Chemical Defense in Marine Organisms

摘要

Marine organisms are constantly exposed to variations in physical parameters (e.g., temperature and salinity), chemical communication metabolites and/or environmental contaminants and have evolved several mechanisms to survive in extremely different environments. Stressors may alter cellular homeostasis, causing oxidative stress, reproductive failure, disorientation and, in worst cases, organism death. Cells respond to these stimuli by activating a series of defense strategies in order to restore cellular homeostasis and avoid negative impacts [1]. The adopted defense strategies may range from the activation of defensive proteins, such as heat shock proteins (HSPs) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette (ABC) proteins, as well as the activation of detoxification enzymes and other metabolic pathways responsible for the synthesis of defense compounds/toxins (e.g., antipredator compounds).