Page 162 - 2025中醫藥與天然藥物聯合學術研討會-中醫藥與天然藥物的挑戰Ｘ機遇與未來大會手冊

PC-44

Metabolic adaptation and bioactive metabolite accumulation in Briareum

stechei under environmental stress

2
4
3
Chih-Kai Hsu, #,1,2 Lo-Yun Chen, Y u -Chieh Tsai, You-Ying Chen, Li-Guo Zheng, Ching
2
2
,1,2
1,2
-Ya Hung, Hsing-Hui Li, Jui-Hsin Su,* ,1,2 Ping-Jyun Sung*

1 Department of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-sen University,
Kaohsiung 804201, Taiwan
2 National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Pingtung 944401, Taiwan
3 PhD Program in Clinical Drug Development of Herbal Medicine, College of Pharmacy,
Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan
4 Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Universiy, Taipei 106319, Taiwan
* E-mail: x2219@nmmba.gov.tw (J.-H. Su); pjsung@nmmba.gov.tw (P.-J. Sung)

Abstract
This study aims to develop a scalable and stable aquaculture system for the soft coral
Briareum stechei by simulating variable environmental stressors under semi-natural conditions.
Controlled stress treatments−including anthropogenic disturbance, thermal fluctuations, and
bleaching induction−were applied to evaluate their impacts on coral growth and the
accumulation of bioactive secondary metabolites. By integrating long-term physiological
monitoring with targeted metabolomic analysis (LC-MS), we investigated the relationship
between environmental perturbations and metabolic regulation. After several months of
cultivation, preliminary LC-MS results revealed significant differences in the concentrations of
target compound (excavatolide B) across treatment groups. Notably, the targeted compounds
were undetectable in both the biotic stress and elevated temperature groups, suggesting that
these stressors may suppress biosynthetic pathways. These findings provide mechanistic
insights into the stress-responsive metabolic plasticity of B. stechei and offer practical
implications for optimizing metabolite yield in coral aquaculture. Moreover, this work
contributes to a broader understanding of coral secondary metabolism in the context of
conservation and sustainable bioproduction strategies.

B. stechei excavatolide B

Keywords: Briareum stechei; Environmental stress; Bioactive metabolite