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Bacterial attack of sponging skeleton during the 1986-1990 Mediterranean sponge disease Sponges in time and space
... Sponge disease outbreaks or mass mortality events have been reported for more than a century, with more than 20 events studied, sometimes affecting several species and large areas [4,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. However, reports and investigations on the conditions of freshwater sponge disease outbreaks are rare. ...
... Global warming and extreme thermal events are considered to be the most important environmental contexts favoring the emergence of pathogens or the expression of their virulence [33,36,37]. Infectious agents have often been considered to be the main factors triggering mass mortalities [15,16,18,38,39], although the pathogens responsible have rarely been identified. Several studies have hypothesized on the putative role of viruses, fungi, cyanobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Epsilonproteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes [16,19,34,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. ...
... Infectious agents have often been considered to be the main factors triggering mass mortalities [15,16,18,38,39], although the pathogens responsible have rarely been identified. Several studies have hypothesized on the putative role of viruses, fungi, cyanobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Epsilonproteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes [16,19,34,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. However, there is only one case in which the fulfillment of Koch's Postulate has enabled the identification of a new Alphaproteobacteria, Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans, as the pathogen behind the disease of Rhopaloeides odorabile [38,48]. ...
Mass mortality events have led to a collapse of the sponge fauna of Lake Baikal. We describe a new Brown Rot Syndrome affecting the endemic species Lubomirskia baicalensis. The main symptoms are the appearance of brown patches at the sponge surface, necrosis, and cyanobacterial fouling. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to characterize the bacterial community of healthy versus diseased sponges, in order to identify putative pathogens. The relative abundance of 89 eubacterial OTUs out of 340 detected has significantly changed between healthy and diseased groups. This can be explained by the depletion of host-specific prokaryotes and by the appearance and proliferation of disease-specific OTUs. In diseased sponges, the most represented OTUs belong to the families Oscillatoriaceae, Cytophagaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Chitinophagaceae, Sphingobacteriaceae, Burkholderiaceae, Rhodobacteraceae, Comamonadaceae, Oxalobacteraceae, and Xanthomonadaceae. Although these families may contain pathogenic agents, the primary causes of changes in the sponge bacterial community and their relationship with Brown Rot Syndrome remain unclear. A better understanding of this ecological crisis will thus require a more integrative approach.
... During the twentieth century, episodic disease outbreaks have devastated Mediterranean and Caribbean populations of both commercial sponges and non-commercial related species, mostly belonging to the taxonomic order Dictyoceratida (e.g., Galtsoff et al. 1939;Smith 1941;Lauckner 1980;Vacelet et al. 1994;Pronzato et al. 1999;Perez et al. 2000). The dictyoceratids are characterized by a skeleton consisting of an elastic network of proteinaceous (collagenderived) fibers instead of the rigid mineral (calcareous and/ or siliceous) pieces occurring in most other demosponges. ...
... Ever since, little attention has been paid to epidemics in this genus, which unlike other dictyoceratids, lacks commercial value. It is now accepted that the putative filaments of the ''pathogenic fungus'' originally described by Carter as Spongiophaga communis were not ''hyphae'', but spongin filaments, which along with the spongin fibers compose the natural proteinaceous skeleton of sponges in the genus Ircinia (see Poléjaeff 1884;Vacelet et al. 1994). The infection that devastated the commercial dictyoceratids in the Caribbean in 1939, and that was tentatively attributed to a filamentous fungus, did not affect non-commercial dictyoceratids, such as Ircinia spp. ...
... and Sarcotragus spp. (Vacelet et al. 1994). However, Ircinia spp. ...
... Beyond the context of warming signalled all around the Mediterranean, several studies that tally showed that this disease was very probably infectious in origin. The pathogenous agent responsible, identified by electronical microscoping studies, was a bacterium that attacked the spongin skeleton of commercial sponges, making them crumbly and thus useless for marketing (Gaino and Pronzato, 1989;Vacelet et al., 1994). After this work, Vacelet et al. (1994) argued that the virulence of this pathogen could be triggered by a temperature shock. ...
... The pathogenous agent responsible, identified by electronical microscoping studies, was a bacterium that attacked the spongin skeleton of commercial sponges, making them crumbly and thus useless for marketing (Gaino and Pronzato, 1989;Vacelet et al., 1994). After this work, Vacelet et al. (1994) argued that the virulence of this pathogen could be triggered by a temperature shock. In the case of the mortality of sponges observed in 1999, no bacterial attack on the skeleton was observed (Vacelet and Pérez, unpublished observations). ...
... After the summer 2003 mass mortality, several bacterial strains were isolated in infected Paramuricea clavata colonies and then grown to assess their role as potential pathogenous agents using a series of experiments done in aquariums ( Fig. 19; Bally and Garrabou, 2007). Vacelet et al., 1994). C) Experiment in an aquarium of contaminating Paramuricea clavata with Vibrio coralliilyticus. ...
... Gaino & Pronzato (1989) performed a microscopic evaluation of diseased sponge tissue and observed a bacterium that burrowed through the spongin fibres causing significant necrosis. Subsequent analysis by Vacelet et al. (1994) revealed that bacterial attack could originate in areas of living sponge tissue, suggesting that the bacterium may be the primary pathogen; however, isolation of the pathogen in these studies was not successful. Sponge mortality has also been attributed to cyanobacteria (Rützler 1988) and localised lesions have been ascribed to viruses (Vacelet & Gallissian 1978) and fungi (Galstoff 1942). ...
... Strain NW4327 completely degraded collagen in the form of Azocoll after 24 h incubation (Fig. 3), providing further evidence of the role of this bacterium in the pathogenic attack on sponge collagen. During the 1986–1990 outbreak of commercial sponge disease in the Mediterranean, bacterial infection of sponges and attack of collagenous skeletons was reported (Vacelet et al. 1994 ). In that study, electron micrographs revealed spongin-boring bacteria infecting dead, diseased and partially necrotic sponges. ...
... The tunnelling pattern looks almost identical, and the canaliculi inside the fibres were from 0.4 to 0.8 µm in diameter containing loose fibrils disposed in characteristic arched transverse bands, consistent with observations of infected R. odorabile tissue. In the sponges Ircinia sp. and Sarcotragus sp., only the collagenous filaments were attacked, and choanocyte chambers and symbiotic bacteria were still evident (Vacelet et al. 1994). In contrast, R. odorabile became entirely necrotic after infection with strain NW4327, and no other bacterial morphotypes were observed within the sections of spongin fibres. ...
High levels of mortality in the Mediterranean bath sponge industry have raised concerns for the future of sponge farms. Healthy sponges feed predominantly on bacteria, and many harbour a wide diversity of inter- and extra-cellular symbiotic bacteria. Here we describe the first isolation and description of a pathogenic bacterium from an infected marine sponge. Microbiological examination of tissue necrosis in the Great Barrier Reef sponge Rhopaloeides odorabile resulted in isolation of the bacterial strain NW4327. Sponges infected with strain NW4327 exhibited high levels of external tissue necrosis, and the strain was re-isolated from infected sponges. A single morphotype, which had burrowed through the collagenous spongin fibres causing severe necrosis, was observed microscopically. Strain NW4327 was capable of degrading commercial preparations of azo-collagen, providing further evidence of its involvement in spongin fibre necrosis, Strain NW4327 disrupted the microbial community associated with R. odorabile and was able to infect and kill healthy sponge tissue. 16S rRNA sequence analysis revealed that strain NW4327 is a novel member of the alpha-proteobacteria.
