Lessonia nigrescens

Lessonia nigrescens, the grey weed or giant grey weed, is a South American kelp species in the genus Lessonia.

Lessonia nigrescens
Lessonia nigrescens at El Quisco beach, Chile
Scientific classification
Clade: SAR
Phylum: Ochrophyta
Class: Phaeophyceae
Order: Laminariales
Family: Lessoniaceae
Genus: Lessonia
Species:
L. nigrescens
Binomial name
Lessonia nigrescens

There is at least two populations of the seaweed, marked by the difference in phenolic content. There is a subtidal population with higher phenol content and an intertidal population with a lighter phenol content. The difference in the phenolic content can be explained by the herbivory selection pressure due to the sea snail Tegula tridentata.[1]

UV treatment induces the production of phlorotannins that accumulate in physodes.[2]

This weed contains the phytosterol saringosterol that shows an inhibitory effect on Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth.[3]

Illustration from "Nordisk familjebok".

References
  1. Micropopulation differentiation in phenol content and susceptibility to herbivory in the Chilean kelp Lessonia nigrescenss (Phaeophyta, Laminariales). Enrique A. Martínez, Hydrobiologia, July 1996, Volume 326-327, Issue 1, pages 205-211, doi:10.1007/BF00047808
  2. Induction of Phlorotannins During UV Exposure Mitigates Inhibition of Photosynthesis and DNA Damage in the Kelp Lessonia nigrescens. Ivan Gómez and Pirjo Huovinen, Photochemistry and Photobiology, September/October 2010, Volume 86, Issue 5, pages 1056–1063, doi:10.1111/j.1751-1097.2010.00786.x
  3. Inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth by saringosterol from Lessonia nigrescens. Wächter Gerald A, Franzblau Scott G, Montenegro Gloria, Hoffmann Joseph J, Maiese William M and Timmermann Barbara N, Journal of Natural Products, 2001, volume 64, number 11, pages 1463-1464, INIST:14134197
  • Data related to Lessonia nigrescens at Wikispecies
  • Media related to Lessonia nigrescens at Wikimedia Commons
  • "Lessonia nigrescens". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species.
  • algaebase.org


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