Photosynthetic Marine Mollusks: In vivo 14 C Incorporation into Metabolites of the Sacoglossan Placobranchus ocellatus

Abstract

In seawater enriched with carbon-14-labeled sodium hydrogen carbonate the sacoglossan Placobranchus ocellatus when exposed to light incorporates carbon-14 at a rate 50-fold of that for animals kept in the dark. 9,10-Deoxytridachione, a secondary metabolite of the mollusk, undergoes a photorearrangement to photodeoxytridachione in vivo.