... This has mainly been due to water-warming anomalies that have triggered a complex cascading effect involving physiological responses (Zocchi et al. 2003;Previati et al. 2010), phenology , pathogens (Vezzulli et al. 2010) and possible adaptation in situ (Torrents et al. 2008). Mass mortality episodes often affect sponges with a spongine skeleton (Gaino et al. 1992;Vacelet et al. 1994;) and during summer 2009 epidemic diseases were documented for horny sponge populations of the Western Mediterranean Sea (along the coast of Spain and Morocco) (Maldonado et al. 2010;Cebrian et al. 2011). ...
... The mass mortality of Mediterranean and tropical demosponges mainly involved horny sponges (Vacelet et al. 1994;Webster 2007;Maldonado et al. 2010;Cebrian et al. 2011), which seem to be more vulnerable than other sponges to bacterial attacks. The bacteria normally associated with horny sponges may have a role in spongine renovation (Garrone 1975(Garrone , 1978. ...
... Observations carried out on Irciniids and Spongiids from other Mediterranean localities led us to hypothesize that non-pathogenic bacteria usually associated with sponges may become harmful in response to temperature increase (Vacelet et al. 1994). In the Western Mediterranean, Maldonado et al. (2010) reported several cases of epidemic diseases affecting the sponges symbiotic with cyanobacteria -Ircinia fasciculata and I. variabilis -and Cebrian et al. (2011) compared mortality events between I. fasciculate-hosting cyanobacteria and S. spinosulus, without autrophic symbionts. ...
AbstractA mass mortality episode involving three marine dyctioceratid sponges, Ircina variabilis, Sarcotragus spinosulus and Spongia officinalis, was observed on ‘Scoglio del Trave’ (Conero Promontory, North Adriatic Sea) in late summer 2009. In this area, calm sea and high temperatures throughout summer created unfavorable environmental conditions, leading to the outbreak of the disease. Affected specimens showed evident necrotic areas and portions with bare skeleton, and many specimens of S. spinosulus were covered with a white mat of cyanobacteria. In September 2009, about 22% of these demosponges suffered from this disease. The mortality event ceased when sea temperature dropped below 20 °C. Small specimens turned out to be more sensitive to the diseases, whereas the damaged tissues of large specimens were able to recover. In October, the damaged specimens were detached by the rough sea and more than 900 beached sponges were found along the 1‐km‐long beach, showing the seriousness of the phenomenon, which probably involved not only the area studied but also areas adjacent to it.
... Unidentified bacterium burrowing through tissues and white film postulated to be an Oscillatoria spp. Economou and Konteatis (1988), Vacelet (1994), and Vacelet et al. (1994) Geodia papyracea ...
... There is some evidence for correlations between sponge disease and environmental factors such as elevated temperatures and urban/agricultural runoff. Mass sponge mortalities have occurred during abnormally high seawater temperatures (Vicente 1990;Vacelet 1994;Vacelet et al. 1994;Cerrano et al. 2001), including a recent dieoff that affected 80-100% of the I. fasciculata populations in the Western Mediterranean (Cebrian et al. 2011). Similarly, an outbreak affecting three dictyoceratid sponge species in the north Adriatic Sea was directly correlated with high seawater temperatures in conjunction with calm seas, with 22% of sponges displaying disease symptoms (Di Camillo et al. 2013). ...
Reports of sponge disease have increased in recent years, impacting a wide range of species from tropical, temperate and freshwater environments. In this chapter, we provide a current overview of reported sponge diseases, focusing particularly on the symptoms of disease, the microbial shifts that occur in affected sponges and the identification of putative pathogens. In addition, we explore the potential role of climate-driven dysbiosis in disease aetiology.
... Furthermore, only half of these have had likely aetiological agents assigned (Webster 2007). A filamentous cyanobacterium, Hormoscilla sp. has been implicated in the case of mangrove sponge disease (MSD) (Rüetzler 1988), and a novel member of the Alphaproteobacteria, distantly related to Sulfitobacter pontiacus, has been shown to be associated with samples exhibiting both sponge boring necrosis (SBN) and sponge white patch (SWP) (Vacelet et al. 1994;Webster et al. 2002). However, only one sponge disease, SBN, has had Henle-Koch's postulates successfully fulfilled, highlighting the urgent need for further studies on sponge diseases in general (Webster et al. 2002). ...
... Therefore, we concluded that the bacteria were not the sole primary pathological agents associated with this new disease. Interestingly, with regard to H. spongelia, Vacelet et al. (1994) suggested that this bacterium and other members of the genus are more likely to be associated with the outside of necrotic sponge lesions and are therefore likely to represent secondary phenomena rather than primary pathological agents. In further support of the role of cyanobacteria in certain sponge diseases, a similar, but as yet undescribed, cyanobacterium has been associated with another sponge disease, Aplysina red band syndrome (ARBS) (Olson et al. 2006). ...
In healthy sponges, microbes have been shown to account for up to 40 % of tissues. The majority of these are thought to originate from survivors evading digestion and immune responses of the sponge and growing and residing in the microenvironments of the mesophyll. Although a large percentage of these microbes are likely commensals, they may also include potentially pathogenic agents, which under specific conditions, such as temperature stress, may cause disease. Here we report a novel disease (sponge necrosis syndrome) that is severely affecting populations of the sponge Callyspongia (Eupla-cella) aff biru. Both ITS fungal and 16S rDNA bacterial diversities were assessed in healthy and diseased individuals , highlighting six potential primary causal agents for this new disease: two bacteria, a Rhodobacteraceae sp. and a cyanobacterium, Hormoscilla spongeliae (formally identified as Oscillatoria spongeliae), and four fungi, a Ascomycota sp., a Pleosporales sp., a Rhabdocline sp., and a Clasosporium sp. Furthermore, histological analysis showed the dominance of fungal hyphae rather than bacteria throughout the disease lesion, which was absent or rare in healthy tissues. Inoculation trails showed that only a combination of one bacterium and one fungus could replicate the disease, fulfilling Henle–Koch's postulates and showing that this sponge disease is caused by a poly-microbial consortium.
... It is possible that high concentrations of polymer occluded sponge canals, 'starving' the sponge mesophyl, causing stress, and leading to localized infection and subsequent necrosis of sponge tissue. Stress that can destroy weakened sponges has been implicated in sponge viral (Vacelet and Gallissian 1978), bacterial (Vacelet et al. 1994), cyanobacterial (Rützler 1988) and fungal infections. Previous instances of mass sponge mortalities in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Mediterranean have been attributed to a variety of sponge infections (Lauckner 1980, Peters 1993 ), sometimes in response to environmental stress. ...
... Previous instances of mass sponge mortalities in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Mediterranean have been attributed to a variety of sponge infections (Lauckner 1980, Peters 1993 ), sometimes in response to environmental stress. Moreover, commensal bacteria that normally digest necrotic sponge tissue may become virulent and digest living tissue under unfavorable environmental conditions (Vacelet et al. 1994). The widespread disappearance of sponges in the Florida Keys and Florida Bay that we witnessed from 1991 through 1993 was dramatic. ...
