Wound plug chemistry and morphology of two species of Caulerpa - A comparative Raman microscopy study

Abstract

Caulerpa spp. form a polymer wound plug that seals their giant cells after mechanical injury, in order to prevent fatal loss of cell material. Initial mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy investigations revealed the involvement of the secondary metabolite caulerpenyne in wound sealing polymer formation. In this work, we introduce a comparative Raman spectroscopic study of the wound plug formation in the invasive Caulerpa taxifolia (Valh) Agardh, 1817 and the non-invasive Caulerpa prolifera J.V. Lamour. In both species, the enzymatic transformation of the main secondary metabolite caulerpenyne plays a key role in wound plug formation. An accumulation of caulerpenyne is observed at the inner border of the wound plugs. Furthermore, caulerpenyne and products resulting from its enzymatic transformation and co-polymerization with proteins are found within the wound plug. However, there are significant differences in the chemistry of the wound plugs between the species. The Raman spectra reveal a zonation of the wound plug of C. taxifolia into four chemically distinguishable regions, while that of C. prolifera consists of only three regions with specific chemical composition. These results explain differences in the morphology of the wound plug in both species.