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Marine Drugs Dec 2009Sponges can provide potential drugs against many major world-wide occurring diseases. Despite the high potential of sponge derived drugs no sustainable production method... (Review)
Review
Sponges can provide potential drugs against many major world-wide occurring diseases. Despite the high potential of sponge derived drugs no sustainable production method has been developed. Thus far it is not fully understood why, when, where and how these metabolites are produced in sponges. For the near future sea-based sponge culture seems to be the best production method. However, for controlled production in a defined system it is better to develop in vitro production methods, like in vitro sponge culture or even better sponge cell culture, culture methods for symbionts or the transfer of production routes into another host. We still have insufficient information about the background of metabolite production in sponges. Before production methods are developed we should first focus on factors that can induce metabolite production. This could be done in the natural habitat by studying the relation between stress factors (such as predation) and the production of bioactive metabolites. The location of production within the sponge should be identified in order to choose between sponge cell culture and symbiont culture. Alternatively the biosynthetic pathways could be introduced into hosts that can be cultured. For this the biosynthetic pathway of metabolite production should be unraveled, as well as the genes involved. This review discusses the current state of sponge metabolite production and the steps that need to be taken to develop commercial production techniques. The different possible production techniques are also discussed.
Topics: Animals; Aquaculture; Biotechnology; Marine Biology; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Porifera; Technology, Pharmaceutical
PubMed: 20098610
DOI: 10.3390/md7040787 -
International Journal of Molecular... Sep 2022Metabolomics represent the set of small organic molecules generally called metabolites, which are located within cells, tissues or organisms. This new "omic" technology,... (Review)
Review
Metabolomics represent the set of small organic molecules generally called metabolites, which are located within cells, tissues or organisms. This new "omic" technology, together with other similar technologies (genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics) is becoming a widely used tool in cancer research, aiming at the understanding of global biology systems in their physiologic or altered conditions. Cancer is among the most alarming human diseases and it causes a considerable number of deaths each year. Cancer research is one of the most important fields in life sciences. In fact, several scientific advances have been made in recent years, aiming to illuminate the metabolism of cancer cells, which is different from that of healthy cells, as suggested by Otto Warburg in the 1950s. Studies on sponges and algae revealed that these organisms are the main sources of the marine bioactive compounds involved in drug discovery for cancer treatment and prevention. In this review, we analyzed these two promising groups of marine organisms to focus on new metabolomics approaches for the study of metabolic changes in cancer cell lines treated with chemical extracts from sponges and algae, and for the classification of the chemical structures of bioactive compounds that may potentially prove useful for specific biotechnological applications.
Topics: Animals; Aquatic Organisms; Biotechnology; Humans; Metabolome; Neoplasms; Plant Extracts; Porifera
PubMed: 36142592
DOI: 10.3390/ijms231810680 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Jan 2022The phylum Porifera and their symbionts produce a wide variety of bioactive compounds, playing a central role in their ecology and evolution. In this study, four...
The phylum Porifera and their symbionts produce a wide variety of bioactive compounds, playing a central role in their ecology and evolution. In this study, four different extracts (obtained by non-polar and semi-polar extraction methodologies) of the Mediterranean sponge Ircinia oros were tested through a multi-bioassay integrated approach to assess their antifouling potential. Tests were performed using three common species, associated with three different endpoints: the marine bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri (inhibition of bioluminescence), the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum (inhibition of growth), and different development stages of the brackish water serpulid Ficopomatus enigmaticus (gametes: sperm motion, vitality inhibition and cellular damage; larvae: development; adults: AChE (acetylcholinesterase)-inhibitory activity). The effects of extracts were species specific and did not vary among different extraction methodologies. In particular, no significant reduction of bioluminescence of A. fischeri was observed for all tested samples. By contrast, extracts inhibited P. tricornutum growth and had toxic effects on different F. enigmaticus' developmental stages. Our results suggest that the proposed test battery can be considered a suitable tool as bioactivity screening of marine natural products.
