Excess labile carbon promotes diazotroph abundance in heat-stressed octocorals.

Nitrogen limitation is the foundation of stable coral-algal symbioses. Diazotrophs, prokaryotes capable of fixing N into ammonia, support the productivity of corals in oligotrophic waters, but could contribute to the destabilization of holobiont functioning when overstimulated. Recent studies on reef-building corals have shown that labile dissolved organic carbon (DOC) enrichment or heat stress increases diazotroph abundance and activity, thereby increasing nitrogen availability and destabilizing the coral-algal symbiosis.

Collecting and Culturing Kamptozoans for Regenerative Studies.

Kamptozoa, also known as Entoprocta, are small aquatic filter-feeders that belong to the Lophotrochozoan superphylum, which also contains other acoelomate phyla including Annelida, Nemertea, and Mollusca. The study of Kamptozoa is thus of great interest to understand the early Lophotrochozoan evolution. Moreover, many kamptozoans have been shown to possess great regeneration capacities, including whole-body regeneration.

Bleaching effect in Sarcophyton spp. soft corals-is there a correlation to their diterpene content?

Rising seawater temperature is one of the greatest threats to the persistence of coral reefs. While great efforts have been made to understand the metabolic costs of thermal acclimation, the exact roles of many secondary metabolites involved in the immediate response exhibited by soft corals remain largely unknown. Herein, an untargeted metabolomics approach using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was employed to investigate thermal stress-induced modifications to the de novo synthesis of secondary metabolites in two soft coral species, Sarcophyton ehrenbergi and S.

Temperature-induced aerobic scope and Hsp70 expression in the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra.

The Aerobic Scope (AS), which reflects the functional capacity for biological fitness, is a highly relevant proxy to determine thermal tolerance in various taxa. Despite the importance of this method, its implementation is often hindered, due to lacking techniques to accurately measure standard- (SMR) and maximal- (MMR) metabolic rates, especially in sluggish marine invertebrates with low oxygen consumption rates, such as sea cucumbers. In this study the AS concept was modified to define a Temperature-induced Aerobic Scope (TAS), based on metabolic rate changes due to temperature adjustments rather than traditionally used physical activity patterns.

Salicylic acid and its derivatives elicit the production of diterpenes and sterols in corals and their algal symbionts: a metabolomics approach to elicitor SAR.

Introduction: The production of marine drugs in its normal habitats is often low and depends greatly on ecological conditions. Chemical synthesis of marine drugs is not economically feasible owing to their complex structures. Biotechnology application via elicitation represents a promising tool to enhance metabolites yield that has yet to be explored in soft corals.

Genetic population structure of the convict surgeonfish Acanthurus triostegus: a phylogeographic reassessment across its range.

This study investigates the genetic population structure and connectivity of Acanthurus triostegus in five Indo-Pacific biogeographic regions (western and eastern Indian Ocean, western, central and eastern Pacific Ocean), using a mitochondrial DNA marker spanning the ATPase8 and ATPase6 gene regions. In order to assess the phylogeography and genetic population structure of A. triostegus across its range, 35 individuals were sampled from five localities in the western Indian Ocean and complemented with 227 sequences from two previous studies.

Comparative Metabolomics Approach Detects Stress-Specific Responses during Coral Bleaching in Soft Corals.

Chronic exposure to ocean acidification and elevated sea-surface temperatures pose significant stress to marine ecosystems. This in turn necessitates costly acclimation responses in corals in both the symbiont and host, with a reorganization of cell metabolism and structure. A large-scale untargeted metabolomics approach comprising gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was applied to profile the metabolite composition of the soft coral Sarcophyton ehrenbergi and its dinoflagellate symbiont.

Effect of Oxylipins, Terpenoid Precursors and Wounding on Soft Corals' Secondary Metabolism as Analyzed via UPLC/MS and Chemometrics.

The effect of three oxylipin analogues, a terpenoid intermediate and wounding on the secondary metabolism of the soft corals and was assessed. Examined oxylipins included prostaglandin (PG-E1), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and arachidonic acid (AA) in addition to the diterpene precursor geranylgeranylpyrophosphate (GGP). Post-elicitation, metabolites were extracted from coral heads and analyzed via UPLC-MS followed by multivariate data analyses.

