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Morgan MB, Williams J, Breeze B, English N, Higdon N, Onthank K, Qualley DF. Synergistic and antagonistic interactions of oxybenzone and ocean acidification: new insight into vulnerable cellular processes in non-calcifying anthozoans. Front Physiol 2024; 14:1332446. [PMID: 38274044 PMCID: PMC10808722 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1332446] [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: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Cnidarians face significant threats from ocean acidification (OA) and anthropogenic pollutants such as oxybenzone (BP-3). The convergence of threats from multiple stressors is an important area to investigate because of potential significant synergistic or antagonistic interactions. Real-time quantitative PCR was performed to characterize the expression profiles of twenty-two genes of interest (GOI) in sea anemones (Exaiptasia diaphana) exposed to one of four treatments: 1) 96 h of OA conditions followed by a 4 h exposure to 20 ppb BP-3; 2) Exposure to 4 h 20 ppb BP-3 without 96 h of OA; 3) Exposure to 96 h of OA alone; or 4) laboratory conditions with no exposure to BP-3 and/or OA. These 22 GOIs represent cellular processes associated with proton-dependent transport, sodium-dependent transport, metal cation binding/transport, extracellular matrix, amino acid metabolism/transport, immunity, and/or steroidogenesis. These 22 GOIs provide new insight into vulnerable cellular processes in non-calcifying anthozoans exposed to OA and BP-3. Expression profiles were categorized as synergistic, antagonistic, or additive of BP-3 in the presence of OA. Two GOIs were synergistic. Fifteen GOIs were antagonistic and the remaining five GOIs were additive in response to BP-3 in acidified seawater. A subset of these GOIs appear to be candidate biomarkers for future in situ investigations. In human health, proton-dependent monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) are promising pharmacological targets and recognized as potential biomarkers. By comparison, these same MCTs appear to be targets of xenobiotic chemical pollutants in cnidarian physiology. In the presence of BP-3, a network of collagen synthesis genes are upregulated and antagonistic in their expression profiles. Cytochrome b561 is a critical protein required for collagen synthesis and in silico modeling demonstrates BP-3 binds in the pocket of cytochrome b561. Understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms of "drug-like" compounds such as BP-3 may lead to a more comprehensive interpretation of transcriptional expression profiles. The collective antagonistic responses of GOIs associated with collagen synthesis strongly suggests these GOIs should be considered candidate biomarkers of effect. GOIs with synergistic and additive responses represent candidate biomarkers of exposure. Results show the effects of OA and BP-3 are interactive with respect to their impact on cnidarians. This investigation offers mechanistic data that supports the expression profiles and underpins higher order physiological responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael B. Morgan
- Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
| | - Jacob Williams
- Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
| | - Barrett Breeze
- Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
| | - Nicholas English
- Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
| | - Nathaniel Higdon
- Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
| | - Kirt Onthank
- Department of Biology, Walla Walla University, College Place, WA, United States
| | - Dominic F. Qualley
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
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Morgan MB, Ross J, Ellwanger J, Phrommala RM, Youngblood H, Qualley D, Williams J. Sea Anemones Responding to Sex Hormones, Oxybenzone, and Benzyl Butyl Phthalate: Transcriptional Profiling and in Silico Modelling Provide Clues to Decipher Endocrine Disruption in Cnidarians. Front Genet 2022; 12:793306. [PMID: 35087572 PMCID: PMC8787064 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.793306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Endocrine disruption is suspected in cnidarians, but questions remain how occurs. Steroid sex hormones are detected in corals and sea anemones even though these animals do not have estrogen receptors and their repertoire of steroidogenic enzymes appears to be incomplete. Pathways associated with sex hormone biosynthesis and sterol signaling are an understudied area in cnidarian biology. The objective of this study was to identify a suite of genes that can be linked to exposure of endocrine disruptors. Exaiptasia diaphana were exposed to nominal 20ppb concentrations of estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), cholesterol, oxybenzone (BP-3), or benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) for 4 h. Eleven genes of interest (GOIs) were chosen from a previously generated EST library. The GOIs are 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases type 14 (17β HSD14) and type 12 (17β HSD12), Niemann-Pick C type 2 (NPC2), Equistatin (EI), Complement component C3 (C3), Cathepsin L (CTSL), Patched domain-containing protein 3 (PTCH3), Smoothened (SMO), Desert Hedgehog (DHH), Zinc finger protein GLI2 (GLI2), and Vitellogenin (VTG). These GOIs were selected because of functional associations with steroid hormone biosynthesis; cholesterol binding/transport; immunity; phagocytosis; or Hedgehog signaling. Quantitative Real-Time PCR quantified expression of GOIs. In silico