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TitleThe presence of gigartinine in a New Zealand Gracilaria species
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2001
AuthorsWilcox, S.J., Bloor S.J., Hemmingson J.A., Furneaux R.H., and Nelson W.A.
JournalJournal of Applied Phycology
Volume13
Issue5
Pagination409 - 413
Date Published2001
ISSN09218971 (ISSN)
Keywordsamino acid sequence, bay, carbon 13, chemical and physical properties, gigartinine, morphology, new zealand, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, plant extract
AbstractGigartinine, 5-(3-amidinoureido)-2-aminovaleric acid, serves as a chemotaxonomic marker to distinguish two species of Gracilaria with very similar morphologies. Gigartinine was identified by 13C-NMR spectroscopy and amino acid analysis of a cold-water extract from Gracilaria sp. nov., collected from a sheltered harbour locality at Blockhouse Bay, Auckland, New Zealand. Levels of this amino acid, naturally ca. 5% by dry weight of seaweed, were able to be depleted and then restored during a nitrogen pulsing experiment. In contrast, native and pulsed samples of Gracilaria chilensis from Point Arthur, Wellington showed no extractable gigartinine. Although these two species are unable to be distinguished in the field by morphological characteristics, they can be separated by the presence or absence of gigartinine.
URLhttp://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0034800721&partnerID=40&md5=2edca7160adef7e00739e96403d44e9e
DOI10.1023/A:1011924414547

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