Cytotoxic Effects of Sarcophyton sp. Soft Corals-Is There a Correlation to Their NMR Fingerprints?

sp. soft corals are rich in cembranoid diterpenes, which represent the main chemical defense of corals against their natural predators in addition to their myriad biological effects in humans. Quantitative NMR (qNMR) was applied for assessing the diterpene variation in 16 soft coral specimens in the context of their genotype, origin, and growing habitat.

How to improve parameter estimates in GLM-based fMRI data analysis: cross-validated Bayesian model averaging.

In functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), model quality of general linear models (GLMs) for first-level analysis is rarely assessed. In recent work (Soch et al., 2016: "How to avoid mismodelling in GLM-based fMRI data analysis: cross-validated Bayesian model selection", NeuroImage, vol.

Metabolomics reveals biotic and abiotic elicitor effects on the soft coral Sarcophyton ehrenbergi terpenoid content.

The effects of six biotic and abiotic elicitors, i.e. MeJA (methyl jasmonate), SA (salicylic acid), ZnCl, glutathione and β-glucan BG (fungal elicitor), and wounding, on the secondary metabolite accumulation in the soft coral Sarcophyton ehrenbergi were assessed.

DISMS2: A flexible algorithm for direct proteome- wide distance calculation of LC-MS/MS runs.

Background: The classification of samples on a molecular level has manifold applications, from patient classification regarding cancer treatment to phylogenetics for identifying evolutionary relationships between species. Modern methods employ the alignment of DNA or amino acid sequences, mostly not genome-wide but only on selected parts of the genome. Recently proteomics-based approaches have become popular.

Soft Corals Biodiversity in the Egyptian Red Sea: A Comparative MS and NMR Metabolomics Approach of Wild and Aquarium Grown Species.

Marine life has developed unique metabolic and physiologic capabilities and advanced symbiotic relationships to survive in the varied and complex marine ecosystems. Herein, metabolite composition of the soft coral genus Sarcophyton was profiled with respect to its species and different habitats along the coastal Egyptian Red Sea via (1)H NMR and ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) large-scale metabolomics analyses. The current study extends the application of comparative secondary metabolite profiling from plants to corals revealing for metabolite compositional differences among its species via a comparative MS and NMR approach.

Tactile Toe Agnosia and Percept of a "Missing Toe" in Healthy Humans.

A disturbance of body representation is central to many neurological and psychiatric conditions, but the mechanisms by which body representations are constructed by the brain are not fully understood. We demonstrate a directional disturbance in tactile identification of the toes in healthy humans. Nineteen young adult participants underwent tactile stimulation of the digits with the eyes closed and verbally reported the identity of the stimulated digit.

Time-Dependent Inhibition of CYP2C19 by Isoquinoline Alkaloids: In Vitro and In Silico Analysis.

The cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) enzyme plays an important role in the metabolism of many commonly used drugs. Relatively little is known about CYP2C19 inhibitors, including compounds of natural origin, which could inhibit CYP2C19, potentially causing clinically relevant metabolism-based drug interactions. We evaluated a series (N = 49) of structurally related plant isoquinoline alkaloids for their abilities to interact with CYP2C19 enzyme using in vitro and in silico methods.

New phylogenomic data support the monophyly of Lophophorata and an Ectoproct-Phoronid clade and indicate that Polyzoa and Kryptrochozoa are caused by systematic bias.

Background: Within the complex metazoan phylogeny, the relationships of the three lophophorate lineages, ectoprocts, brachiopods and phoronids, are particularly elusive. To shed further light on this issue, we present phylogenomic analyses of 196 genes from 58 bilaterian taxa, paying particular attention to the influence of compositional heterogeneity.

Results: The phylogenetic analyses strongly support the monophyly of Lophophorata and a sister-group relationship between Ectoprocta and Phoronida.

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids from the papaveraceae: the heritage of Johannes Gadamer (1867-1928).

The substance archive of the laboratory of Johannes Gadamer (1867-1928), Marburg, Germany, was analyzed thoroughly with modern instrumental methods, with the samples purified when necessary, and the authenticity of the samples confirmed by historical and analytical evidence. Eight formerly unknown alkaloids of the benzylisoquinoline type were identified in the archive originally isolated from Corydalis cava or Fumaria vaillantii. This finding underscores the importance of the work of Johannes Gadamer and his group in stimulating overall progress in natural product chemistry.

