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Poding LH, Jägers P, Herlitze S, Huhn M. Diversity and function of fluorescent molecules in marine animals. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:1391-1410. [PMID: 38468189 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Fluorescence in marine animals has mainly been studied in Cnidaria but is found in many different phyla such as Annelida, Crustacea, Mollusca, and Chordata. While many fluorescent proteins and molecules have been identified, very little information is available about the biological functions of fluorescence. In this review, we focus on describing the occurrence of fluorescence in marine animals and the behavioural and physiological functions of fluorescent molecules based on experimental approaches. These biological functions of fluorescence range from prey and symbiont attraction, photoprotection, photoenhancement, stress mitigation, mimicry, and aposematism to inter- and intraspecific communication. We provide a comprehensive list of marine taxa that utilise fluorescence, including demonstrated effects on behavioural or physiological responses. We describe the numerous known functions of fluorescence in anthozoans and their underlying molecular mechanisms. We also highlight that other marine taxa should be studied regarding the functions of fluorescence. We suggest that an increase in research effort in this field could contribute to understanding the capacity of marine animals to respond to negative effects of climate change, such as rising sea temperatures and increasing intensities of solar irradiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars H Poding
- Department of General Zoology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, 44801, Germany
| | - Peter Jägers
- Department of General Zoology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, 44801, Germany
| | - Stefan Herlitze
- Department of General Zoology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, 44801, Germany
| | - Mareike Huhn
- Department of General Zoology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, 44801, Germany
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Chuang PS, Wang TH, Lu CY, Tandon K, Shikina S, Tang SL. Microbiome heterogeneity in tissues of the coral, Fimbriaphyllia (Euphyllia) ancora. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS 2024; 16:e13310. [PMID: 38982629 PMCID: PMC11233273 DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.13310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
Coral microbiomes differ in the mucus, soft tissue and skeleton of a coral colony, but whether variations exist in different tissues of a single polyp is unknown. In the stony coral, Fimbriaphyllia ancora, we identified 8,994 amplicon sequencing variants (ASVs) in functionally differentiated polyp tissues, i.e., tentacles, body wall, mouth and pharynx, mesenterial filaments, and gonads (testes and ovaries), with a large proportion of ASVs specific to individual tissues. However, shared ASVs comprised the majority of microbiomes from all tissues in terms of relative abundance. No tissue-specific ASVs were found, except in testes, for which there were only two samples. At the generic level, Endozoicomonas was significantly less abundant in the body wall, where calicoblastic cells reside. On the other hand, several bacterial taxa presented significantly higher abundances in the mouth. Interestingly, although without statistical confirmation, gonadal tissues showed lower ASV richness and relatively high abundances of Endozoicomonas (in ovaries) and Pseudomonas (in testes). These findings provide evidence for microbiome heterogeneity between tissues within coral polyps, suggesting a promising field for future studies of functional interactions between corals and their bacterial symbionts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Po-Shun Chuang
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tzu-Haw Wang
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Ying Lu
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Molecular and Biological Agricultural Sciences Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, National Chung Hsing University and Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biotechnology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Kshitij Tandon
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Shinya Shikina
- Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
- Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
| | - Sen-Lin Tang
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
- Taiwan Ocean Genome Center, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
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Chiu YL, Shikina S, Yoshioka Y, Shinzato C, Chang CF. De novo transcriptome assembly from the gonads of a scleractinian coral, Euphyllia ancora: molecular mechanisms underlying scleractinian gametogenesis. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:732. [PMID: 33087060 PMCID: PMC7579821 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-07113-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sexual reproduction of scleractinians has captured the attention of researchers and the general public for decades. Although extensive ecological data has been acquired, underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, to better understand mechanisms underlying gametogenesis, we isolated ovaries and testes at different developmental phases from a gonochoric coral, Euphyllia ancora, and adopted a transcriptomic approach to reveal sex- and phase-specific gene expression profiles. In particular, we explored genes associated with oocyte development and maturation, spermiogenesis, sperm motility / capacitation, and fertilization. RESULTS 1.6 billion raw reads were obtained from 24 gonadal samples. De novo assembly of trimmed reads, and elimination of contigs derived from symbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodiniaceae) and other organisms yielded a reference E. ancora gonadal transcriptome of 35,802 contigs. Analysis of 4 developmental phases identified 2023 genes that were differentially expressed during oogenesis and 678 during spermatogenesis. In premature/mature ovaries, 631 genes were specifically upregulated, with 538 in mature testes. Upregulated genes included those involved in gametogenesis, gamete maturation, sperm motility / capacitation, and fertilization in other metazoans, including humans. Meanwhile, a large number of genes without homology to sequences in the SWISS-PROT database were also observed among upregulated genes in premature / mature ovaries and mature testes. CONCLUSIONS Our findings show that scleractinian gametogenesis shares many molecular characteristics with that of other metazoans, but it also possesses unique characteristics developed during cnidarian and/or scleractinian evolution. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to create a gonadal transcriptome assembly from any scleractinian. This study and associated datasets provide a foundation for future studies regarding gametogenesis and differences between male and female colonies from molecular and cellular perspectives. Furthermore, our transcriptome assembly will be a useful reference for future development of sex-specific and/or stage-specific germ cell markers that can be used in coral aquaculture and ecological studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Ling Chiu
- Doctoral Program in Marine Biotechnology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 20224, Taiwan.,Doctoral Program in Marine Biotechnology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Shinya Shikina
- Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan. .,Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, 2 Pei-Ning Rd, Keelung, 20224, Taiwan.
| | - Yuki Yoshioka
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, 277-8564, Japan
| | - Chuya Shinzato
- Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, 277-8564, Japan.
| | - Ching-Fong Chang
- Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, 2 Pei-Ning Rd, Keelung, 20224, Taiwan. .,Department of Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan.
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Shikina S, Chen CC, Chiu YL, Tsai PH, Chang CF. Apoptosis in gonadal somatic cells of scleractinian corals: implications of structural adjustments for gamete production and release. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200578. [PMID: 32605522 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Apoptosis is an evolutionarily conserved process of programmed cell death. Here, we show structural changes in the gonads caused by apoptosis during gametogenesis in the scleractinian coral, Euphyllia ancora. Anatomical and histological analyses revealed that from the non-spawning to the spawning season, testes and ovaries increased in size due to active proliferation, differentiation and development of germ cells. Additionally, the thickness and cell density of the gonadal somatic layer decreased significantly as the spawning season approached. Further analyses demonstrated that the changes in the gonadal somatic layer were caused by apoptosis in a subpopulation of gonadal somatic cells. The occurrence of apoptosis in the gonadal somatic layer was also confirmed in other scleractinian corals. Our findings suggest that decreases in thickness and cell density of the gonadal somatic layer are structural adjustments facilitating oocyte and spermary (male germ cell cluster) enlargement and subsequent gamete release from the gonads. In animal reproduction, apoptosis in germ cells is an important process that controls the number and quality of gametes. However, apoptosis in gonadal somatic cells has rarely been reported among metazoans. Thus, our data provide evidence for a unique use of apoptosis in animal reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shinya Shikina
- Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan.,Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
| | - Che-Chun Chen
- Doctoral Degree Program in Marine Biotechnology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan.,Department of AquSaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ling Chiu
- Doctoral Degree Program in Marine Biotechnology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan.,Doctoral Degree Program in Marine Biotechnology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pin-Hsuan Tsai
- Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Fong Chang
- Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan.,Department of AquSaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
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