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Vafidis D, Varkoulis A, Zaoutsos S, Voulgaris K. Tooth Mg/Ca ratios and Aristotle's lantern morphometrics reflect trophic types in echinoids. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11251. [PMID: 38859888 PMCID: PMC11163157 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Several studies have inferred the ecological significance regarding the morphometrics of Aristotle's lantern and the mechanical properties of magnesium in echinoid teeth. This study attempts to combine these aspects, connecting them to the trophic habits of three native and an invasive echinoid in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Spatiotemporal data from the central and southern Aegean Sea were obtained, regarding the relative size of lanterns and demi-pyramids of Arbacia lixula, Paracentrotus lividus, Sphaerechinus granularis, and the invasive echinoid Diadema setosum and the Mg/Ca ratios of four zones on the tooth cross-section. Since environmental factors affect the examined factors, data for temperature, salinity, and concentration of chlorophyll-a were included in a principal component analysis. A. lixula and P. lividus presented intraspecific differences in the relative size of the lantern and demi-pyramid, while S. granularis and D. setosum exhibited variation in the elongation index. Differences in the Mg/Ca ratios were observed for all species although in different zones. Temperature appears to be related to all Mg/Ca zones except for the stone part, while the elongation index showed an inverse trend to all other morphometric parameters. The results of the PCA for the four species on the spatiotemporal level exhibited a distinction of individuals with season but not species, except for A. lixula, an omnivore with a carnivorous tendency, which was clearly separated from the herbivorous species. Using hierarchical clustering on the principal components it was evident that the three native species occupy different clusters, but when D. setosum was added, it shared the same cluster with S. granularis. This might infer similar feeding preferences, specifically for coralline algae, which might lead to a swift in the ecological equilibrium in regions, where D. setosum is found, either by affecting habitat type, or by restricting the distribution of S. granularis as was previously observed with Diadema africanum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitris Vafidis
- Department of Ichthyology and Aquatic EnvironmentNea Ionia, University of ThessalyVolosGreece
| | - Anastasios Varkoulis
- Department of Ichthyology and Aquatic EnvironmentNea Ionia, University of ThessalyVolosGreece
| | | | - Konstantinos Voulgaris
- Department of Ichthyology and Aquatic EnvironmentNea Ionia, University of ThessalyVolosGreece
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Chromosomal-level genome assembly of the long-spined sea urchin Diadema setosum (Leske, 1778). GIGABYTE 2024; 2024:gigabyte121. [PMID: 38707632 PMCID: PMC11066563 DOI: 10.46471/gigabyte.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The long-spined sea urchin Diadema setosum is an algal and coral feeder widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific that can cause severe bioerosion on the reef community. However, the lack of genomic information has hindered the study of its ecology and evolution. Here, we report the chromosomal-level genome (885.8 Mb) of the long-spined sea urchin D. setosum using a combination of PacBio long-read sequencing and Omni-C scaffolding technology. The assembled genome contains a scaffold N50 length of 38.3 Mb, 98.1% of complete BUSCO (Geno, metazoa_odb10) genes (the single copy score is 97.8% and the duplication score is 0.3%), and 98.6% of the sequences are anchored to 22 pseudo-molecules/chromosomes. A total of 27,478 gene models have were annotated, reaching a total of 28,414 transcripts, including 5,384 tRNA and 23,030 protein-coding genes. The high-quality genome of D. setosum presented here is a valuable resource for the ecological and evolutionary studies of this coral reef-associated sea urchin.
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Perricone V, Grun TB, Rendina F, Marmo F, Candia Carnevali MD, Kowalewski M, Facchini A, De Stefano M, Santella L, Langella C, Micheletti A. Hexagonal Voronoi pattern detected in the microstructural design of the echinoid skeleton. J R Soc Interface 2022; 19:20220226. [PMID: 35946165 PMCID: PMC9363984 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Repeated polygonal patterns are pervasive in natural forms and structures. These patterns provide inherent structural stability while optimizing strength-per-weight and minimizing construction costs. In echinoids (sea urchins), a visible regularity can be found in the endoskeleton, consisting of a lightweight and resistant micro-trabecular meshwork (stereom). This foam-like structure follows an intrinsic geometrical pattern that has never been investigated. This study aims to analyse and describe it by focusing on the boss of tubercles-spine attachment sites subject to strong mechanical stresses-in the common sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. The boss microstructure was identified as a Voronoi construction characterized by 82% concordance to the computed Voronoi models, a prevalence of hexagonal polygons, and a regularly organized seed distribution. This pattern is interpreted as an evolutionary solution for the construction of the echinoid skeleton using a lightweight microstructural design that optimizes the trabecular arrangement, maximizes the structural strength and minimizes the metabolic costs of secreting calcitic stereom. Hence, this identification is particularly valuable to improve the understanding of the mechanical function of the stereom as well as to effectively model and reconstruct similar structures in view of future applications in biomimetic technologies and designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Perricone
- Department of Engineering, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Roma 29, Aversa 81031, Italy
| | - Tobias B. Grun
- Division of Invertebrate Paleontology, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA
| | - Francesco Rendina
- Department of Science and Technology, University of Naples ‘Parthenope’, URL CoNISMa, Centro Direzionale Is.4, Naples 80143, Italy
| | - Francesco Marmo
- Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, Via Claudio 21, Naples 80125, Italy
| | | | - Michal Kowalewski
- Division of Invertebrate Paleontology, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA
| | - Angelo Facchini
- IMT school for advanced studies Lucca, Piazza S. Ponziano 6, 55100, Lucca, Italy
| | - Mario De Stefano
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Science and Technology University of Campania ‘L. Vanvitelli’, Via Vivaldi 43, Caserta 80127, Italy
| | - Luigia Santella
- Department of Research Infrastructures for Marine Biological Resources, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale 1, Naples 80121, Italy
| | - Carla Langella
- Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via San Lorenzo, 81031, Aversa, Italy
| | - Alessandra Micheletti
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milano, Via Celoria 26, Milan 20133, Italy
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