Search results for "Sponge"
showing 10 items of 296 documents
Induction of DNA damage and expression of heat shock protein HSP70 by polychlorinated biphenyls in the marine sponge Suberites domuncula Olivi
1999
The effects of different polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) including toxic coplanar non-ortho (PCB77) and non-planar mono-ortho (PCB118) and di-ortho (PCB153) congeners on the extent of DNA damage as well as on the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) were investigated in the marine sponge Suberites domuncula Olivi (Porifera; Demospongiae). A time-dependent increase in the number of DNA single-strand breaks, expressed as strand scission factor (SSF), was found after injection of a single dose of 25 mu g of PCB 118 or PCB 153 per gram wet mass of S. domuncula, using Fast Micromethod assay, which is based on the unwinding of DNA under alkaline conditions. The number of strand breaks ind…
Inorganic polyphosphates in the developing freshwater spongeEphydatia muelleri: Effect of stress by polluted waters
1996
Relatively high amounts of inorganic polyphosphates (approximately 55 μg of polyphosphate/g of wet weight) were found in the freshwater sponge Ephydatia muelleri, particularly in the gemmules (260 μg/g). Here we report that the polyphosphate content of this sponge changes during development and in response to adverse environmental conditions. Germination and hatching of gemmules of E. muelleri is accompanied by a strong decrease (by 94% at day 2) in polyphosphate level and a rise in exopolyphosphatase activity. On the other hand, induction of gemmulogenesis by theophylline results in an increase (by 61%) in polyphosphate content of sponge tissue. An increase in polyphosphate content and a d…
Ophiobolin Sesterterpenoids and Pyrrolidine Alkaloids from the Sponge-Derived Fungus Aspergillus ustus
2011
Chemical examination of the fungus Aspergillus ustus isolated from the Mediterranean sponge Suberites domuncula yielded the five new ophiobolin-type sesterterpenoids 1–5 and the two new pyrrolidine alkaloids 6 and 7, together with the known compound aurantiamine and cerebroside D. The structures of the new compounds were unambiguously elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic-data analysis (1D- and 2D-NMR, MS, and UV) and comparison with literature data. All compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against murine lymphoma cell line L5178Y.
Co-expression and Functional Interaction of Silicatein with Galectin
2006
Sponges (phylum Porifera) of the class of Demospongiae are stabilized by a siliceous skeleton. It is composed of silica needles (spicules), which provide the morphogenetic scaffold of these metazoans. In the center of the spicules there is an axial filament that consists predominantly of silicatein, an enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of biosilica. By differential display of transcripts we identified additional proteins involved in silica formation. Two genes were isolated from the marine demosponge Suberites domuncula; one codes for a galectin and the other for a fibrillar collagen. The galectin forms aggregates to which silicatein molecules bind. The extent of the silicatein-mediated s…
The unique skeleton of siliceous sponges (Porifera; Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) that evolved first from the Urmetazoa during the Proterozoic: a …
2007
Abstract. Sponges (phylum Porifera) had been considered as an enigmatic phylum, prior to the analysis of their genetic repertoire/tool kit. Already with the isolation of the first adhesion molecule, galectin, it became clear that the sequences of the sponge cell surface receptors and those of the molecules forming the intracellular signal transduction pathways, triggered by them, share high similarity to those identified in other metazoan phyla. These studies demonstrated that all metazoan phyla, including the Porifera, originate from one common ancestor, the Urmetazoa. The sponges evolved during a time prior to the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary (542 million years ago (myr)). They appeared du…
New bioactive alkaloids from the marine sponge Stylissa sp.
2012
Abstract Chemical investigation of the Indonesian marine sponge Stylissa species, which was collected at 2008 from Derawan Islands, Berau, NE Kalimantan, Indonesia offered four new brominated alkaloids, including 12-N-methyl stevensine (1), 12-N-methyl-2-debromostevensine (2), 3-debromolatonduine B methyl ester (3), 3-debromolatonduine A (4) together with eight known alkaloids identified as Z-hymenialdisine, Z-debromohymenialdisine, Stevensine, 2-debromostevensine, 3-bromoaldizine, 3,4-dibromopyrrole-2-carbamide, latonduine A, and latonduine B methyl ester (5–12), respectively. The structures of all isolated compounds were unambiguously elucidated based on extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectrosco…
Hyper-reticulated calixarene polymers: a new example of entirely synthetic nanosponge materials
2018
New calixarene-based nanosponges (CaNSs), i.e., hyper-reticulated polymers constituted by calixarene monomer units joined by means of bis(1,2,3-trialzolyl)alkyl linkers, were synthesized, characterized and subjected to preliminary tests to assess their supramolecular absorption abilities towards a set of suitable organic guests, selected as pollutant models. The synthesis was accomplished by means of a CuAAC reaction between a tetrakis(propargyloxy)calix[4]arene and an alkyl diazide. The formation of the polymeric network was assessed by means of FTIR and 13C{1H} CP-MAS solid-state NMR techniques, whereas morphological characterization was provided by SEM microghaphy. The materials were pro…
Polyaminoazide mixtures for the synthesis of pH-responsive calixarene nanosponges
2019
Two mixtures of polyaminoazides were synthesized by a nucleophilic displacement strategy providing no separation of the components. The mixtures were adequately characterized by means of combined HR-ESIMS, FTIR and NMR techniques and, despite their complexity, they were successfully used to accomplish the subsequent preparation of pH-sensitive calixarene hyper-reticulated nanosponge materials. The desired responsivity to pH variations of the nanosponges obtained was verified by means of absorption tests on a set of organic pollutant model molecules.
Polyaminocyclodextrin nanosponges: synthesis, characterization and pH-responsive sequestration abilities
2016
New pH-responsive nanosponges were obtained by reacting four different polyaminocyclodextrins with heptakis-(6-bromo)-(6-deoxy)-β-cyclodextrin. The materials obtained were characterized by various techniques (FT-IR, potentiometric titration, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), porosimetry (BET), 13C{1H} CP-MAS NMR). Their adsorption abilities at different pH values were verified towards a suitable set of model guests, and seem mainly controlled by electrostatic interactions, as a function of the protonation/charge status of the polymer matrix. By contrast, data positively point out a lesser importance assumed by the induced-fit effect, important in affecting the formation of host–guest…
Biologically-induced transition of bio-silica sol to mesoscopic gelatinous flocs: a biomimetic approach to a controlled fabrication of bio-silica str…
2012
Siliceous sponges form their skeletal elements, the spicules, enzymatically via the sponge-specific enzyme silicatein. The enzymatic product of silicatein in vitro is a bio-silica polymer that is not processed/hardened by phase separation. In the present study we applied a two-phase system to investigate the transition of bio-silica, formed by silicatein, from the lucid state to the opaque/turbid state. We report for the first time that the polyether polyethylene glycol [PEG] causes a rapid transition of the lucid bio-silica to the opaque/turbid state. For the experiments the recombinant silicatein from the demosponge Suberites domuncula had been used. This process is rapid (1 h) and procee…