... Among other anthozoan affected species, the scleractinian C. caespitosa had previously suffered severe bleaching during 1997-1999 ( Perez et al., 2000;Rodolfo-Metalpa et al., 2000). Likewise, commercial sponges (Spongia spp., Hippospongia communis, Ircinia spp.) had been previously affected by a wide mortality outbreak in 1986 and 1999 as well as in other minor events ( Vacelet, 1994;Cerrano et al., 2000;Perez et al., 2000). Among bryozoan species, M. truncata was affected during the 1999 event ( Perez et al., 2000). ...
... However, microorganisms found on colonies during the 1999 gorgonian mortality event appeared to be opportunistic rather than disease-causing ( Cerrano et al., 2000;Martin et al., 2002). Besides anomalous temperature conditions, several putative agents have been identified or evoked as the cause of mortality outbreaks in the Mediterranean, including pathogens for sponges and sea urchins ( Vacelet et al., 1994;Boudouresque & Verlaque, 2001), drops in salinity for gorgonian species ( Bavestrello et al., 1994), and the development of filamentous algae ( Mistri & Ceccherelli, 1996;Schiaparelli et al., 2007). However, high temperatures were a common environmental condition in most events. ...
Late in summer 2003, extensive mass mortality of at least 25 rocky benthic macro-invertebrate species (mainly gorgonians and sponges) was observed in the entire Northwestern (NW) Mediterranean region, affecting several thousand kilometers of coastline. We were able to characterize the mortality event by studying six areas covering the main regions of the NW Mediterranean basin. The degree of impact on each study area was quantified at 49 sites by estimating the proportion of colonies affected in populations of several gorgonian species compared with reference data obtained in years without mortality signs. According to these data, the western areas (Catalan coast and Balearic Islands) were the least affected, while the central areas (Provence coast and Corsica-Sardinia) showed a moderate impact. The northernmost and eastern areas (Gulf of Genoa and Gulf of Naples) displayed the highest impact, with almost 80% of gorgonian colonies affected. The heat wave of 2003 in Europe caused an anomalous warming of seawater, which reached the highest temperatures ever recorded in the studied regions, between 1 and 3 1C above the climatic values (mean and maximum). Because this exceptional warming was observed in the depth ranges most affected by the mortality, it seems likely that the 2003 anomalous temperature played a key role in the observed mortality event. A correlation analysis between temperature conditions and degree of impact seems to support this hypothesis. Under the present climate warming trend, new mass mortality events may occur in the near future, possibly driving a major biodiversity crisis in the Mediterranean Sea.
... Le dernier événement en date avait affecté en 1986 les populations de Spongia, Hippospongia, Ircinia et Sarcotragus partout en Méditerranée, mais plus particulièrement dans les parties les plus chaudes [12]. Une digestion des fibres de spongine par des bactéries a été observée dans les éponges affectés [30]. Il paraît possible que des bactéries qui dégradent lentement en temps normal la spongine des éponges mortes deviennent virulentes à la faveur d'un réchauffement de l'eau, et attaquent alors les fibres des éponges vivantes [30]. ...
... Une digestion des fibres de spongine par des bactéries a été observée dans les éponges affectés [30]. Il paraît possible que des bactéries qui dégradent lentement en temps normal la spongine des éponges mortes deviennent virulentes à la faveur d'un réchauffement de l'eau, et attaquent alors les fibres des éponges vivantes [30]. L'événement de 1999 n'a pas présenté les mêmes caractéristiques que celui de 1986. ...
An unprecedented mass mortality event has been observed at the end of the summer 1999 along the coasts of Provence (France) and Ligury (Italy). This event has severely affected a wide array of sessile filter-feeder invertebrates from hard-substratum communities, such as sponges (particularly the keratose sponges Hippospongia and Spongia), cnidarians (particularly the anthozoans Corallium, Paramuricea, Eunicella and Cladocora), bivalves, ascidians and bryozoans. Along the Provence coasts, the outbreak spread from east to west. Exceptionally high and constant temperatures of the whole water column (23–24 °C, for over one month, down to 40 m) could have determined an environmental context favourable to the mass mortality event. Like the thermal anomaly, the mortality is limited in depth. However, we cannot ascertain whether temperature had a direct effect on organisms or acted in synergy with a latent and/or waterborne agent (microbiological or chemical). Taking into account the global warming context in the NW-Mediterranean, monitoring programs of physical-chemical parameters and vulnerable populations should rapidly be set up.
... Among other anthozoan affected species, the scleractinian C. caespitosa had previously suffered severe bleaching during 1997-1999 ( Perez et al., 2000;Rodolfo-Metalpa et al., 2000). Likewise, commercial sponges (Spongia spp., Hippospongia communis, Ircinia spp.) had been previously affected by a wide mortality outbreak in 1986 and 1999 as well as in other minor events ( Vacelet, 1994;Cerrano et al., 2000;Perez et al., 2000). Among bryozoan species, M. truncata was affected during the 1999 event ( Perez et al., 2000). ...
... However, microorganisms found on colonies during the 1999 gorgonian mortality event appeared to be opportunistic rather than disease-causing ( Cerrano et al., 2000;Martin et al., 2002). Besides anomalous temperature conditions, several putative agents have been identified or evoked as the cause of mortality outbreaks in the Mediterranean, including pathogens for sponges and sea urchins ( Vacelet et al., 1994;Boudouresque & Verlaque, 2001), drops in salinity for gorgonian species ( Bavestrello et al., 1994), and the development of filamentous algae ( Mistri & Ceccherelli, 1996;Schiaparelli et al., 2007). However, high temperatures were a common environmental condition in most events. ...
Late in summer 2003, extensive mass mortality of at least 25 rocky benthic macro-invertebrate species (mainly gorgonians and sponges) was observed in the entire Northwestern (NW) Mediterranean region, affecting several thousand kilometers of coastline. We were able to characterize the mortality event by studying six areas covering the main regions of the NW Mediterranean basin. The degree of impact on each study area was quantified at 49 sites by estimating the proportion of colonies affected in populations of several gorgonian species compared with reference data obtained in years without mortality signs. According to these data, the western areas (Catalan coast and Balearic Islands) were the least affected, while the central areas (Provence coast and Corsica-Sardinia) showed a moderate impact. The northernmost and eastern areas (Gulf of Genoa and Gulf of Naples) displayed the highest impact, with almost 80% of gorgonian colonies affected. The heat wave of 2003 in Europe caused an anomalous warming of seawater, which reached the highest temperatures ever recorded in the studied regions, between 1 and 3 °C above the climatic values (mean and maximum). Because this exceptional warming was observed in the depth ranges most affected by the mortality, it seems likely that the 2003 anomalous temperature played a key role in the observed mortality event. A correlation analysis between temperature conditions and degree of impact seems to support this hypothesis. Under the present climate warming trend, new mass mortality events may occur in the near future, possibly driving a major biodiversity crisis in the Mediterranean Sea.
... The diseases and mass death of sea sponges are also observed in the seas and oceans and are accompanied by a shift in the composition of symbiotic microbial communities [39][40][41]. Many researchers associate sea sponge diseases with changes in the composition of symbionts and the appearance of opportunistic infection resulting from changes in water temperature [42,43]. ...
