DOI: 10.1186/1471-2180-11-255
Once again a link about the pest algae Bryopsis.
This algae tends to plague many unstable reef aquariums.
After someone treating a fungal infection in fish coincidentally noticed Bryopsis die-off in their tank, folks have been using fluconazole to treat Bryopsis. Thanks to its use of ergosterols in its cell membranes, it is obviously susceptible.
Nobody I asked could tell me where it started or how it worked, so I began doing research once I heard of the treatment. This article is one that was still waiting in my browser for me to read. Once I did, my jaw dropped upon reading this quote:
“Bryopsis is a marine siphonous macroalga composed of a single, tubular shaped cell which contains multiple nuclei and chloroplasts in a thin cytoplasmic layer surrounding a large central vacuole [9]. While an organism composed of a giant, single cell would be prone to damage, siphonous macroalgae possess an intricate defense network that operates at various levels [7, 10]. In Bryopsis, for example, the metabolite kahalalide F, which shows in vitro therapeutic activities, protects the alga from fish predation [11]. Even if damage does occur, a complex, multistep wound response is triggered [10, 12] to which Bryopsis algae add a surprisingly feature, i.e. the formation of protoplasts [13]. These protoplasts are membraneless structures that can survive in seawater for 10-20 minutes. Subsequently, membranes and a cell wall are synthesized de novo surrounding each protoplast, which then develop into new Bryopsis plants. “
Reef Success 