimethylbenzene also showed high settlement inducing activity at a concentration of 0.8 × 10-12 M (100 pg 1-1). This substance was detected at concentrations of more than 7 ng g-1 of wet barnacle (equivalent to 0.6 × 10-12M, equal to 70pg1-1) by GC analysis. These results indicate that 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene in the volatile fractions acts as a chemical cue for larval settlement. Monthly variation in the settlement inducing activity was observed, which synchronized with the breeding season of the barnacle. This observation suggests that the barnacle produced the chemical cue in the gonad during maturation or accumulated it from the environment.