Bacteria of the genus Janthinobacterium are widespread in soils and freshwater ecosystems and belong to the phylum Proteobacteria. The Janthinobacterium sp. SLB01 strain was isolated from diseased freshwater Lubomirskia baicalensis (Pallas, 1776) sponge, and the draft genome was published previously. However, the properties of the SLB01 strain are not known. The aim of the study is to describe some properties of the Janthinobacterium sp. SLB01 strain, isolated from L. baicalensis sponge. The identification of the SLB01 strain was established as Gram-negative, motile, rod-shaped, and psychrotolerant, with growth at 3 and 22 °C. We found that the SLB01 strain has proteolytic, lipolytic, and saccharolytic activity and can use citrates and reduce nitrates. The bacteria Janthinobacterium sp. SLB01 strain can grow, form biofilms, and produce the violet pigment violacein. We identified the pigments violacein and deoxyviolacein by chromatography and mass spectrometry. These metabolites may be of interest to biotechnology in the future. The studied characteristics of the Janthinobacterium sp. SLB01 strain are an important addition to previous studies of the genome of this strain. This study will help us to understand the relationship between the microbial communities of Lake Baikal and sponges.
... A number of studies have shown the loss of the main symbionts that are characteristic of healthy sponges with the appearance of a high abundance of uncharacteristic pathogens [8][9][10]. The large number and low relative abundance of bacteria in newly colonized tissues made it difficult to find real pathogens of sponges; therefore, etiological agents were found only in a few cases [9,11,12]. Subsequently, the strain was identified by NGS sequencing and complete genome analysis as the gamma Proteobacterium Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans NW4327 [13,14]. ...
The strain Janthinobacterium sp. SLB01 was isolated from the diseased freshwater sponge Lubomirskia baicalensis (Pallas, 1776) and the draft genome was published previously. The aim of this work is to analyze the genome of the Janthinobacterium sp. SLB01 to search for pathogenicity factors for Baikal sponges. We performed genomic analysis to determine virulence factors, comparing the genome of the strain SLB01 with genomes of other related J. lividum strains from the environment. The strain Janthinobacterium sp. SLB01 contained genes encoding violacein, alpha-amylases, phospholipases, chitinases, collagenases, hemolysin, and a type VI secretion system. In addition, the presence of conservative clusters of genes for the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites of tropodithietic acid and marinocine was found. We present genes for antibiotic resistance, including five genes encoding various lactamases and eight genes for penicillin-binding proteins, which are conserved in all analyzed strains. Major differences were found between the Janthinobacterium sp. SLB01 and J. lividum strains in the spectra of genes for glycosyltransferases and glycoside hydrolases, serine hydrolases, and trypsin-like peptidase, as well as some TonB-dependent siderophore receptors. Thus, the study of the analysis of the genome of the strain SLB01 allows us to conclude that the strain may be one of the pathogens of freshwater sponges.
... The pathogens brought from human and animal sewage would result in two major consequences on marine environments [147]: (1) free pathogenic microbes in the seawater acting as a health hazard to cause recurrent occurrences of diseases for other aquatic organisms and (2) the seafood products contaminated by pathogenic microbes acting as biohazard to human health via human consumption [166]. Sponge could maintain microbes in two different ways: (1) absorbing and collecting free-living microorganisms, which could stay in the sponge body temporarily and could be utilized as food digested by sponge cells [55,152,167], and (2) selectively enriching certain groups of microbes, which could live within host sponges as extracellular and intercellular symbiont microbes [168][169][170]. ...
Sponges are complex holobionts in which the structure of the microbiome has seldom been characterized above the host species level. The hypothesis tested in this study is that the structure of the sponge microbiomes is specific to the host at the order and family levels. This was done by using 33 sponge species belonging to 19 families representing five orders. A combination of three primer sets covering the V1-V8 regions of the 16S rRNA gene provided a more comprehensive coverage of the microbiomes. Both the diversity and structure of sponge microbiomes were demonstrated to be highly specific to the host phylogeny at the order and family levels. There are always dominant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (relative abundance >1%) shared between microbial communities of sponges within the same family or order, but these shared OTUs showed high levels of dissimilarity between different sponge families and orders. The unique OTUs for a particular sponge family or order could be regarded as their 'signature identity'. 70%-87% of these unique OTUs (class level) are unaffiliated and represent a vast resource of untapped microbiota. This study contributes to a deeper understanding on the concept of host-specificity of sponge microbiomes and highlights a hidden reservoir of sponge-associated microbial resources.
... The pathogens brought from human and animal sewage would result in two major consequences on marine environments [147]: (1) free pathogenic microbes in the seawater acting as a health hazard to cause recurrent occurrences of diseases for other aquatic organisms and (2) the seafood products contaminated by pathogenic microbes acting as biohazard to human health via human consumption [166]. Sponge could maintain microbes in two different ways: (1) absorbing and collecting free-living microorganisms, which could stay in the sponge body temporarily and could be utilized as food digested by sponge cells [55,152,167], and (2) selectively enriching certain groups of microbes, which could live within host sponges as extracellular and intercellular symbiont microbes [168][169][170]. ...
Sponges (phylum Porifera), sessile invertebrates, are the oldest multicellular animals that play an important role in evolutionary study. Thanks to their efficient filter-feeding capabilities, sponges have important ecological and biotechnological functions in nutrient cycles within marine ecosystems. Sponges permanently host remarkable microbial taxa with high diversity and complex structure. The associated microbes have been proved to highly contribute to the host growth and metabolite production, chemical defence, and susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stressors. This chapter will provide a systematic review on the variations of sponge microbiomes in relation to environmental stressors, including physical, chemical, and biological factors; as well as on how the changes in microbial composition cause the host sponge to suffer diseases and the consequent variations of the associated microbial community during a disease outbreak.
... The pathogens brought from human and animal sewage would result in two major consequences on marine environments [147]: (1) free pathogenic microbes in the seawater acting as a health hazard to cause recurrent occurrences of diseases for other aquatic organisms and (2) the seafood products contaminated by pathogenic microbes acting as biohazard to human health via human consumption [166]. Sponge could maintain microbes in two different ways: (1) absorbing and collecting free-living microorganisms, which could stay in the sponge body temporarily and could be utilized as food digested by sponge cells [55,152,167], and (2) selectively enriching certain groups of microbes, which could live within host sponges as extracellular and intercellular symbiont microbes [168][169][170]. ...
Sponges (phylum Porifera), sessile invertebrates, are the oldest multicellular animals that play an important role in evolutionary study. Thanks to their efficient filter-feeding capabilities, sponges have important ecological and biotechnological functions in nutrient cycles within marine ecosystems. Sponges permanently host remarkable microbial taxa with high diversity and complex structure. The associated microbes have been proved to highly contribute to the host growth and metabolitesm production, chemical defence, and susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stressors. This chapter will provide offer a systematic review on the variations of sponge microbiomes in relation to environmental stressors, including physical, chemical, and biological factors;, as well as on how the changesd in microbial composition causes the host sponge to suffer diseases and the consequent variations of the associated microbial community during a disease outbreak.