Topics: Acetylcholinesterase; Aliivibrio fischeri; Animals; Biofouling; Biological Assay; Porifera
PubMed: 34351580
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-15683-8 -
Marine Drugs Apr 2010The subject of this review is the biodiversity of marine sponges and associated microbes which have been reported to produce therapeutically important compounds, along... (Review)
Review
The subject of this review is the biodiversity of marine sponges and associated microbes which have been reported to produce therapeutically important compounds, along with the contextual information on their geographic distribution. Class Demospongiae and the orders Halichondrida, Poecilosclerida and Dictyoceratida are the richest sources of these compounds. Among the microbial associates, members of the bacterial phylum Actinobacteria and fungal division Ascomycota have been identified to be the dominant producers of therapeutics. Though the number of bacterial associates outnumber the fungal associates, the documented potential of fungi to produce clinically active compounds is currently more important than that of bacteria. Interestingly, production of a few identical compounds by entirely different host-microbial associations has been detected in both terrestrial and marine environments. In the Demospongiae, microbial association is highly specific and so to the production of compounds. Besides, persistent production of bioactive compounds has also been encountered in highly specific host-symbiont associations. Though spatial and temporal variations are known to have a marked effect on the quality and quantity of bioactive compounds, only a few studies have covered these dimensions. The need to augment production of these compounds through tissue culture and mariculture has also been stressed. The reviewed database of these compounds is available at www.niobioinformatics.in/drug.php.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Biodiversity; Biological Products; Drug Design; Fungi; Humans; Porifera; Tissue Culture Techniques
PubMed: 20479984
DOI: 10.3390/md8041417 -
Scientific Reports Oct 2021Although the Mediterranean Sea covers approximately a 0.7% of the world's ocean area, it represents a major reservoir of marine and coastal biodiversity. Among marine...
Although the Mediterranean Sea covers approximately a 0.7% of the world's ocean area, it represents a major reservoir of marine and coastal biodiversity. Among marine organisms, sponges (Porifera) are a key component of the deep-sea benthos, widely recognized as the dominant taxon in terms of species richness, spatial coverage, and biomass. Sponges are evolutionarily ancient, sessile filter-feeders that harbor a largely diverse microbial community within their internal mesohyl matrix. In the present work, we firstly aimed at exploring the biodiversity of marine sponges from four different areas of the Mediterranean: Faro Lake in Sicily and "Porto Paone", "Secca delle fumose", "Punta San Pancrazio" in the Gulf of Naples. Eight sponge species were collected from these sites and identified by morphological analysis and amplification of several conserved molecular markers (18S and 28S RNA ribosomal genes, mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 and internal transcribed spacer). In order to analyze the bacterial diversity of symbiotic communities among these different sampling sites, we also performed a metataxonomic analysis through an Illumina MiSeq platform, identifying more than 1500 bacterial taxa. Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) analysis revealed a great variability of the host-specific microbial communities. Our data highlight the occurrence of dominant and locally enriched microbes in the Mediterranean, together with the biotechnological potential of these sponges and their associated bacteria as sources of bioactive natural compounds.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; Mediterranean Sea; Microbiota; Porifera; Symbiosis
PubMed: 34707182
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00713-9 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2021The animal immune system mediates host-microbe interactions from the host perspective. Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and the downstream signaling cascades they...
