The smell of seaweeds and their second skin: Do volatile infochemicals mediate biofouling processes?

挥发物是重要的信息化学物质（信息传递化学物质），在构建我们星球上的生命中发挥着至关重要的作用，在自然和人工系统中发挥着多种功能。海洋巨藻对全球挥发物收支做出了重大贡献，而挥发物对气候功能至关重要。然而，挥发物的生态作用，特别是在海洋污染群落的结构中，实际上是未知的。该项目将通过量化和鉴定通过基生海藻与相关表面细菌相互作用释放到环境中的化学信号来填补这一重要的知识空白。新颖性源于其挥发性代谢组的首次识别和量化，这些代谢组是最有希望作为海洋信息化学品的候选者。人们越来越认识到，种内和种间信息化学调节着水生环境中的许多生物相互作用，并导致结构健康和富有成效的海洋食物网，从而提供了及时性。生物测定将监测表层细菌、污染细菌和浮游无脊椎动物幼虫对海藻挥发性的沉降行为；因此，项目成果可以探索在未来的生物技术应用中操纵有害的生物污染过程。

Volatiles are important info-chemicals (information-conveying chemicals) that play a crucial role in structuring life on our planet fulfilling diverse functions in natural and artificial systems. Marine macroalgae contribute significantly to the global budget of volatiles that are important for climate functioning. However, the ecological roles of volatiles, particularly in the structuring of marine fouling communities, are virtually unknown. This project will fill this essential knowledge gap by quantifying and qualifying the chemical signals released into the environment through the interaction of basibiont seaweeds with associated epibacteria. Novelty stems from the first identification and quantification of their volatile metabolomes that are the most promising candidates as marine info-chemicals. Timeliness is provided by the growing realization that intra- and interspecific info-chemistry regulates many biological interactions in aquatic environments and leads to healthily-structured and productive marine food webs. Bioassays will monitor the settlement behavior of epibacteria, fouling bacteria and planktonic invertebrate larvae in response to the seaweed volabolome; so that project outcomes can be explored for the manipulation of detrimental biofouling processes in future biotechnological applications.