A Comparative Study of Free Amino Acids of the Brown Alga Fucus vesiculosus Linnaeus, 1753 from the Intertidal Zone of the Murman Shore, Barents Sea

Abstract

The free amino-acid contents of the apical and middle parts of the thallus, as well as the receptacles of fertile and juvenile specimens, of the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus collected from seven different biotopes of the Murman shore, Barents Sea have been studied for the first time. The free amino-acid composition of the studied algae specimens was dominated by alanine, along with aspartic and glutamic acid. The distribution of free amino acids in the thallus of Fucus is uneven and depends on the habitat. The free aminoacid contents in the spring vary considerably between different parts of the thallus; however, certain regular patterns of their distribution are observed. A correlation has been found between the level of some individual amino acids in different parts of the thallus of fertile and juvenile algae and the salinity of the seawater.