CYP2C19 progress curve analysis and mechanism-based inactivation by three methylenedioxyphenyl compounds.

Several in vitro criteria were used to assess whether three methylenedioxyphenyl (MDP) compounds, the isoquinoline alkaloids bulbocapnine, canadine, and protopine, are mechanism-based inactivators of CYP2C19. The recently reported fluorometric CYP2C19 progress curve analysis approach was applied first to determine whether these alkaloids demonstrate time-dependent inhibition. In this experiment, bulbocapnine, canadine, and protopine displayed time dependence and saturation in their inactivation kinetics with K(I) and k(inact) values of 72.

Phylogenomics reveals deep molluscan relationships.

Evolutionary relationships among the eight major lineages of Mollusca have remained unresolved despite their diversity and importance. Previous investigations of molluscan phylogeny, based primarily on nuclear ribosomal gene sequences or morphological data, have been unsuccessful at elucidating these relationships. Recently, phylogenomic studies using dozens to hundreds of genes have greatly improved our understanding of deep animal relationships.

Phylogenomic analyses unravel annelid evolution.

Annelida, the ringed worms, is a highly diverse animal phylum that includes more than 15,000 described species and constitutes the dominant benthic macrofauna from the intertidal zone down to the deep sea. A robust annelid phylogeny would shape our understanding of animal body-plan evolution and shed light on the bilaterian ground pattern. Traditionally, Annelida has been split into two major groups: Clitellata (earthworms and leeches) and polychaetes (bristle worms), but recent evidence suggests that other taxa that were once considered to be separate phyla (Sipuncula, Echiura and Siboglinidae (also known as Pogonophora)) should be included in Annelida.

Assessing divergence time of Spirulida and Sepiida (Cephalopoda) based on hemocyanin sequences.

The phylogenetic position of the mesopelagic decabrachian cephalopod Spirula is still a matter of debate. Since hemocyanin has successfully been used to calibrate a molecular clock for many molluscan species, a molecular clock was calculated based on this gene with special attention to the cephalopod genera Spirula and Sepia. The obtained partial sequence comprising ca.

Inhibition of human drug metabolizing cytochrome P450 enzymes by plant isoquinoline alkaloids.

The human cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes play a major role in the metabolism of endobiotics and numerous xenobiotics including drugs. Therefore it is the standard procedure to test new drug candidates for interactions with CYP enzymes during the preclinical development phase. The purpose of this study was to determine in vitro CYP inhibition potencies of a set of isoquinoline alkaloids to gain insight into interactions of novel chemical structures with CYP enzymes.

Fast evolving 18S rRNA sequences from Solenogastres (Mollusca) resist standard PCR amplification and give new insights into mollusk substitution rate heterogeneity.

Background: The 18S rRNA gene is one of the most important molecular markers, used in diverse applications such as molecular phylogenetic analyses and biodiversity screening. The Mollusca is the second largest phylum within the animal kingdom and mollusks show an outstanding high diversity in body plans and ecological adaptations. Although an enormous amount of 18S data is available for higher mollusks, data on some early branching lineages are still limited.

Respiratory proteins in Sipunculus nudus--implications for phylogeny and evolution of the hemerythrin family.

Three major classes of respiratory proteins are known, hemoglobin, molluscan and arthropod hemocyanin, and hemerythrin (Hr). Similar to hemoglobin, respiratory Hr is packed into erythrocytes floating in the coelomic fluid and is only known from sipunculids, brachiopods, and priapulids. Owing to this scattered distribution, the presence of Hr is generally assumed to be the plesiomorphic condition without phylogenetic importance.

Mitochondrial genome sequence and gene order of Sipunculus nudus give additional support for an inclusion of Sipuncula into Annelida.

Background: Mitochondrial genomes are a valuable source of data for analysing phylogenetic relationships. Besides sequence information, mitochondrial gene order may add phylogenetically useful information, too. Sipuncula are unsegmented marine worms, traditionally placed in their own phylum.