Title

Extraction and analysis of Mycosporine-Like Amino Acids in marine algae

Authors

Nedeljka N. Rosic, The University of Queensland, AustraliaFollow
Christopher Braun, The University of Queensland, Australia
David Kvaskoff, The University of Queensland, Australia

Document Type

Book chapter

Publication details

Rosic, NN, Braun, C & Kvaskoff, D 2015, 'Extraction and analysis of Mycosporine-Like Amino Acids in marine algae', in DB Stengel & S Connan (eds), Natural products from marine algae, Methods in molecular biology; 1308, Humana Press, New York, United States, pp. 119-129. ISBN: 9781493926831

Published version available from:

http://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2684-8_6

Abstract

Marine organisms use mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) as biological sunscreens for the protection from damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation and the prevention of oxidative stress. MAAs have been discovered in many different marine and freshwater species including cyanobacteria, fungi, and algae, but also in animals like cnidarian and fishes. Here, we describe a general method for the isolation and characterization of MAA compounds from red algae and symbiotic dinoflagellates isolated from coral hosts. This method is also suitable for the extraction and analyses of MAAs from a range of other algal and marine biota.