Solari P et al. (2023), Blue-Green Algae as Stimulating and Attractive ...

ECB-ART-51739

Life (Basel) 2023 Jul 05;137:. doi: 10.3390/life13071510.

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Blue-Green Algae as Stimulating and Attractive Feeding Substrates for a Mediterranean Commercial Sea Urchin Species, Paracentrotus lividus.

Solari P , Sollai G , Pasquini V , Giglioli A , Crnjar R , Addis P .

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Sea urchins rely on chemical senses to localize suitable food resources, therefore representing model species for chemosensory studies. In the present study, we investigated the chemical sensitivity of the Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus to the blue-green alga Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, namely "Klamath", and to a few amino acids chosen from the biochemical composition of the same algae. To this end, we used the "urchinogram" method, which estimates the movement rate of the sea urchins in response to chemicals. Our results showed that Klamath represents a strong chemical stimulus for P. lividus as it elicits an overall movement of spines, pedicellariae, and tube feet coupled, in some cases, to a coordinated locomotion of the animals. Sea urchins also displayed a sensitivity, even if to a lesser extent, to leucine, threonine, arginine, and proline, thus implying that the amino acids contained in Klamath may account, at least in part, for the stimulating effects exerted by the whole algae. Additionally, our results show that Klamath, as well as spirulina, another blue-green alga with high nutritional value, is very attractive for this sea urchin species. These findings gain further importance considering the potential profit of echinoderms for commercial consumers and their growing role in aquaculture. Klamath and spirulina combine high nutritional profiles with attractive and stimulating abilities and may be considered potential valuable feed supplements in sea urchin aquaculture.

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	Figure 1. Representative recording of the “urchinogram”, including the sum of all visible movements of spines, pedicellariae, tube feet, and of the whole sea urchin, following supply of the seawater control (SW, CTRL) and of the Klamath microalgae at the doses 0.01, 0.1 and 1 mg/mL. The movement rate was estimated by considering the changes in the mean square difference in pixel intensity between successive frames (analysis performed with the software Aviline at 5 frames/s). Arrows indicate the interval of stimulus delivery.
	Figure 2. Normalized rate of movements of the sea urchins, expressed as the mean square difference in pixel intensity during a 2 min stimulation ± SE (vertical bars) after supply of the Klamath microalgae, Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, compared to seawater (SW = 100% of response, dashed line). and ** indicate significant differences for p < 0.01 and p < 0.0001, respectively (Dunn’s multiple comparison test subsequent to the Friedman Test). Data were obtained from 17 sea urchins.
	Figure 3. Normalized rate of movements of the sea urchins, expressed as mean square difference in pixel intensity during a 2 min stimulation ± SE (vertical bars) after supply of the essential amino acids leucine (A), threonine (B), and lysine (C), compared to seawater (SW = 100% of response, dashed line). * and ** indicate significant differences for p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively (Dunnett’s multiple comparison test after one-way ANOVA). Data were recorded from 17 sea urchins for leucine, 16 for threonine, and 15 for lysine.
	Figure 4. Normalized rate of movements of the sea urchins, expressed as the mean square difference in pixel intensity during a 2 min stimulation ± SE (vertical bars) after supply of the non-essential amino acids arginine (A) and proline (B), compared to seawater (SW = 100% of response, dashed line). and ** indicate significant differences for p < 0.01 and p < 0.0001, respectively (Dunn’s multiple comparison test after the Friedman Test). Data were recorded from 17 sea urchins for arginine and 16 for proline.
	Figure 5. Mean values ± SE (vertical bars) of the distance (A), time (B), speed (C), and tortuosity index (D) travelled by the sea urchins to find the microalgae Klamath or spirulina. Data were obtained from 16 and 17 sea urchins for Klamath and spirulina, respectively. No significant differences were found between the two treatments (p > 0.05; unpaired t-test).

References [+] :

Becker, Micro-algae as a source of protein. 2007, Pubmed