-
Genomics Nov 2018
Topics: Animals; Crustacea; Fishes; Gene Expression Profiling; Genomics; Mollusca; Shellfish
PubMed: 30414888
DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2018.11.005 -
Natural Product Reports Mar 2016This review covers the literature published in 2014 for marine natural products (MNPs), with 1116 citations (753 for the period January to December 2014) referring to... (Review)
Review
This review covers the literature published in 2014 for marine natural products (MNPs), with 1116 citations (753 for the period January to December 2014) referring to compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green, brown and red algae, sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates, echinoderms, mangroves and other intertidal plants and microorganisms. The emphasis is on new compounds (1378 in 456 papers for 2014), together with the relevant biological activities, source organisms and country of origin. Reviews, biosynthetic studies, first syntheses, and syntheses that lead to the revision of structures or stereochemistries, have been included.
Topics: Animals; Biological Products; Bryozoa; Cnidaria; Echinodermata; Marine Biology; Molecular Structure; Mollusca; Phytoplankton; Porifera; Rhodophyta; Urochordata
PubMed: 26837534
DOI: 10.1039/c5np00156k -
Natural Product Reports Feb 2015This review covers the literature published in 2013 for marine natural products (MNPs), with 982 citations (644 for the period January to December 2013) referring to... (Review)
Review
This review covers the literature published in 2013 for marine natural products (MNPs), with 982 citations (644 for the period January to December 2013) referring to compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green, brown and red algae, sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates, echinoderms, mangroves and other intertidal plants and microorganisms. The emphasis is on new compounds (1163 for 2013), together with the relevant biological activities, source organisms and country of origin. Reviews, biosynthetic studies, first syntheses, and syntheses that lead to the revision of structures or stereochemistries, have been included.
Topics: Animals; Biological Products; Bryozoa; Cnidaria; Cyanobacteria; Dinoflagellida; Echinodermata; Molecular Structure; Mollusca; Phytoplankton; Plants; Porifera; Rhizophoraceae; Rhodophyta; Urochordata
PubMed: 25620233
DOI: 10.1039/c4np00144c -
Developmental and Comparative Immunology Oct 2017Comparative immunology, studying both vertebrates and invertebrates, provided the earliest descriptions of phagocytosis as a general immune mechanism. However, the large... (Review)
Review
Comparative immunology, studying both vertebrates and invertebrates, provided the earliest descriptions of phagocytosis as a general immune mechanism. However, the large scale of animal diversity challenges all-inclusive investigations and the field of immunology has developed by mostly emphasizing study of a few vertebrate species. In addressing the lack of comprehensive understanding of animal immunity, especially that of invertebrates, comparative immunology helps toward management of invertebrates that are food sources, agricultural pests, pathogens, or transmit diseases, and helps interpret the evolution of animal immunity. Initial studies showed that the Mollusca (second largest animal phylum), and invertebrates in general, possess innate defenses but lack the lymphocytic immune system that characterizes vertebrate immunology. Recognizing the reality of both common and taxon-specific immune features, and applying up-to-date cell and molecular research capabilities, in-depth studies of a select number of bivalve and gastropod species continue to reveal novel aspects of molluscan immunity. The genomics era heralded a new stage of comparative immunology; large-scale efforts yielded an initial set of full molluscan genome sequences that is available for analyses of full complements of immune genes and regulatory sequences. Next-generation sequencing (NGS), due to lower cost and effort required, allows individual researchers to generate large sequence datasets for growing numbers of molluscs. RNAseq provides expression profiles that enable discovery of immune genes and genome sequences reveal distribution and diversity of immune factors across molluscan phylogeny. Although computational de novo sequence assembly will benefit from continued development and automated annotation may require some experimental validation, NGS is a powerful tool for comparative immunology, especially increasing coverage of the extensive molluscan diversity. To date, immunogenomics revealed new levels of complexity of molluscan defense by indicating sequence heterogeneity in individual snails and bivalves, and members of expanded immune gene families are expressed differentially to generate pathogen-specific defense responses.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Genomics; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Immunity, Innate; Immunogenetics; Mollusca; Phagocytosis; Phylogeny; Physiology, Comparative
PubMed: 28322934
DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2017.03.013 -
Viruses Sep 2021According to the 2018 FAO report on aquaculture, there are 598 species of finfish, molluscs, crustaceans, and other organisms used in aquafarming around the world [...].
According to the 2018 FAO report on aquaculture, there are 598 species of finfish, molluscs, crustaceans, and other organisms used in aquafarming around the world [...].
Topics: Animals; Aquaculture; Crustacea; Fishes; Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus; Mollusca; Rhabdoviridae; Salmon; Viruses
PubMed: 34578358
DOI: 10.3390/v13091777 -
Marine Drugs Oct 2020Marine organisms are constantly exposed to variations in physical parameters (e [...].
Marine organisms are constantly exposed to variations in physical parameters (e [...].