modelling utilized protein structures from Protein Data Bank as well as creating protein structures with SWISS-MODEL. Results show transcription of steroidogenic enzymes, and cholesterol binding/transport proteins have similar transcription profiles for E2, T, and cholesterol treatments, but different profiles when BP-3 or BBP is present. C3 expression can differentiate between exposures to BP-3 versus BBP as well as exposure to cholesterol versus sex hormones. In silico modelling revealed all ligands (E2, T, cholesterol, BBP, and BP-3) have favorable binding affinities with 17β HSD14, 17β HSD12, NPC2, SMO, and PTCH proteins. VTG expression was down-regulated in the sterol treatments but up-regulated in BP-3 and BBP treatments. In summary, these eleven GOIs collectively generate unique transcriptional profiles capable of discriminating between the five chemical exposures used in this investigation. This suite of GOIs are candidate biomarkers for detecting transcriptional changes in steroidogenesis, gametogenesis, sterol transport, and Hedgehog signaling. Detection of disruptions in these pathways offers new insight into endocrine disruption in cnidarians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael B Morgan
- Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States.,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
| | - James Ross
- Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States.,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Joseph Ellwanger
- Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
| | | | - Hannah Youngblood
- Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States.,Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States.,Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, United States
| | - Dominic Qualley
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
| | - Jacob Williams
- Department of Biology, Berry College, Mount Berry, GA, United States
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Ravindran C, Raveendran HP, Irudayarajan L. Ciliated protozoan occurrence and association in the pathogenesis of coral disease. Microb Pathog 2021; 162:105211. [PMID: 34582942 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2021.105211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Various microbial infections have significantly contributed to disease progression leading to the mortality of corals. However, the holobiont and the external surfaces of coral, including the secreted mucus, provide a varied microenvironment that attracts ciliates based on their feeding preferences. Besides, some ciliates (e.g., Philasterine scuticociliate) may enter through the injuries or lesions on corals or through their indirect interactions with other types of microbes that influence coral health. Thus, ciliates occurrence and association are described with 12 different diseases worldwide. White syndrome disease lesions have diverse ciliate associations, and higher ciliate diversity was observed with diseased genera Acropora. Also, it was described, about sixteen ciliate species ingest coral Symbiodiniaceae and histophagous ciliates for coral tissue loss as secondary invaders. However, the ciliates nature of association with the coral disease remains unclear for primary or opportunistic secondary pathogenicity. Herein, we explore the urgent need to understand the complex interactions of ciliates in coral health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chinnarajan Ravindran
- Biological Oceanography Division, CSIR - National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paulo, 403004, Goa, India; AcSIR- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR- Human Resource Development Centre, (CSIR-HRDC) Campus, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, 201 002, India.
| | - Haritha P Raveendran
- Biological Oceanography Division, CSIR - National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paulo, 403004, Goa, India
| | - Lawrance Irudayarajan
- Biological Oceanography Division, CSIR - National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paulo, 403004, Goa, India; AcSIR- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR- Human Resource Development Centre, (CSIR-HRDC) Campus, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, 201 002, India
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Tracy AM, Weil E, Burge CA. Ecological Factors Mediate Immunity and Parasitic Co-Infection in Sea Fan Octocorals. Front Immunol 2021; 11:608066. [PMID: 33505396 PMCID: PMC7829190 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.608066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The interplay among environment, demography, and host-parasite interactions is a challenging frontier. In the ocean, fundamental changes are occurring due to anthropogenic pressures, including increased disease outbreaks on coral reefs. These outbreaks include multiple parasites, calling into question how host immunity functions in this complex milieu. Our work investigates the interplay of factors influencing co-infection in the Caribbean sea fan octocoral, Gorgonia ventalina, using metrics of the innate immune response: cellular immunity and expression of candidate immune genes. We used existing copepod infections and live pathogen inoculation with the Aspergillus sydowii fungus, detecting increased expression of the immune recognition gene Tachylectin 5A (T5A) in response to both parasites. Cellular immunity increased by 8.16% in copepod infections compared to controls and single Aspergillus infections. We also detected activation of cellular immunity in reef populations, with a 13.6% increase during