... While the specific causes of this increase have not been fully elucidated, several studies have identified correlations between disease prevalence and localscale processes such as pollution (Green and Bruckner 2000, Sutherland et al. 2004, Kaczmarsky et al. 2005. Although diseases of sponges are less well known, these too have been reported more frequently in recent years (Rützler 1988, Vacelet et al. 1994, Pronzato et al. 1999, Webster et al. 2002, Olson et al. 2006, Wulff 2006). The few earlier descriptions of disease among Caribbean sponges typically described outbreak conditions, such as those affecting the commercial sponge industry in the 1940s (reviewed by Lauckner 1980). ...
Sponges are sessile, filter-feeding organisms that are sensitive to both biotic and abiotic components of their environment and are therefore likely to be impacted by environmental stressors. For this reason, sponges are useful as bioindicators of changing environmental conditions. The present study characterized sponge diversity, abundance and disease prevalence on three reefs in Bocas del Toro, Panama. The reefs were similar in general characteristics, however, one site was located just offshore of a village where anedoctal reports suggest that “black water” outflow (sewage, road pollution, and solid waste dumping) occurs. Overall, 51 species and 2532 individual sponges were identified. Analysis of similarity indicated significant differences in sponge community structure between the sites. The site nearest Saigon village had significantly fewer species per quadrat, although total number of individuals and number of individuals per quadrat were similar between this site and the more distant, upstream site (Punta Caracol). Evenness (J) and diversity (H’) were significantly reduced at Saigon, as was the slope of the species-area curve. Dominant species also differed among sites, with the most abundant species at Saigon considered rare at the two upstream sites. Only Niphates erecta was among the five most dominant species at all three sites; Aplysina fulva, which dominated the upstream sites and is known to be sensitive to stress, was rare at Saigon, and Chondrilla nucula, another stress-intolerant species, was only dominant at Casa Blanca. Hymeniacidon sp., on the other hand, dominated the reef only at Saigon. Aplysina red band syndrome (ARBS) was present at all three sites, but prevalence was higher and more variable at Saigon. Differences in sponge community structure and disease prevalence at these three sites in Bocas del Toro, Panama, may be indicative of differences in environmental conditions on these reefs.
... Other authors consider the bacterium Vibrio rotiferianus as a primary disease agent because it represented a higher proportion of bacteria in cultures from diseased individuals compared to healthy specimens (Stabili et al., 2012). However, none of these studies could refute that the putative etiological agents were not just opportunistic microbes that proliferated in stressed, damaged or dead sponge tissues (Gaino and Pronzato, 1989;Vacelet et al., 1994). Other authors tested experimentally the effect of higher temperatures on the physiology of the symbiotic cyanobacteria of I. fasciculata, and found that the sea temperatures recorded during mortality events strongly altered the cyanobacteria physiology (Cebrian et al., 2011). ...
Ocean warming is affecting marine benthic ecosystems through mass mortality events that involve marine invertebrates, in particular bivalves, corals, and sponges. Among these events, extensive die-offs of Ircinia fasciculata sponges have been recurrently reported in western Mediterranean. The goal of our study was to test whether the temperature-related mass sponge die-offs were associated with or preceded by an early unbalanced bacterial microbiome in the sponge tissues. We took advantage of the early detection of disease and compared the microbiomes of healthy vs. early diseased I. fasciculata tissues. Our results showed a microbiome shift in early diseased tissues. The abundance of Gammaproteobacteria and Acidobacteria increased and that of Deltaproteobacteria decreased in diseased vs. healthy tissues. The change in community composition was also noticeable at the OTU level. Diseased tissues contained more bacterial sequences previously identified in injured or stressed sponges and corals than healthy tissues. Bacterial diversity increased significantly in diseased tissues, which contained a higher number of low abundance OTUs. Our results do not support the hypothesis of one particular pathogen, whether a Vibrio or any other bacteria, triggering the Northwestern Mediterranean mass mortalities of I. fasciculata. Our data rather suggest an early disruption of the bacterial microbiome balance in healthy sponges through a shift in OTU abundances, and the purported consequent decline of the sponge fitness and resistance to infections. Opportunistic bacteria could colonize the sponge tissues, taking benefit of the sponge weakness, before one or more virulent pathogens might proliferate ending in the mass sponge die-off.
... As a physical defense they have spicules and collagen. Sponges may also succumb to microbial and fungal infections which could result in the disintegration of the sponge fibers/tissue and ultimately lead to sponge death [53]. The fact that sponges are susceptible to microbial infection suggests that they should also possess mechanisms to prevent these types of diseases [54]. ...
... Several studies have revealed that permanent associations exist between certain host sponges and specific microorganisms, however their interactions remained largely unknown (Althoff et al. 1998;Friedrich et al. 1999;. Moreover, sponges may also succumb to microbial and fungal infections which result in the disintegration of the sponge fibers/tissue and ultimately lead to sponge death (Vacelet et al. 1994). The fact that sponges are susceptible to microbial infection suggests that they should also be provided with mechanisms to prevent these types of diseases. ...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two types of pollutants, Tributyltin (TBT) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), on MAP kinase signaling pathway activation and on apoptosis induction, on two marine invertebrates, the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the sponge Suberites domuncula. It was shown that animal exposure to both chemicals depicted p38 activation for all tested experimental conditions. JNK was also activated after exposure to TBT, while for HAPs exposure, JNK was activated in the mussel while ERK was activated in the sponge. Moreover, an induction of Bclx-S was observed in the mussel, protein involved in the apoptosis intrasic pathway. In the sponge, apoptosis was caspase 3-dependent while in the mussel, apoptosis was dependent of caspase 3 induction only for some pollutant concentrations. In addition, analysis of mussels collected in situ in 19 stations of the Adriatic coast (Croatia), more or less polluted with TBT and HAPs, during winter and summer, showed an activation of the three MAP kinases p38, JNK and ERK. Activation level was correlated to the level of pollution and to the temperature. To conclude, this study had demonstrated the interest of using p38 as exposure biomarker and apoptosis as effect biomarker.
... While the specific causes of this increase have not been fully elucidated, several studies have identified correlations between disease prevalence and localscale processes such as pollution (Green and Bruckner 2000, Sutherland et al. 2004, Kaczmarsky et al. 2005. Although diseases of sponges are less well known, these too have been reported more frequently in recent years (Rützler 1988, Vacelet et al. 1994, Pronzato et al. 1999, Webster et al. 2002, Olson et al. 2006, Wulff 2006). The few earlier descriptions of disease among Caribbean sponges typically described outbreak conditions, such as those affecting the commercial sponge industry in the 1940s (reviewed by Lauckner 1980). ...
... This disease outbreak motivated an inquiry man dated by the FAO to assess the incidence and virulence of the phenomenon, and to identify its possible causes (Vace1et 1994). Several studies showed that the disease resulted in a bacterial attack on the spongin skeleton (Gai no and Pronzato 1989;Vacelet et al. 1994). The authors argued thatthe viru lence of this pathogen could have been triggered by high sea water temperatures, an explanation that was also proposed in a case of coral bleaching in the eastern Mediterranean (see for instance Kushmaro et al. 1996). ...