Topics: Animals; Aquatic Organisms; Diatoms; Marine Toxins; Mollusca; Mucus; Oxylipins
PubMed: 33080956
DOI: 10.3390/md18100518 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... May 2021The first animal mitochondrial genomes to be sequenced were of several vertebrates and model organisms, and the consistency of genomic features found has led to a... (Review)
Review
The first animal mitochondrial genomes to be sequenced were of several vertebrates and model organisms, and the consistency of genomic features found has led to a 'textbook description'. However, a more broad phylogenetic sampling of complete animal mitochondrial genomes has found many cases where these features do not exist, and the phylum Mollusca is especially replete with these exceptions. The characterization of full mollusc mitogenomes required considerable effort involving challenging molecular biology, but has created an enormous catalogue of surprising deviations from that textbook description, including wide variation in size, radical genome rearrangements, gene duplications and losses, the introduction of novel genes, and a complex system of inheritance dubbed 'doubly uniparental inheritance'. Here, we review the extraordinary variation in architecture, molecular functioning and intergenerational transmission of molluscan mitochondrial genomes. Such features represent a great potential for the discovery of biological history, processes and functions that are novel for animal mitochondrial genomes. This provides a model system for studying the evolution and the manifold roles that mitochondria play in organismal physiology, and many ways that the study of mitochondrial genomes are useful for phylogeny and population biology. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Molluscan genomics: broad insights and future directions for a neglected phylum'.
Topics: Animals; Gene Duplication; Gene Rearrangement; Genome, Mitochondrial; Heredity; Mollusca
PubMed: 33813887
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0159 -
Marine Drugs Dec 2020The natural products of heterobranch molluscs display a huge variability both in structure and in their bioactivity. Despite the considerable lack of information, it can... (Review)
Review
The natural products of heterobranch molluscs display a huge variability both in structure and in their bioactivity. Despite the considerable lack of information, it can be observed from the recent literature that this group of animals possesses an astonishing arsenal of molecules from different origins that provide the molluscs with potent chemicals that are ecologically and pharmacologically relevant. In this review, we analyze the bioactivity of more than 450 compounds from ca. 400 species of heterobranch molluscs that are useful for the snails to protect themselves in different ways and/or that may be useful to us because of their pharmacological activities. Their ecological activities include predator avoidance, toxicity, antimicrobials, antifouling, trail-following and alarm pheromones, sunscreens and UV protection, tissue regeneration, and others. The most studied ecological activity is predation avoidance, followed by toxicity. Their pharmacological activities consist of cytotoxicity and antitumoral activity; antibiotic, antiparasitic, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory activity; and activity against neurodegenerative diseases and others. The most studied pharmacological activities are cytotoxicity and anticancer activities, followed by antibiotic activity. Overall, it can be observed that heterobranch molluscs are extremely interesting in regard to the study of marine natural products in terms of both chemical ecology and biotechnology studies, providing many leads for further detailed research in these fields in the near future.
Topics: Animals; Biological Products; Snails
PubMed: 33371188
DOI: 10.3390/md18120657 -
Current Biology : CB Oct 2023Allard et al. describe the remarkable 'taste by touch' abilities of cephalopods, in particular octopuses.
Allard et al. describe the remarkable 'taste by touch' abilities of cephalopods, in particular octopuses.
Topics: Animals; Cephalopoda; Octopodiformes; Touch; Touch Perception
PubMed: 37875087
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.011 -
Marine Drugs Mar 2020Heterobranch molluscs are rich in natural products. As other marine organisms, these gastropods are still quite unexplored, but they provide a stunning arsenal of... (Review)
Review
Heterobranch molluscs are rich in natural products. As other marine organisms, these gastropods are still quite unexplored, but they provide a stunning arsenal of compounds with interesting activities. Among their natural products, terpenoids are particularly abundant and diverse, including monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids, sesterterpenoids, triterpenoids, tetraterpenoids, and steroids. This review evaluates the different kinds of terpenoids found in heterobranchs and reports on their bioactivity. It includes more than 330 metabolites isolated from ca. 70 species of heterobranchs. The monoterpenoids reported may be linear or monocyclic, while sesquiterpenoids may include linear, monocyclic, bicyclic, or tricyclic molecules. Diterpenoids in heterobranchs may include linear, monocyclic, bicyclic, tricyclic, or tetracyclic compounds. Sesterterpenoids, instead, are linear, bicyclic, or tetracyclic. Triterpenoids, tetraterpenoids, and steroids are not as abundant as the previously mentioned types. Within heterobranch molluscs, no terpenoids have been described in this period in tylodinoideans, cephalaspideans, or pteropods, and most terpenoids have been found in nudibranchs, anaspideans, and sacoglossans, with very few compounds in pleurobranchoideans and pulmonates. Monoterpenoids are present mostly in anaspidea, and less abundant in sacoglossa. Nudibranchs are especially rich in sesquiterpenes, which are also present in anaspidea, and in less numbers in sacoglossa and pulmonata. Diterpenoids are also very abundant in nudibranchs, present also in anaspidea, and scarce in pleurobranchoidea, sacoglossa, and pulmonata. Sesterterpenoids are only found in nudibranchia, while triterpenoids, carotenoids, and steroids are only reported for nudibranchia, pleurobranchoidea, and anaspidea. Many of these compounds are obtained from their diet, while others are biotransformed, or biosynthesized by the molluscs. Overall, a huge variety of structures is found, indicating that chemodiversity correlates to the amazing biodiversity of this fascinating group of molluscs.
Topics: Animals; Mollusca; Oceans and Seas; Terpenes
PubMed: 32183298
DOI: 10.3390/md18030162