copepod infections. Cellular immunity was similar in the field and in the lab, increasing with copepod infections and not the fungus. Amoebocyte density and the expression of T5A and a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) gene were also positively correlated across all treatments and colonies, irrespective of parasitic infection. We then assessed the scaling of immune metrics to population-level disease patterns and found random co-occurrence of copepods and fungus across 15 reefs in Puerto Rico. The results suggest immune activation by parasites may not alter parasite co-occurrence if factors other than immunity prevail in structuring parasite infection. We assessed non-immune factors in the field and found that sea fan colony size predicted infection by the copepod parasite. Moreover, the effect of infection on immunity was small relative to that of site differences and live coral cover, and similar to the effect of reproductive status. While additional immune data would shed light on the extent of this pattern, ecological factors may play a larger role than immunity in controlling parasite patterns in the wild. Parsing the effects of immunity and ecological factors in octocoral co-infection shows how disease depends on more than one host and one parasite and explores the application of co-infection research to a colonial marine organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison M. Tracy
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Ernesto Weil
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, PR, United States
| | - Colleen A. Burge
- Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, United States
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Bailey GF, Bilsky AM, Rowland MB, Poole AZ. Characterization and expression of tyrosinase-like genes in the anemone Exaiptasia pallida as a function of health and symbiotic state. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2019; 101:103459. [PMID: 31377102 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2019.103459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Revised: 07/31/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Coral disease is a major threat to reef ecosystems and therefore, understanding the cellular pathways underlying disease progression and resistance is critical to mitigating future outbreaks. This study focused on tyrosinase-like proteins in cnidarians, which contribute to melanin synthesis, an invertebrate innate immune defense. Specifically, characterization and phylogenetic analysis of cnidarian tyrosinases were performed, and their role in symbiosis and a "mystery disease" in the anemone Exaiptasia pallida was investigated using qPCR. The results reveal a diversity of tyrosinase-like proteins in cnidarians that separate into two major clades on a phylogenetic tree, suggesting functional divergence. Two E. pallida sequences, Ep_Tyr1 and Ep_Tyr2, were further investigated, and qPCR results revealed no gene expression differences as a function of symbiotic state, but decreased expression in late disease stages. Overall this work provides evidence for the participation of tyrosinases in the cnidarian immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace F Bailey
- Berry College, Department of Biology, 2277 Martha Berry Highway NW, Mt. Berry, GA, 30149, USA.
| | - Alexa M Bilsky
- Berry College, Department of Biology, 2277 Martha Berry Highway NW, Mt. Berry, GA, 30149, USA.
| | - Mary B Rowland
- Berry College, Department of Biology, 2277 Martha Berry Highway NW, Mt. Berry, GA, 30149, USA; University of Alabama, Department of Biological Sciences, Science and Engineering Complex, 1325 Hackberry Ln, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35401, USA.
| | - Angela Z Poole
- Berry College, Department of Biology, 2277 Martha Berry Highway NW, Mt. Berry, GA, 30149, USA.
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Weil E, Weil-Allen A, Weil A. Coral and Cnidarian Welfare in a Changing Sea. Anim Welf 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-13947-6_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Fetterolf ML, Leverette CL, Perez C, Smith GW. Identification of a consistent polyene component of purple pigment in diseased sclerites of Caribbean corals across region, species, and insult agent. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2017; 185:276-278. [PMID: 28591685 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2017.05.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2016] [Revised: 05/15/2017] [Accepted: 05/28/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Gorgonians respond to insult (damage and disease) by producing sclerites containing a purple pigment as opposed to the normal white sclerites. Raman microscopy is used to study the purple areas of three species of diseased coral, Gorgonia ventalina, Pseudoplexaura porosa, and Eunicea laciniata obtained from Puerto Rico. These spectra were compared to Gorgonia ventalina samples previously reported that were obtained from San Salvador, Bahamas. Spectra from two samples of G. ventalina that had been infected by different agents, Aspergillus sydowii and a slime mold, were also obtained. The results indicate that the purple compounds (polyenes) generated by the coral in response to infection are similar regardless of region from which the coral were harvested, of species of coral, and of the infective agent. A discussion of the Raman spectra of G. ventalina and the other coral species is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monty L Fetterolf
- Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, SC 29801, United States.