The commercial sponge industry is a fascinating cultural heritage of several Mediterranean countries, where it continues to represent an important economic activity. Mediterranean bath sponges are of the highest quality and the commercial demand for them is still significant, however, sponges are suffering from environmental disturbances that seem to be occurring more frequently in recent decades. Here we present some general data about commercial sponges of the Mediterranean Sea, and examine probable consequences of both overfishing, which has been occurring for many centuries on most sponge beds, and the effects of climatic change, which appears to be responsible for increased disease outbreaks and mass mortality events. Together these disturbances may alter the species distribution. We also examine the potential future of sponge cultivation under these conditions. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. All rights are reserved by the Publisher.
... Diseases of sponges were documented as early as the 1940s, when disease ravaged the commercial sponge industry in the Caribbean ( Galtsoff et al. 1939, Smith 1941. Sponge diseases have recently been rediscovered across the globe ( Rützler 1988, Gaino et al. 1992, Vacelet et al. 1994, Webster et al. 2002, Cervino et al. 2006, Cowart et al. 2006, Olson et al. 2006, Wulff 2006, Webster 2007, Maldonado et al. 2010. ...
Sponge diseases have recently emerged as potential forces structuring coral reefs. The increasing prevalence of disease on reefs may be due to changes in the virulence of pathogens and/or to decreases in host resistance as a result of changing environmental conditions. Coral reef ecosystems typically thrive in oligotrophic waters; however, runoff of fertilizers or sewage that contains elevated concentrations of nutrients can lead to eutrophic conditions. Aplysina cauliformis is a dominant member of the Caribbean sponge community, and is susceptible to Aplysina Red Band Syndrome (ARBS), a disease that causes reduced sponge growth and survival. We assessed the independent and interacting effects of nutrient enrichment and disease on A. cauliformis, using a factorial field experiment in which healthy and diseased sponges were exposed to nutrient-enriched or non-enriched treatments. Impacts on ARBS virulence (rate of lesion growth) and host response (both sponge and cyanobacterial symbiont growth and physiology) were assessed. ARBS lesions increased rapidly regardless of nutrient treatment, and disease had a significantly greater detrimental impact on sponges than did nutrient enrichment, as evidenced by a decline in sponge mass and reduced total protein content. The sponge-cyano bacterial symbiont relationship was less impacted by disease, although the sponge-associated bacterial community was significantly affected by sponge condition, with healthy sponges and diseased tissue hosting significantly different bacterial assemblages. In contrast, nutrient enrichment had no effects on sponge or symbiont physiology. Disease is a much greater stressor than eutrophication on the growth and physiology of A. cauliformis and its cyanobacterial symbionts.
... In contrast, theonellids might occur mainly at shallow-water depths (Vacelet 1988). The presence of hexactinellid sponges indicate deep environments (Reid 1968) excluding the submarine caves and fjords where they could thrive at shallower depths (Vacelet 1988;Vacelet et al. 1994). Among hexactinellids, species from the order Hexactinosa, from which spicules are present in the turbiditic layers, are known to have settled environments deeper than 100 meters, preferring a stable environment with low water turbulence (Mehl 1992). ...
Hemipelagic green clayey shales and thin muddy turbidites accumulated in a deep sea environment below the
CCD in the Skole Basin, a part of the Outer Carpathian realm, during the Middle Cenomanian. The hemipelagites
contain numerous radiolarians, associated with deep-water agglutinated foraminifera. These sediments accumulated under mesotrophic conditions with limited oxygen concentration. Short-term periodic anoxia also occurred during that time. Muddy turbidity currents caused deposition of siliciclastic and biogenic material, including calcareous foraminifers and numerous sponge spicules. The preservation and diversity of the spicules suggests that they originate from disarticulation of moderately diversified sponge assemblages, which lived predominantly in the neritic-bathyal zone. Analyses of radiolarian ecological groups and pellets reflect the water column properties during the sedimentation of green shales. At that time, surface and also intermediate waters were oxygenated enough and sufficiently rich in nutrients to enable plankton production. Numerous, uncompacted pellets with nearly pristine radiolarian skeletons inside show that pelletization was the main factor of radiolarian flux into the deep basin floor. Partly dissolved skeletons indicate that waters in the Skole Basin were undersaturated in relation to silica content. Oxygen content might have been depleted in the deeper part of the water column causing periodic anoxic conditions which prevent rapid bacterial degradation of the pellets during their fall to the sea floor.
... MOTS CLÉS: Pêche d'éponges commerciales, Abondance d'éponges commerciales, Abondance des communautés d'éponges historical sponge landings prior to WW II (Storr 1964). Nevertheless, sponge fishing effort in Florida waters increased after a sponge epizootic event in the late 1980s (DiResta et al. 1995, Cropper andDiResta 1999) severely reduced Mediterranean bath sponge production (Gaino and Pronzato 1989, Gaino et al. 1992, Vacelet et al. 1994. This increased fishing effort led to concerns regarding the ecological impacts of sponge harvesting and the sustainability of the sponge fishery in Florida (DiResta et al. 1995). ...
Prior to World War II, the Caribbean bath sponge fishery was one of the most valuable fisheries in Florida. However, a major
disease event in 1938 – 1939 and subsequent over-fishing almost completely eliminated the fishery. Although synthetic sponges
have largely replaced natural sponges because of lower cost and reliability of supply, a world sponge trade still exists and sponges
are still harvested in Florida, the Bahamas, and Cuba. Most sponges provide important habitat for a variety of organisms living
within their internal canal-and-chamber systems. Sponges are able to filter large volumes of water and are very efficient in retaining
small food particles to meet their nutritional requirements. Thus, their impact on the phytoplankton community could be substantial.
Here, we address the need of resource managers for knowledge of the contribution of commercially valuable sponge species to the
total sponge community in Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico side of the middle and upper Florida Keys to help them evaluate the
potential ecological impacts of sponge harvesting. When the study was undertaken, the proportional contribution of .commercially
harvested species to the total sponge community was not known. We assessed the numerical abundance and volumetric biomass of
both commercial bath sponges and the total sponge community. Within our study area, the contribution of the two most important
commercial species to total sponge community biomass was 1.3% based on numerical counts and 2.5% based on volumetric
biomass. We concluded that if sponge harvesting is conducted in a sustainable manner, the ecological consequences of sponge
harvesting should be relatively minor.
... As a physical defense they have spicules and collagen. Sponges may also succumb to microbial and fungal infections which could result in the disintegration of the sponge fibers/tissue and ultimately lead to sponge death [53]. The fact that sponges are susceptible to microbial infection suggests that they should also possess mechanisms to prevent these types of diseases [54]. ...
Abstract: Marine sponges belonging to the phylum Porifera (Metazoa), evolutionarily the oldest animals are the single best source of marine natural products. The present review presents a comprehensive overview of the source, taxonomy, country of origin or geographical position, chemical class, and biological activity of sponge-derived new natural products discovered between 2001 and 2010. The data has been analyzed with a view to gaining an outlook on the future trends and opportunities in the search for new compounds and their sources from marine sponges
... In general, the understanding of marine diseases lags behind terrestrial diseases based on functional knowledge and techniques of investigation; however, this lag is particularly striking when considering the increasing rate at which marine diseases are reported [5,9]. With coral cover declining, diseases of sponges have gained increasing attention [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. One such disease is Aplysina Red Band Syndrome (ARBS) [9], an infectious disease of branching sponges in the genus Aplysina, characterized by an advancing red band surrounding necrotic lesions that become colonized by filamentous algae. ...