The animal immune system mediates host-microbe interactions from the host perspective. Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and the downstream signaling cascades they induce are a central part of animal innate immunity. These molecular immune mechanisms are still not fully understood, particularly in terms of baseline immunity vs induced specific responses regulated upon microbial signals. Early-divergent phyla like sponges (Porifera) can help to identify the evolutionarily conserved mechanisms of immune signaling. We characterized both the expressed immune gene repertoire and the induced response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in , a promising model for sponge symbioses. We exposed sponges under controlled experimental conditions to bacterial LPS and performed RNA-seq on samples taken 1h and 6h after exposure. possesses a diverse array of putative PRRs. While part of those PRRs was constitutively expressed in all analyzed sponges, the majority was expressed individual-specific and regardless of LPS treatment or timepoint. The induced immune response by LPS involved differential regulation of genes related to signaling and recognition, more specifically GTPases and post-translational regulation mechanisms like ubiquitination and phosphorylation. We have discovered individuality in both the immune receptor repertoire and the response to LPS, which may translate into holobiont fitness and susceptibility to stress. The three different layers of immune gene control observed in this study, - namely constitutive expression, individual-specific expression, and induced genes -, draw a complex picture of the innate immune gene regulation in . Most likely this reflects synergistic interactions among the different components of immunity in their role to control and respond to a stable microbiome, seawater bacteria, and potential pathogens.
Topics: Animals; Gene Expression Regulation; Lipopolysaccharides; Porifera; RNA-Seq; Receptors, Pattern Recognition
PubMed: 34220847
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.689051 -
Scientific Reports Feb 2020Corals and sponges harbor diverse microbial communities that are integral to the functioning of the host. While the taxonomic diversity of their microbiomes has been...
Corals and sponges harbor diverse microbial communities that are integral to the functioning of the host. While the taxonomic diversity of their microbiomes has been well-established for corals and sponges, their functional roles are less well-understood. It is unclear if the similarities of symbiosis in an invertebrate host would result in functionally similar microbiomes, or if differences in host phylogeny and environmentally driven microhabitats within each host would shape functionally distinct communities. Here we addressed this question, using metatranscriptomic and 16S rRNA gene profiling techniques to compare the microbiomes of two host organisms from different phyla. Our results indicate functional similarity in carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur assimilation, and aerobic nitrogen cycling. Additionally, there were few statistical differences in pathway coverage or abundance between the two hosts. For example, we observed higher coverage of phosphonate and siderophore metabolic pathways in the star coral, Montastraea cavernosa, while there was higher coverage of chloroalkane metabolism in the giant barrel sponge, Xestospongia muta. Higher abundance of genes associated with carbon fixation pathways was also observed in M. cavernosa, while in X. muta there was higher abundance of fatty acid metabolic pathways. Metagenomic predictions based on 16S rRNA gene profiling analysis were similar, and there was high correlation between the metatranscriptome and metagenome predictions for both hosts. Our results highlight several metabolic pathways that exhibit functional similarity in these coral and sponge microbiomes despite the taxonomic differences between the two microbiomes, as well as potential specialization of some microbially based metabolism within each host.
Topics: Animals; Anthozoa; Bacteria; Biodiversity; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Metagenome; Microbiota; Phylogeny; Porifera; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Symbiosis
PubMed: 32047192
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59320-9 -
Marine Drugs Oct 2022Natural products have various and complicated structures, which is still a challenge for elucidating these compounds, especially for those lacking two-dimensional...
Natural products have various and complicated structures, which is still a challenge for elucidating these compounds, especially for those lacking two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR) correlations mainly caused by high C/H ratios or proton-deficient and multiple heteroatoms through the conventional structural analytical methods. We reported a novel module-assembly calculation method named Dooerafa, which included constructing the meta-structures by a grafting method based on the crucial and the limited 2D NMR correlations, ring-contraction strategy based on mechanic force field and quantum chemical theory, and self-assemble calculation in Python programming for shaping up the structural candidates along with DFT-GIAO calculation. This new method, verified by a known alkaloid spiroreticulatine with the structure determined by X-ray diffraction, was performed for the structural elucidation of aaptourinamine isolated from marine sponge , showing us a brand new scaffold of imidazo [4,5,1-ij]pyrrolo [3,2-f]quinolin-7(8H)-one, which has a biosynthetic relationship with the bioactive and structurally unique aaptamine alkaloid.
Topics: Animals; Protons; Porifera; Alkaloids; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Biological Products
PubMed: 36286473
DOI: 10.3390/md20100649 -
Microbiology Spectrum Jun 2022Sponge microbiomes are typically profiled by analyzing the community DNA of whole tissues, which does not distinguish the taxa residing within sponge cells from...
