Suchergebnisse

Marine sponges are ancient metazoans that are populated by distinct and highly diverse microbial communities. In order to obtain deeper insights into the functional gene repertoire of the Mediterranean sponge Aplysina aerophoba, we combined Illumina short-read and PacBio long-read sequencing followed by un-targeted metagenomic binning. We identified a total of 37 high-quality bins representing 11 bacterial phyla and two candidate phyla. Statistical comparison of symbiont genomes with selected reference genomes revealed a significant enrichment of genes related to bacterial defense (restriction-modification systems, toxin-antitoxin systems) as well as genes involved in host colonization and extracellular matrix utilization in sponge symbionts. A within-symbionts genome comparison revealed a nutritional specialization of at least two symbiont guilds, where one appears to metabolize carnitine and the other sulfated polysaccharides, both of which are abundant molecules in the sponge extracellular matrix. A third guild of symbionts may be viewed as nutritional generalists that perform largely the same metabolic pathways but lack such extraordinary numbers of the relevant genes. This study characterizes the genomic repertoire of sponge symbionts at an unprecedented resolution and it provides greater insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying microbial-sponge symbiosis. ; This project was funded by Grant Number CSP1291 of the DOE Joint Genome Institute, the European Commission within its FP7 Program, under the thematic area KBBE.2012.3.2.-01 with Grant Number 311932 ('SeaBio-Tech'), and by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 679849 ('SponGES'). BMS was supported by a grant of the German Excellence Initiative to the Graduate School of Life Sciences, University of Würzburg. We thank Monika Bright (University of Vienna) and the Marine Biology Station Piran for support during sampling, Tanja Woyke (DOE Walnut Creek, CA, USA) for helpful discussions on ...

ABSTRACT Most animals, including sponges (Porifera), have species‐specific microbiomes. Which genetic or environmental factors play major roles structuring the microbial community at the intraspecific level in sponges is, however, largely unknown. In this study, we tested whether geographic location or genetic structure of conspecific sponges influences their microbial assembly. For that, we used three sponge species with different rates of gene flow, and collected samples along their entire distribution range (two from the Mediterranean and one from the Southern Ocean) yielding a total of 393 samples. These three sponge species have been previously analysed by microsatellites or single nucleotide polymorphisms, and here we investigate their microbiomes by amplicon sequencing of the microbial 16S rRNA gene. The sponge Petrosia ficiformis, with highly isolated populations (low gene flow), showed a stronger influence of the host genetic distance on the microbial composition than the spatial distance. Host‐specificity was therefore detected at the genotypic level, with individuals belonging to the same host genetic cluster harbouring more similar microbiomes than distant ones. On the contrary, the microbiome of Ircinia fasciculata and Dendrilla antarctica ‐ both with weak population structure (high gene flow) ‐ seemed influenced by location rather than by host genetic distance. Our results suggest that in sponge species with high population structure, the host genetic cluster influence the microbial community more than the geographic location. ; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska‐Curie Individual Fellowships Grant Agreement No. 796011 ('DeepSym'), and Grant Agreement No. 679849 ('SponGES'). We thank the team around Andre Franke at the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel, for sequencing support. We also want to thank Shaun Nielsen for support and guidance through data analysis. Finally, we ...

An Open Access paper submitted under the category "Uncovered". ; We acknowledge the financial support from European Union H2020 programme (SponGES – 679849, CHEM2NATURE – 692333 and FORECAST – 668983) and FP7 programme (ERC Advanced Grant COMPLEXITE, ERC- 2012-ADG-20120216-321266).

ABSTRACT. Sponges (phylum porifera) are among the oldest Metazoa and considered critical to understanding animal evolution and development. They are also the most prolific source of marine-derived chemicals with pharmaceutical relevance. Cell lines are important tools for research in many disciplines, and have been established for many organisms, including freshwater and terrestrial invertebrates. Despite many efforts over multiple decades, there are still no cell lines for marine invertebrates. In this study, we report a breakthrough: we demonstrate that an amino acid-optimized nutrient medium stimulates rapid cell division in 9 sponge species. The fastest dividing cells doubled in less than 1 hour. Cultures of 3 species were subcultured from 3 to 5 times, with an average of 5.99 population doublings after subculturing, and a lifespan from 21 to 35 days. Our results form the basis for developing marine invertebrate cell models to better understand early animal evolution, determine the role of secondary metabolites, and predict the impact of climate change to coral reef community ecology. Furthermore, sponge cell lines can be used to scale-up production of sponge-derived chemicals for clinical trials and develop new drugs to combat cancer and other diseases. ; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: This research was supported by the European Union Marie Curie Grant (ITN-2013-BluePharmTrain-607786) (to D.S.), the European Union Horizon 2020 Project SponGES (grant agreement No. 679848) (to D.S., S.P., D.M.), the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation, Aquaculture and Save Our Seas Specialty License Program (to S.P.), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology (award number NA14OAR43202600 (to S.P.). This document reflects only the authors' views; sponsors are not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. We thank Dr. M. Cristina Diaz (HBOI-FAU) and Dr. Patricia Blackwelder (Nova Southeastern University) for ...