Marine diseases are of increasing concern for coral reef ecosystems, but often their causes, dynamics and impacts are unknown. The current study investigated the epidemiology of Aplysina Red Band Syndrome (ARBS), a disease affecting the Caribbean sponge Aplysina cauliformis, at both the individual and population levels. The fates of marked healthy and ARBS-infected sponges were examined over the course of a year. Population-level impacts and transmission mechanisms of ARBS were investigated by monitoring two populations of A. cauliformis over a three year period using digital photography and diver-collected data, and analyzing these data with GIS techniques of spatial analysis. In this study, three commonly used spatial statistics (Ripley's K, Getis-Ord General G, and Moran's Index) were compared to each other and with direct measurements of individual interactions using join-counts, to determine the ideal method for investigating disease dynamics and transmission mechanisms in this system. During the study period, Hurricane Irene directly impacted these populations, providing an opportunity to assess potential storm effects on A. cauliformis and ARBS.
Infection with ARBS caused increased loss of healthy sponge tissue over time and a higher likelihood of individual mortality. Hurricane Irene had a dramatic effect on A. cauliformis populations by greatly reducing sponge biomass on the reef, especially among diseased individuals. Spatial analysis showed that direct contact between A. cauliformis individuals was the likely transmission mechanism for ARBS within a population, evidenced by a significantly higher number of contact-joins between diseased sponges compared to random. Of the spatial statistics compared, the Moran's Index best represented true connections between diseased sponges in the survey area. This study showed that spatial analysis can be a powerful tool for investigating disease dynamics and transmission in a coral reef ecosystem.
... Several studies have revealed that permanent associations exist between certain host sponges and specific microorganisms, however their interactions remained largely unknown (Althoff et al. 1998, Friedrich et al. 1999Schmidt et al. 2000). Moreover, sponges may also succumb to microbial and fungal infections which result in the disintegration of the sponge fibers/tissue and ultimately lead to sponge death (Vacelet et al. 1994). A more detailed understanding of the molecular interaction between sponges and their associated microorganisms was achieved by cloning the host-microbe recognizing receptors. ...
Marine organisms especially those that live sessile, as sponges, are well known to have specific relationships with a great variety of microorganisms including bacteria and fungi. As most simple metazoan phylum, the Porifera, which emerged first during the transition from the non-Metazoa to the Metazoa from the common ancestor, comprise wide arrays of recognition molecules, both for Gram-negative bacteria and for Gram-positive bacteria as well as for fungi. They react specifically with effector molecules to inhibit or kill the invading microorganisms. The elicitation and the subsequent effector reactions of the sponges towards these microbes are outlined. However, besides of the elimination of bacteria and fungi, some of those taxa are kept as symbionts of the sponges, allowing them, for example, to accumulate the essential element manganese or to synthesize carotinoids. The sponges produce low-molecular-weight bioactive compounds, secondary metabolites, to eliminate the microorganisms. In addition, they are armed with cationic antimicrobial peptides allowing them to defend against invasive microorganisms and, in parallel, to kill or repel also metazoan invaders. The broad range of chemically and functionally different compounds qualifies the Porifera as the most important animal phylum to be exploited as a source for the isolation of new potential drugs. First molecular biological strategies have been outlined to obtain those compounds in a sustainable way, by producing them recombinantly.
... The global market for bath sponges for domestic and industrial use is approximately $40 million per year. Commercial bath sponges are mostly sourced from wild populations located in the Caribbean, Bahamas and Florida, however, many of these sponge populations have been overharvested or decimated by disease (Vacelet et al. 1994, Pronzato 1999). ...
... Several recent studies have revealed that permanent associations exist between certain host sponges and spe-ci®c microorganisms; however their interactions remain largely unknown (Preston et al. 1996;Schumann-Kindel 1997;Altho et al. 1998;Friedrich et al. 1999;Schmidt et al. 2000;Friedrich et al. 2001). Furthermore, sponges may also succumb to microbial and fungal infections which result in the disintegration of the sponge ®bers/ tissue and ultimately lead to sponge death (Lauckner 1980;Vacelet et al. 1994). The fact that sponges are susceptible to microbial infection suggests that they should also be provided with mechanisms to prevent these types of diseases. ...
The aim of this study was the documentation of the molecular immune response of Suberites domuncula upon bacterial infection. Additionally, the bacteria that are naturally present in the sponge after prolonged aquarium maintenance were characterized. After 6 months of maintenance of S. domuncula in seawater aquaria, only one bacterial 16S rDNA sequence could be recovered, which belongs to the genus Pseudomonas. Concomitantly, morphologically uniform bacteria were found encapsulated in bacteriocytes. These findings indicate that certain bacteria, possibly of the genus Pseudomonas, are able to persist for long periods in host bacteriocytes. Subsequent to performing a previously established infection assay with S. domuncula, a potentially pathogenic Vibrio sp. was isolated from the tissues. Furthermore, the host tissue disintegrated and asexual propagation bodies (gemmules) were formed. In order to gain insights into the molecular events occurring after bacterial infection, the stress-response kinases, p38 protein kinase and JNK protein kinase, were analyzed. It is demonstrated that these two kinases are activated (phosphorylated) upon incubation of the tissue with the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Moreover, LPS strongly inhibits protein synthesis. It is concluded that there are many functionally different interactions between S. domuncula and bacteria and that the animal possesses mechanisms to differentiate between bacteria and to respond accordingly.
... The diseased tissues of commercial sponge species have been ascribed to unidentifi ed fungi (Galstoff 1942). Isolation of fungi from diseased sponge tissues implies that they may contribute to the disease development, or are opportunistic and/or secondary colonizers of diseased tissues predisposed by other infections or stresses (Sparks 1985;Vacelet et al. 1994). The increased occurrence of marine Thraustochytriaceae has been observed in the dying marine sponge Halichondria panicea (Richter 1985). ...
... Natural populations of the Mediterranean commercial sponges have recently undergone a decline, due to both overfishing and devastating epidemics (Gaino et al. 1992; Vacelet et al. 1994; Pronzato 1999; Pronzato & Manconi 2008). In particular, S. officinalis, S. agaricina and Hippospongia communis have disappeared from several coralligenous formations of the Northern Italian coast (Cerrano et al. 2000, 2005). ...
The present study focuses on the reproductive success of transplants of the bath sponge Spongia officinalis Linnaeus, 1759, with the aim of investigating the possibility of restocking this species, one of the most endangered organisms of the Mediterranean sessile zoobenthos. Transplants of S. officinalis, collected from a wild population along the Apulian coasts (Ionian Sea, Italy), have been moved into an area where the species was present in the past. The transplants consisted both of specimens in toto and of fragments of different sizes, obtained after having cut the mother sponge into pieces. All transplanted sponges showed complete cicatrisation of the cut surfaces within a month of the initial manipulation and had a survival rate of 100% throughout the 12 months of the study. From the present investigation, it has emerged that the reproductive effort and the larval release by the transplants do not differ significantly from those shown by the source population. This successful technical approach supports its application as a strategy for restocking the population of this endangered species.
