Collaborative Research: Effects of marine algal sterols on zooplankton growth and reproduction

海洋食物网中自养生物-食草动物的相互作用对渔业、全球碳循环以及有害的藻类水华对人类健康都很重要。最近关于有害藻类由于藻类甾醇的特殊结构改变而干扰浮游动物生长和繁殖的假说将在浮游食物网中营养因素的作用的研究中得到验证。海藻甾醇对食草性甲壳类动物的影响将在三种水蚤类桡足类动物中进行研究，它们是Acartia hudsonica、Eurytemora affinis和Calanus finmarchicus，以及卤水对虾Artemia Salina。在这个项目中，将进行研究，以确定海洋藻类固醇是否可以被浮游动物代谢成胆固醇，以及这个过程的相对效率。这些信息对于评估不同藻类饲料的营养价值至关重要。以新陈代谢研究为基础，进一步的实验将寻求确定选定的类固醇是否对甲壳类动物的生长和繁殖有抑制影响，其中一些类固醇在结构上与类固醇激素相似。这些实验中使用的分析技术将是高场13C-核磁共振(核磁共振)和气相色谱-高分辨率质谱仪(GC-HRMS)。这些实验的测试甾醇将通过化学合成在特定位置标记稳定同位素(13C和2H)。该项目的一个重要方面是对科学家的教育和发展。在纽约州立大学ESF，博士生和本科生都将受益于生物有机化学的研究经验，而在俄亥俄大学和沙漠山生物实验室，学生将接受海洋生态学方面的培训。这种跨学科的研究将具有教育价值，并包括让两个群体的学生见面的机会。600 MHz核磁共振光谱仪所需的高灵敏度13C-核磁共振探头将加强科学基础设施，预计这将使纽约州立大学ESF的研究人员以及整个纽约州中部地区的核磁共振用户受益。科学成果将发表在同行评议的期刊上，并在会议和研讨会上公布。预计所产生的知识将有助于增进对海洋生态系统的了解，并在水产养殖、渔业科学研究和海洋地球化学中得到应用。

Autotroph-herbivore interactions in marine food webs are important to fisheries, the global carbon cycle, and, because of harmful algal blooms, human health. The recent hypothesis that harmful algae interfere with the growth and reproduction of zooplankton because of specific structural modifications of the algal sterols will be tested in research on the roles of nutritional factors in planktonic food webs. The effects of marine algal sterols on herbivorous crustaceans will be investigated in three calanoid copepods, Acartia hudsonica, Eurytemora affinis, and Calanus finmarchicus, and brine shrimp, Artemia salina. In this project, studies will be carried out to determine whether marine algal sterols can be metabolized to cholesterol by zooplankton and the relative efficiency of this process. This information is critical for assessing the nutritional value of different algal diets. Using the metabolic studies as a foundation, further experiments will seek to determine whether selected sterols, some of which have structural similarities to steroid hormones, have an inhibitory impact on the growth and reproduction of crustaceans. The analytical techniques used in these experiments will be high-field 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (NMR) and gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS). Test sterols for these experiments will be labeled with stable isotopes (13C and 2H) in specific positions by chemical synthesis.An important aspect of this project is the education and development of scientists. At SUNY-ESF, both doctoral and undergraduate students will benefit from research experience in bio-organic chemistry, while at Ohio University and Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, students will be trained in marine ecology. This interdisciplinary research will be educationally valuable and includes opportunities for the students from both groups to meet. Scientific infrastructure will be enhanced by a high sensitivity 13C-NMR probe requested for the 600 MHz NMR spectrometer, which is expected to benefit researchers at SUNY-ESF, as well as NMR users throughout the central New York state region. The scientific results will be published in peer reviewed journals and presented at conferences and seminars. The knowledge generated is expected to contribute to the enhanced understanding of marine ecosystems, and find application in aquaculture, the scientific study of fisheries and marine geochemistry.