| | - Chad L Leverette
- Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, SC 29801, United States
| | - Christopher Perez
- Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, SC 29801, United States; Department of Biology and Geology, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, SC 29801, United States
| | - Garriet W Smith
- Department of Biology and Geology, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, SC 29801, United States
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Seveso D, Montano S, Reggente MAL, Maggioni D, Orlandi I, Galli P, Vai M. The cellular stress response of the scleractinian coral Goniopora columna during the progression of the black band disease. Cell Stress Chaperones 2017; 22:225-236. [PMID: 27988888 PMCID: PMC5352596 DOI: 10.1007/s12192-016-0756-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2016] [Revised: 12/06/2016] [Accepted: 12/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Black band disease (BBD) is a widespread coral pathology caused by a microbial consortium dominated by cyanobacteria, which is significantly contributing to the loss of coral cover and diversity worldwide. Since the effects of the BBD pathogens on the physiology and cellular stress response of coral polyps appear almost unknown, the expression of some molecular biomarkers, such as Hsp70, Hsp60, HO-1, and MnSOD, was analyzed in the apparently healthy tissues of Goniopora columna located at different distances from the infection and during two disease development stages. All the biomarkers displayed different levels of expression between healthy and diseased colonies. In the healthy corals, low basal levels were found stable over time in different parts of the same colony. On the contrary, in the diseased colonies, a strong up-regulation of all the biomarkers was observed in all the tissues surrounding the infection, which suffered an oxidative stress probably generated by the alternation, at the progression front of the disease, of conditions of oxygen supersaturation and hypoxia/anoxia, and by the production of the cyanotoxin microcystin by the BBD cyanobacteria. Furthermore, in the infected colonies, the expression of all the biomarkers appeared significantly affected by the development stage of the disease. In conclusion, our approach may constitute a useful diagnostic tool, since the cellular stress response of corals is activated before the pathogens colonize the tissues, and expands the current knowledge of the mechanisms controlling the host responses to infection in corals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Seveso
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy.
- MaRHE Center (Marine Research and High Education Centre), Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, Republic of Maldives.
| | - Simone Montano
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy
- MaRHE Center (Marine Research and High Education Centre), Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, Republic of Maldives
| | - Melissa Amanda Ljubica Reggente
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy
- MaRHE Center (Marine Research and High Education Centre), Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, Republic of Maldives
| | - Davide Maggioni
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy
- MaRHE Center (Marine Research and High Education Centre), Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, Republic of Maldives
| | - Ivan Orlandi
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy
| | - Paolo Galli
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy
- MaRHE Center (Marine Research and High Education Centre), Magoodhoo Island, Faafu Atoll, Republic of Maldives
| | - Marina Vai
- Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy
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Montilla LM, Ramos R, García E, Cróquer A. Caribbean yellow band disease compromises the activity of catalase and glutathione S-transferase in the reef-building coral Orbicella faveolata exposed to anthracene. DISEASES OF AQUATIC ORGANISMS 2016; 119:153-161. [PMID: 27137073 DOI: 10.3354/dao02980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Healthy and diseased corals are threatened by different anthropogenic sources, such as pollution, a problem expected to become more severe in the near future. Despite the fact that coastal pollution and coral diseases might represent a serious threat to coral reef health, there is a paucity of controlled experiments showing whether the response of diseased and healthy corals to xenobiotics differs. In this study, we exposed healthy and Caribbean yellow band disease (CYBD)-affected Orbicella faveolata colonies to 3 sublethal concentrations of anthracene to test if enzymatic responses to this hydrocarbon were compromised in CYBD-affected tissues. For this, a 2-factorial fully orthogonal design was used in a controlled laboratory bioassay, using tissue condition (2 levels: apparently healthy and diseased) and pollutant concentration (4 levels: experimental control, 10, 30 and 100 ppb concentration) as fixed factors. A permutation-based ANOVA (PERMANOVA) was used to test the effects of condition and concentration on the specific activity of 3 enzymatic biomarkers: catalase, glutathione S-transferase, and glutathione peroxidase. We found a significant interaction between the concentration of anthracene and the colony condition for catalase (Pseudo-F = 3.84, df = 3, p < 0.05) and glutathione S-transferase (Pseudo-F = 3.29, df = 3, p < 0.05). Moreover, our results indicated that the enzymatic response to anthracene in CYBD-affected tissues was compromised, as the activity of these enzymes decreased 3- to 4-fold compared to healthy tissues. These results suggest that under a potential scenario of increasing hydrocarbon coastal pollution, colonies of O. faveolata affected with CYBD might become more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of chemical pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Miguel Montilla
- Universidad Simón Bolívar, Departamento de Estudios Ambientales, Laboratorio de Ecología Experimental, Apdo. 89000, Caracas, Venezuela
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