Advisory Committee Chair
Charles D Amsler
Advisory Committee Members
James B McClintock
Dale A Dickinson
Dan Rittschof
Cliff Ross
Robert W Thacker
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
2014
Degree Name by School
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) College of Arts and Sciences
Abstract
The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the macroalgal wound response was investigated with emphasis on their occurrence, source, and ecological role. In a survey of Antarctic macroalgae, an oxidative response to wounding was common and ROS in seawater decreased the feeding rate of sympatric amphipod grazers. The macroalgal oxidative response was also sensitive to light. In contrast to the current understanding of the macroalgal oxidative burst, initial wound-induced ROS from the temperate kelp Saccharina latissima were light-dependent and arose from disrupted photosynthetic electron transport rather than from a defense-related enzyme such as an NADPH-oxidase. Furthermore, the light-dependence of wound-induced ROS had consequences for macroalgal-herbivore interactions. The consumption of macroalgae by amphipods was shown to depend on a light-dependent, wound-induced metabolite such as ROS. Consequently, light--via wound-induced ROS--may play a more complex role in the feeding ecology of small primary consumers than previously recognized.
Recommended Citation
McDowell, Ruth Ellen, "Illuminating The Physiology And Ecology Of The Wound-Induced Macroalgal Oxidative Burst" (2014). All ETDs from UAB. 2434.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/2434