title: Diterpenes of marine brown algae of the family Dictyotaceae: their possible role as defense compounds and their use in chemotaxonomy.
abstract: Marine brown algae of the family Dictyotaceae are protected against predation. Their survival strategy is, at least in part, based on the production of chemical defenses. These compounds are diterpenes that seem to establish a specific predator-prey relationship, and which are found as food-chain markers. The use of Dictyotaceae diterpenes in chemotaxonomy is briefly discussed.
mesh_terms: D004224:Diterpenes / Q000378:metabolism*; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000145:classification*; D000459:Phaeophyceae / Q000145:classification* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004224:Diterpenes