Bible K C, Buytendorp M, Zierath P D, Rinehart K L
School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 61801.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Jul;85(13):4582-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.13.4582.
Tunichlorin, a blue-green pigment isolated from the Caribbean tunicate Trididemnum solidum, has been identified as nickel(II) 2-devinyl-2-hydroxymethylpyropheophorbide a by chemical and spectroscopic methods, with confirmation by partial synthesis of dimethyl tunichlorin from chlorophyll a. Nickel chlorins have been reported from geological sources but not from living organisms. Its occurrence in a living system suggests a metabolic role for tunichlorin and may clarify the selective accumulation of nickel by marine tunicates. Because Trididemnum tunicates are associated with algal symbionts, tunichlorin may arise directly from the tunicate, from symbiotic algae, or from tunicate modification of an algal chlorin.
从加勒比海被囊动物坚固皮海鞘（Trididemnum solidum）中分离出的蓝绿色色素——海鞘氯素，已通过化学和光谱方法鉴定为镍（II）2-去乙烯基-2-羟甲基焦脱镁叶绿酸a，并通过从叶绿素a部分合成二甲基海鞘氯素得到了证实。地质来源中已报道过镍二氢卟吩，但在生物体内尚未发现。它在生物系统中的存在表明海鞘氯素具有代谢作用，并且可能阐明海洋被囊动物对镍的选择性积累。由于坚固皮海鞘与藻类共生体有关联，海鞘氯素可能直接来源于被囊动物、共生藻类，或者是被囊动物对藻类二氢卟吩的修饰。
