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The vertebrate pineal hormone melatonin is produced by the brown alga Pterygophora californica and mimics dark effects on growth rate in the light

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Abstract

Melatonin, a methoxylated indoleamine, plays a role as a mediator of darkness in animals as well as in the unicellular alga Gonyaulax polyedra Stein and was recently detected in higher plants. We report on the first finding of melatonin in a multicellular alga, the brown alga Pterygophora californica Rupr. Melatonin was identified in juvenile sporophytes of P. californica by two independent methods, reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detection, and radioimmunoassay. Another indolic metabolite, 5-methoxytryptophol, was also indentified by HPLC. The rapid decline of growth rate upon the onset of darkness in P. californica is mimicked by melatonin in the light, with increasing efficiency from 5 × 10−5M to 5 × 10−4M, while no effect was obtained at 10−5M.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

analysis of variance

DMSO:

dimethyl sulfoxide

LD:

light-dark cycle

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoologisches Institut, Universität Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, D-37073, Göttingen, Germany

    Birgit Fuhrberg, Ivonne Balzer & Rüdiger Hardeland

  2. Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Notkestrasse 31, D-22607, Hamburg, Germany

    Astrid Werner & Klaus Lüning

Authors
  1. Birgit Fuhrberg
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  2. Ivonne Balzer
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  3. Rüdiger Hardeland
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  4. Astrid Werner
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  5. Klaus Lüning
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Additional information

K.L. and A.W. thank Petra Kadel for help with algal cultivation and evaluation of the experiments.

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Fuhrberg, B., Balzer, I., Hardeland, R. et al. The vertebrate pineal hormone melatonin is produced by the brown alga Pterygophora californica and mimics dark effects on growth rate in the light. Planta 200, 125–131 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00196659

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00196659

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