Sponge microbiomes are typically profiled by analyzing the community DNA of whole tissues, which does not distinguish the taxa residing within sponge cells from extracellular microbes. To uncover the endosymbiotic microbiome, we separated the sponge cells to enrich the intracellular microbes. The intracellular bacterial community of sponge was initially assessed by amplicon sequencing, which indicated that it hosts three unique phyla not found in the extracellular and bulk tissue microbiomes. These three phyla account for 66% of the taxonomically known genera in the intracellular microbiome. The shotgun metagenomic analysis extended the taxonomic coverage to viruses and eukaryotes, revealing the most abundant signature taxa specific to the intracellular microbiome. Functional KEGG pathway annotation demonstrated that the endosymbiotic microbiome hosted the greatest number of unique gene orthologs. The pathway profiles distinguished the intra- and extracellular microbiomes from the tissue and seawater microbiomes. Carbohydrate-active enzyme analysis further discriminated each microbiome based on their representative and dominant enzyme families. One pathway involved in digestion system and family esterase had a consistently higher level in intracellular microbiome and could statistically differentiate the intracellular microbiome from the others, suggesting that triacylglycerol lipases could be the key functional component peculiar to the endosymbionts. The identified higher abundance of lipase-related eggNOG categories further supported the lipid-hydrolyzing metabolism of endosymbiotic microbiota. Pseudomonas members, reported as lipase-producing bacteria, were only in the endosymbiotic microbiome, meanwhile Pseudomonas also showed a greater abundance intracellularly. Our study aided a comprehensive sponge microbiome that demonstrated the taxonomic and functional specificity of endosymbiotic microbiota. Sponges host abundant microbial symbionts that can produce an impressive number of novel bioactive metabolites. However, knowledge on intracellular (endosymbiotic) microbiota is scarce. We characterize the composition and function of the endosymbiotic microbiome by separation of sponge cells and enrichment of intracellular microbes. We uncover a noteworthy number of taxa exclusively in the endosymbiotic microbiome. We unlock the unique pathways and enzymes of endosymbiotic taxa. This study achieves a more comprehensive sponge microbial community profile, which demonstrates the structural and functional specificity of the endosymbiotic microbiome. Our findings not only open the possibility to reveal the low abundant and the likely missed microbiota when directly sequencing the sponge bulk tissues, but also warrant future in-depth exploration within single sponge cells.
Topics: Animals; Lipase; Microbiota; Phylogeny; Porifera; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
PubMed: 35499324
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02296-21 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Feb 2010Comparative genomics of representative basal metazoans leaves little doubt that the most recent common ancestor to all modern metazoans was morphogenetically complex.... (Review)
Review
Comparative genomics of representative basal metazoans leaves little doubt that the most recent common ancestor to all modern metazoans was morphogenetically complex. Here, we support this interpretation by demonstrating that the demosponge Amphimedon queenslandica has a biphasic pelagobenthic life cycle resembling that present in a wide range of bilaterians and anthozoan cnidarians. The A. queenslandica life cycle includes a compulsory planktonic larval phase that can end only once the larva develops competence to respond to benthic signals that induce settlement and metamorphosis. The temporal onset of competence varies between individuals as revealed by idiosyncratic responses to inductive cues. Thus, the biphasic life cycle with a dispersing larval phase of variable length appears to be a metazoan synapomorphy and may be viewed as an ancestral polyphenic trait. Larvae of a particular age that are subjected to an inductive cue either maintain the larval form or metamorphose into the post-larval/juvenile form. Variance in the development of competence dictates that only a subset of a larval cohort will settle and undergo metamorphosis at a given time, which in turn leads to variation in dispersal distance and in location of settlement. Population divergence and allopatric speciation are likely outcomes of this conserved developmental polyphenic trait.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Gastrulation; Larva; Life Cycle Stages; Metamorphosis, Biological; Models, Biological; Phenotype; Porifera
PubMed: 20083639
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0248