Polyunsaturated aldehyde
class of chemical compounds
Polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs) are a group of allelopathic chemicals typically associated with predator–prey interactions between diatoms (a type of single-celled alga) and small crustaceans known as copepods. These compounds are classified by an aldehyde group covalently bound to long carbon chains containing two or more carbon–carbon double bonds. Examples include isomers of heptadienal, octadienal, octatrienal, and decatrienal.
Production by diatoms
Polyunsaturated aldehydes are oxylipins that are formed from lipids (specifically the fatty acid portion of lipids) when diatoms are exposed to environmental stresses. Stresses can include nutrient limitations, grazing by predators, and wounding.
In particular, damage to diatom cells as a result of grazing by zooplankton invokes a chemical defense mechanism that produces PUA's as secondary metabolites from fatty acids. The production mechanism is as follows:
Grazing by predators results in diatom cell membrane disruption.
Enzymes (lipases) are produced in response to the damaged membranes. These enzymes make contact with newly freed phospholipids (from cell membranes) and catalyze the formation of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The enzyme lipoxygenase then catalyzes the reaction of fatty acids to polyunsaturated aldehydes, which are then directly exposed to the grazing zooplankton.
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