Morphological performance and natural products diversity of Asparagopsis taxiformis

Asparagopsis spp belongs to the family of Bonnemaisoniaceae, a red algae (Rhodophyta), the largest group of marine seaweeds. It is present in the Israeli coastline by the species Asparagopsis taxiformis, widespread throughout the world and one of the ‘worst invasive in the Mediterranean Sea’. A.taxiformis is a rich source of natural products, used by the algae as a natural defensive mechanism against herbivores and bacteria. Its halogenated compounds are known to have potent antifungal, antibacterial and antiprotozoal activity. Here, we explore the variations between three major tissues of A.taxiformis named blade, stipe, and holdfast collected at the rocky shore of Tel Shikmona, Haifa, Israel. Morphological performance and localization of natural products in algae’s cells were exanimated using light microscopy, histology staining, scanning electron microscopy, fluorescence and light sheet fluorescence microscopy. Chemical diversity of annotation natural products was evaluated by LC-MS/MS based-metabolomics, highlighting the unique characteristics of each selected tissue.