The silicon isotopic composition (δ30Si) of deep sea sponges' skeletal element – spicules – reflects the silicic acid (DSi) concentration of their surrounding water and can be used as natural archives of bottom water nutrients. In order to reconstruct the past silica cycle robustly, it is essential to better constrain the mechanisms of biosilicification, which are not yet well understood. Here, we show that the apparent isotopic fractionation (δ30Si) during spicule formation in deep sea sponges from the equatorial Atlantic ranges from −6.74 ‰ to −1.50 ‰ in relatively low DSi concentrations (15 to 35 μM). The wide range in isotopic composition highlights the potential difference in silicification mechanism between the two major classes, Demospongiae and Hexactinellida. We find the anomalies in the isotopic fractionation correlate with skeletal morphology, whereby fused framework structures, characterised by secondary silicification, exhibit extremely light δ30Si signatures compared with previous studies. Our results provide insight into the processes involved during silica deposition and indicate that reliable reconstructions of past DSi can only be obtained using silicon isotope ratios derived from sponges with certain spicule types. ; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We acknowledge the science team and the crew of JC094 and Laura Robinson for cruise organisation. We would also like to thank Paul Curnow for constructive com- ments, Stuart Kearns for his SEM training and assistance, and Maria López-Acosta for her help. Finally, the funding from the Royal Society (grant code RG130386) and from the European Research Council is acknowledged. Joana R. Xavier received support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through the SponGES project (grant agreement no. 679849). SAMPLE AVAILABILITY. Samples and sample images are available at the University of Bristol; for further detail contact Katharine R. Hendry, email address: k.hendry@bristol.ac.uk

Polymastiidae Gray, 1867 is a worldwide distributed sponge family, which has a great significance for understanding of the demosponge deep phylogeny since the former order Hadromerida Topsent, 1894 has been recently split based on the molecular evidence and a new separate order has been established for the polymastiids. However, molecular data obtained from Polymastiidae so far are scarce, while the phylogenetic reconstruction based on morphology has faced a deficit of characters along with the vagueness of their states. The present study is a phylogenetic reconstruction of Polymastiidae based on novel data on two molecular markers, cytochrome oxidase subunit I and large subunit ribosomal DNA, obtained from a broad set of species. Monophyly of the family and nonmonophyly of four polymastiid genera are revealed, suggesting a high level of homoplasy of morphological characters, which are therefore not an appropriate base for the natural classification of Polymastiidae. Although the presented phylogenies cannot yet provide an alternative classification scheme, several strongly supported clades, which may be used as reference points in future classification, are recovered and three taxonomic actions are proposed: transfer of one species from Radiella to Polymastia Bowerbank, 1862; transfer of three species from Radiella Schmidt, 1870 to Spinularia Gray, 1867; and the consequent abandonment of Radiella. ; This record in Zenodo includes three Supplementary Material files, available to authorized users also on the Journal's article page. This study was supported by the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (grant to HTR, project number 70184219), the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (grant to HTR), the Research Council of Norway (through contract number 179560), and the SponGES project through Horizon 2020, the European Union Framework Program for Research and Innovation (grant agreement No 679849). © The Authors 2016. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com. This article is ...

The blending of synthetic chemistry with biosynthetic processes provides a powerful approach to synthesis. Biosynthetic halogenation and synthetic cross-coupling have great potential to be used together, for small molecule generation, access to natural product analogues and as a tool for chemical biology. However, to enable enhanced generality of this approach, further synthetic tools are needed. Though considerable research has been invested in the diversification of phenylalanine and tyrosine, functionalisation of tryptophans thorough cross-coupling has been largely neglected. Tryptophan is a key residue in many biologically active natural products and peptides; in proteins it is key to fluorescence and dominates protein folding. To this end, we have explored the Heck cross-coupling of halo-indoles and halo-tryptophans in water, showing broad reaction scope. We have demonstrated the ability to use this methodology in the functionalisation of a brominated antibiotic (bromo-pacidamycin), as well as a marine sponge metabolite, barettin. ; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013/ERC grant agreement no 614779 GenoChemetics (to R.J.M.G). P.C. is supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through the SponGES project (grant agreement No. 679849). C.P-U. was supported by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship C-XAq. COPYRIGHT: © 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons At- tribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Blending synthetic biology and synthetic chemistry represents a powerful approach to diversity complex molecules. To further enable this, compatible synthetic tools are needed. We report the first Buchwald Hartwig amination reactions with unprotected halotryptophans under aqueous conditions and demonstrate this methodology is applicable also to the modification of unprotected tripeptides and the natural product barettin. ; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013/ERC grant agreement no. 614779 GenoChemetics (to R. J. M. G.)). P. Cárdenas received support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through the SponGES project (grant agreement no. 679849). This document reflects only the authors' view and the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. We thank the National Mass Spectrometry service at Swansea for MS characterisation of synthetic products. COPYRIGHT: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. The journal Chemistry Communications is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2019. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental procedures; NMR characterisation; LC-MS characterisation. See DOI:10.1039/ c9cc02554e

