Search results for "Domu"
showing 10 items of 167 documents
Strombine dehydrogenase in the demosponge Suberites domuncula: Characterization and kinetic properties of the enzyme crucial for anaerobic metabolism
2008
Previously, the cDNA and the respective gene for a presumed tauropine dehydrogenase (TaDH) from Suberites domuncula (GenBank accession nos. AM712888, AM712889) had been annotated. The conclusion that the sequences encode a TaDH had been inferred from the 68% identity with the TaDH protein from the marine demosponge Halichondria japonica. However, subsequent enzymatic assays shown here indicate that the presumed S. domuncula opine dehydrogenase is in fact a strombine dehydrogenase (StDH). The enzyme StDH is highly specific for glycine and is inhibited by an excess of the substrate pyruvate. Besides kinetic data, we report in this study also on the predicted tertiary and quaternary structure …
Molecular Evolution of Apoptotic Pathways: Cloning of Key Domains from Sponges (Bcl-2 Homology Domains and Death Domains) and Their Phylogenetic Rela…
2000
Cells from metazoan organisms are eliminated in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes by apoptosis. In this report, we describe the cloning and characterization of molecules from the marine sponges Geodia cydonium and Suberites domuncula, whose domains show a high similarity to those that are found in molecules of the vertebrate Bcl-2 superfamily and of the death receptors. The Bcl-2 proteins contain up to four Bcl-2 homology regions (BH). Two Bcl-2-related molecules have been identified from sponges that are provided with two of those regions, BH1 and BH2, and are termed Bcl-2 homology proteins (BHP). The G. cydonium molecule, BHP1_GC, has a putative size of 28,164, w…
Caspase-mediated apoptosis in sponges: cloning and function of the phylogenetic oldest apoptotic proteases from Metazoa
2003
AbstractSponges (phylum Porifera) represent the phylogenetically oldest metazoan phylum. These animals have complex cell adhesion and powerful immune systems which allow the formation of a distinct body plan. Consequently, an apoptotic machinery has to be predicted that allows sponges to eliminate unwanted cells accumulating during development. With the marine sponge Geodia cydonium, it is shown that allografts of these animals undergo apoptosis as demonstrated by apoptotic DNA fragmentation. Extracts from allografts contain an enzymic activity characteristic for caspases; as substrate to determine the cleavage activity, Ac-DEVD-AMC was applied. cDNAs encoding predicted caspase-3-related pr…
Expression of one sponge Iroquois homeobox gene in primmorphs from Suberites domuncula during canal formation
2003
SUMMARY Sponges (Porifera) represent the evolutionary oldest multicellular animals. They are provided with the basic molecules involved in cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions. We report here the isolation and characterization of a complementary DNA from the sponge Suberites domuncula coding for the sponge homeobox gene, SUBDOIRX-a. The deduced polypeptide with a predicted Mr of 44,375 possesses the highly conserved Iroquois-homeodomain. We applied in situ hybridization to localize Iroquois in the sponge. The expression of this gene is highest in cells adjacent to the canals of the sponge in the medulla region. To study the expression of Iroquois during development, the in vitro primmorph…
Chemical Mimicry: Hierarchical 1D TiO2@ZrO2 Core−Shell Structures Reminiscent of Sponge Spicules by the Synergistic Effect of Silicatein-α and Silint…
2011
In nature, mineralization of hard tissues occurs due to the synergistic effect of components present in the organic matrix of these tissues, with templating and catalytic effects. In Suberites domuncula, a well-studied example of the class of demosponges, silica formation is mediated and templated by an axial proteinaceous filament with silicatein-α, one of the main components. But so far, the effect of other organic constituents from the proteinaceous filament on the catalytic effect of silicatein-α has not been studied in detail. Here we describe the synthesis of core-shell TiO(2)@SiO(2) and TiO(2)@ZrO(2) nanofibers via grafting of silicatein-α onto a TiO(2) nanowire backbone followed by …
Cryptochrome in Sponges: A Key Molecule Linking Photoreception with Phototransduction
2013
Sponges (phylum: Porifera) react to external light or mechanical signals with contractile or metabolic reactions and are devoid of any nervous or muscular system. Furthermore, elements of a photoreception/phototransduction system exist in those animals. Recently, a cryptochrome-based photoreceptor system has been discovered in the demosponge. The assumption that in sponges the siliceous skeleton acts as a substitution for the lack of a nervous system and allows light signals to be transmitted through its glass fiber network is supported by the findings that the first spicules are efficient light waveguides and the second sponges have the enzymatic machinery for the generation of light. Now…
Morphological determination of the phototrophic community composition of biological soil crusts in coastal sand dunes in northern Germany
2022
This dataset comprises the microbial community composition of biological soil crusts in north-German sand dunes. For this we obtained enrichment cultures of phototrophic microorganisms, by placing fragments of biocrusts of the same Petri dishes as used for sequencing, in Petri dishes with Bold Basal (1N BBM) agarized medium (Bischoff and Bold 1963). Cultures were grown under standard laboratory conditions: with a 12-hour alteration of light and dark phases and irradiation of 25 μmol photons m-2 s-1 at a temperature 20 ± 5 ºС. Microscopic study of these raw cultures began in the third week of cultivation. Morphological examinations were performed using Olympus BX53 light microscope with Noma…
Differential Expression of the Demosponge (Suberites domuncula) Carotenoid Oxygenases in Response to Light: Protection Mechanism Against the Self-Pro…
2012
The demosponge Suberites domuncula has been described to contain high levels of a proteinaceous toxin, Suberitine, that displays haemolytic activityIn the present study this 7–8 kDa polypeptide has been isolated and was shown to exhibit also cytotoxic effects on cells of the same species. Addition of retinal, a recently identified metabolite of β-carotene that is abundantly present in S. domuncula was found to reduce both the haemolytic and the cell toxic activity of Suberitine at a molar ratio of 1:1. Spectroscopic analyses revealed that the interaction between β-carotene and Suberitine can be ascribed to a reversible energy transfer reaction. The enzyme that synthesises retinal in the spo…
Chemosensitizers of the multixenobiotic resistance in amorphous aggregates (marine snow): etiology of mass killing on the benthos in the Northern Adr…
1998
Periodically appearing amorphous aggregates, 'marine snow', are formed in the sea and if settled as mars on the sea bottom cause death of benthic metazoans. Especially those animals are killed which are sessile filter feeders, e.g, sponges, mussels, or Anthozoa. The etiology of the toxic principle(s) is not yet well understood. Gel-like marine snow aggregates occurred in the Northern Adriatic during summer 1997. Samples of these aggregates were collected during the period July to September and the outer as well as the inner zones were analyzed for (i) cell toxicity, and (ii) chemosensitizing activity of the multixenobiotic resistance (MXR)mechanism. Organic extracts were prepared an…
Molecular phylogeny of the freshwater sponges in Lake Baikal
2003
The phylogenetic relationship of the freshwater sponges (Porifera) in Lake Baikal is not well understood. A polyphyletic and/or monophyletic origin have been proposed. The (endemic) Baikalian sponges have been subdivided into two families: endemic Lubomirskiidae and cosmopolitan Spongillidae. In the present study, two new approaches have been made to resolve the phylogenetic relationship of Baikalian sponges; analysis of (1) nucleotide sequences from one mitochondrial gene, the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and of (2) one selected intron from the tubulin gene. Specimens from the following endemic Baikalian sponge species have been studied; Lubomirskia baicalensis, Baikalospongia interm…