BIOSYNTHETIC PROCESSES IN SOFT CORALS .1. A COMPARISON OF TERPENE BIOSYNTHESIS IN ALCYONIUM-MOLLE (ALCYONIIDAE) AND HETEROXENIA SP (XENIIDAE)

1. Sodium [2-C-14] acetate is utilized for de novo synthesis of the lipid cetyl palmitate (9) but not for de novo terpene synthesis in the alcyonacean soft coral A. molle. It was established by chemical degradation that > 95% of the C-14 label associated with the major terpene metabolite (4) appeared in the two butyrate ester functions with the remaining activity associated with an acetate ester substituent. 2. In contrast, for Heteroxenia sp., de novo synthesis of the terpenes cubebol (5) and clavukerin A (6) from sodium [1-C-14] acetate and from D,L-[2-C-14] mevalonolactone was detected. 3. The label from acetate was incorporated with the expected selectivity (as revealed by Kuhn-Roth degradation), but degradation of the mevalonate-labelled samples indicated some scrambling of label, presumably via acetate incorporation of degraded mevalonate.