The fourth of a six-pieces collection of info-sheets about deep-sea sponges and their habitats, released by SponGES partner FAO.

The sixth of a six-pieces collection of info-sheets about deep-sea sponges and their habitats, released by SponGES partner FAO.

Emerald Basin on the Scotian Shelf off Nova Scotia, Canada, is home to a globally unique population of the glass sponge Vazella pourtalesi. Through the analysis of both in situ photographs and trawl catch data from annual multispecies bottom-trawl surveys, we examined community composition, species density, and abundance of epibenthos and fish associated with V. pourtalesi compared to locations without this sponge. Using generalized linear models and analysis of similarities, the importance of V. pourtalesi in enhancing species density and abundance of the associated epibenthic community was assessed against that of the hard substrate on which it settles. Our results indicated that the megafaunal assemblage associated with V. pourtalesi was significantly different in composition and higher in species density and abundance compared to locations without V. pourtalesi. Analysis of similarity of trawl catch data indicated that fish communities associated with the sponge grounds are significantly different from those without V. pourtalesi, although no species were found exclusively on the sponge grounds. Our study provides further evidence of the role played by sponge grounds in shaping community structure and biodiversity of associated deep-sea epibenthic and fish communities. The mechanism for biodiversity enhancement within the sponge grounds formed by V. pourtalesi is likely the combined effect of both the sponge itself and its attachment substrate, which together comprise the habitat of the sponge grounds. We also discuss the role of habitat provision between the mixed-species tetractinellid sponges of the Flemish Cap and the monospecific glass sponge grounds of Emerald Basin. ; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. This work was funded in part through the SponGES—Deep-sea Sponge Grounds Ecosystems of the North Atlantic: an integrated approach towards their preservation and sustainable exploitation, under H2020 - the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (Grant Agreement no. 679849) where Fisheries and Oceans Canada ...

This SponGES policy brief provides a list of ecosystem features of deep-sea sponges covering five different domains: distribution, biodiversity, genetic diversity, nutrient and element fluxes, and response to threats and impacts. It also presents the results of a questionnaire that was administered to sponge experts within the SponGES project, to gain further knowledge and understanding on the overall ecological value of deep-sea sponges and possible consequences of their damage/destruction.

ABSTRACT. Sponges (phylum Porifera) are benthic filter feeding animals that play an important role in nutrient cycling and habitat provision in the deep sea. Sponges collected between 2010 and 2014 during annual multispecies trawl surveys conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and portions of Hudson Strait were taxonomically examined. In total ~2500 specimens were identified, comprising ~100 known sponge taxa. Sponges from the order Poecilosclerida comprised nearly half of the identified species. Sponges from the poescilosclerid families Coelosphaeridae, Crellidae, Dendoricellidae, Myxillidae and Tedaniidae are described in previous reports. This report adds descriptions of eight sponge species from three poescilosclerid families: Microcionidae, Acarnidae and Esperiopsidae (class Demospongiae, subclass Heteroscleromorpha, order Poecilosclerida). Described species include Artemisina lundbecki, Artemisina arcigera, and Clathria (Clathria) barleei from the family Microcionidae, Iophon piceum and Iophon koltuni from the family Acarnidae, and Esperiopsis villosa, Esperiopsis sp. 1, and Semisuberites cf. cribrosa from the family Esperiopsidae. Descriptions include physical description of the sponges, descriptions and dimensions of their spicules, and taxonomic discussion. RÉSUMÉ. Les éponges (phylum Porifera) sont des animaux filtreurs benthiques qui jouent un rôle important dans le cycle des éléments nutritifs et qui augmentent la disponibilité d'habitats benthiques en eaux profondes. Les éponges collectées au cours des relevés plurispécifiques annuels au chalut effectués entre 2010 et 2014 par Pêches et Océans Canada dans la baie de Baffin, le détroit de Davis et certaines portions du détroit d'Hudson ont été examinées sur le plan taxonomique. Au total, environ 2500 spécimens ont été identifiés, appartenant à ~100 taxons d'éponges connus. Presque la moitié des espèces recensées appartiennent à l'ordre Poecilosclerida. Parmi elles, les éponges des familles Coelosphaeridae, Crellidae, ...