New Birth-Control Aldehydes from the Marine Diatom Skeletonema costatum: Characterization and Biogenesis

The paper describes the identification of short-chain aldehydes (4-7) from the marine diatom Skeletonema costatum, and their effects on copepod egg viability and sea urchin cell division. Compounds 4-7 were isolated as carboethoxyethylidene (CET) derivatives and their characterization was performed by NMR and GCMS analysis. Evidence is presented to support the defensive role and biosynthetic origin of these compounds in S. costatum.