Metabolomic Insights into the Phytochemical Profiles and Seasonal Shifts of Fucus serratus and F. vesiculosus Harvested in Danish Coastal Waters (Aarhus Bay)—An Untargeted High-Resolution Mass-Spectrometry Approach
2025
Mihai Victor Curtasu | Jørgen Ulrik Graudal Levinsen | Annette Bruhn | Mette Olaf Nielsen | Natalja P. Nørskov
This study investigated the year-round metabolomic variation in Fucus serratus (FS) and F. vesiculosus (FV) collected monthly from Danish coastal water around Aarhus Bay. Untargeted high-resolution liquid chromatography&ndash:mass spectrometry profiling (LC-HRMS), combined with multivariate data analysis and temporal clustering analysis, revealed that species identity was the primary driver of metabolic separation, followed by seasonal variation. FS showed higher levels of hydrolyzable tannins, flavonoid derivatives, aromatic amino acids, and glutamine-rich peptides, whereas FV was enriched in complex phlorotannins, tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, and carnitine derivatives. Temporal analysis identified recurring seasonal patterns across both species, including spring increases in amino acids, purine metabolites, and osmolytes: mid-summer peaks in mannitol and sulfated derivatives: and late-autumn elevations in phenolic compounds and betaine-type osmolytes. Despite apparent interspecific differences, several metabolite groups exhibited similar seasonal dynamics, suggesting shared physiological strategies associated with growth activation in spring, metabolic adjustment during summer to possible increased grazing pressure, and nutrient reallocation prior to winter. These findings provide a comprehensive, high-resolution view of seasonal metabolomic patterns in Fucus spp., offering new insights into their biochemical ecology and supporting the targeted utilization of these species for applications requiring specific metabolite profiles. Finally, this study contributes to the creation or expansion of metabolomic libraries for HRMS specific to Fucus seaweeds.
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