... The first is represented by those microorganisms that come directly from the ambient sea water, remaining in the sponge body structures for a short time after their capture by specific tissues (pinacoderm, choanocyte chambers) (Reiswig, 1971(Reiswig, , 1974Simpson, 1984;Wilkinson et al., 1984;Koukouras et al., 1996). The second is represented by symbiotic micro-organisms found in the tissues of sponges (the mesohyl, where it represents up to 40% of living tissue), between the cells (extracellular) and in the cells, frequently in vacuoles (intracellular) (Vacelet and Donadey, 1977;Southward, 1987;Gaino and Pronzato, 1989;Colwell, 1990;Vacelet et al., 1994). In sponge extract, a clear distinction between these two categories of micro-organisms is not practicable. ...
For a period of 1 year, some blood parameters were evaluated on a monthly basis in a population of adult European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) intensively reared in floating marine cages (Ionian Sea, Mediterranean). From April (13 months old) to July (16 months old) males (35–50%) and sexually indeterminate individuals were collected. From August to March (24 months old) only males were sampled. During this period the percentage of spermiated males was highest (100%) from November (20 months old) to January (22 months old). Plasma testosterone in males was inversely related to sunlight (h month−1) and was elevated between October and January, when males first achieved sexual maturity. Testosterone showed the highest value (0.49 ± 0.02 ng ml−1) in January and the lowest (0.09 ± 0.02 ng ml−1) in March. Haematocrit, red blood cell counts and haemoglobin concentration were elevated from November to March, being inversely related to sunlight. The two latter parameters were also inversely related to daily food intake. Haematocrit, red blood cell counts and haemoglobin concentration were highest in December [53 ± 1%, (5.36 ± 0.06) × 106 mm−3, 10.08 ± 0.14 g 100 ml−1, respectively] and lowest in June [35 ± 1%, (3.33 ± 0.05) × 106 mm−3, 6.47 ± 0.13 g 100 ml−1, respectively]. White blood cell counts were not correlated with sea water temperature, sunlight or daily food intake. They were highest in February [(8.45 ± 0.20) × 104 mm−3] and lowest in April [(6.07 ± 0.14) × 104 mm−3]. Total plasma protein concentration (4.88 ± 0.11–5.93 ± 0.10 g 100 ml−1) and mean cell volume (93.3 ± 0.9–105.5 ± 1.8 μm3) showed small fluctuations throughout the year. Sexual maturity appears to be a major factor that significantly affects haemopoiesis of D. labrax. This study contributes to the evaluation of normal levels of some blood parameters in European sea bass, which are helpful for the assessment of physiological status and health of this species.
... Several factors have been linked with the initial outbreak and spread of the sponge disease, such as bacteria, high temperature, overfishing and dominant currents Pronzato, 1989, 1992;Vacelet et al., 1994;Castritsi-Catharios and Kefalas, 1999;Pronzato, 1999). However, further elucidation is required concerning the differences in mortality rates observed between adjacent sites or within a single site, as well as the discrepancies in the chronology of the outbreak. ...
1.A survey was undertaken (1995) on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt that investigated four sponge fishing grounds. These fishing banks suffered from sponge disease between 1987 and 1990, causing a mass mortality of commercial sponges in the eastern and central Mediterranean.2.Adult commercial sponges (length >10 cm) were harvested by divers in the infralittoral zone (depth range 17–36 m). The substratum at most of the sampling stations was hard, consisting mainly of plaques, rocks and heavy stones, sometimes covered by Posidonia oceanica.3.Two commercial sponge species were detected, Hippospongia communis and Spongia cfr zimocca; the former was more prevalent and abundant. Light penetration in the area surveyed was high. The two commercial sponge species detected seemed to be well adapted to these conditions, as indicated by the colour of their external membranes, which were almost black due to enhanced pigment formation. The absence of Spongia officinalis, in the area surveyed may also be related to light penetration, since S. officinalis is a more sciaphilous species.4.The shape of H. communis was almost spherical, and the average dimensions (length, width, height, circumference) increased with increasing depth of the fishing grounds. At shallower depths (<30 m), adult H. communis occurred in lower densities, whereas young commercial sponges were abundant. No signs of sponge disease were found.5.It is concluded that the recovery of the four sponge fishing grounds was in progress, and that the repopulation of commercial sponges in the infralittoral zone showed a gradient from deeper to shallower waters. It is recommended to prohibit destructive fishing methods in the deeper waters in order to protect the population and its ability to regenerate. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... The present supply of natural sponges is outstripped by demand and is sustained worldwide by the wild Caribbean product, which has replaced the more precious Mediterranean sponge since the 1980s. Indeed, the availability of Mediterranean sponges was dramatically reduced by the depletion of natural banks, due both to high fishing pressure and devastating epidemic events (Gaino and Pronzato, 1989, 1992; Gaino et al., 1992, 1994; Vacelet et al., 1994; Pronzato, 1999). Attempts at bath sponge cultivation have been performed since the end of the nineteenth century (Osinga et al., 1999; Brümmer and Nickel, 2003), although only more recently have such investigations identified proper rearing techniques of sponge culture (Stevely et al., 1978; Verdenal and Verdenal, 1987; Verdenal and Vacelet, 1990; Grovas, 1998; Scalera Liaci et al., 1999). ...
The availability of bath sponges has been recently reduced due to the depletion of natural banks due to the high fishing pressure together with some local epidemic events. At present, the commercial supply is far below the demand. The main purpose of this work was to estimate the rearing performance of Spongia officinalis var. adriatica, one of the most common Mediterranean commercial sponges, testing two different variants of culture on suspended ropes: a horizontal system placed close to the seabed, and a vertical system extended along the water column. The trials were carried out in Southern Italy (Ionian coast of Apulia, Central Mediterranean) from April 1997 to April 2000. Wild specimens of sponge were cut into pieces of different weight to test possible differences in growth and survival. During the study period, both systems resisted deterioration due to water movement and other ecological factors. In general, the growth performance (average weight, specific growth rate) did not significantly vary between the cultivation systems, nor were statistical differences in growth detected between the cuttings of different initial size. The mean growth observed was rather variable among sponge cuttings, even considering the same rearing condition and size range. The measured variations of hydrological parameters did not seem to affect survival, growth performance, or reproductive activity, which was detected almost all year round. Larger explants (about 50 g in wet weight) reached the commercial size after three years of rearing, thus identifying this initial size as the most suitable for cultivation 0044-8486/$ -see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
... Several studies have revealed that permanent associations exist between certain host sponges and specific microorganisms; however their interactions remained largely unknown (Althoff et al. 1998;Friedrich et al. 1999;. Moreover, sponges may also succumb to microbial and fungal infections which result in the disintegration of the sponge fibers/tissue and ultimately lead to sponge death (Vacelet et al. 1994). The fact that sponges are susceptible to microbial infection suggests that they should also be provided with mechanisms to prevent these types of diseases. ...
Multicellular organisms derived from one common ancestor, the Urmetazoa. The only living fossils, which can testify about
the earliest evolutionary processes in Metazoa on the molecular level are sponges (phylum: Porifera). The present study outlines
that stem cells may play essential roles in cellular specialization, embryogenesis and sponge Bauplan formation, using the
demosponge Suberites domuncula as a model. Data indicate that the archaeocytes represent, besides the germ/embryonic cells, totipotent stem cells. First
marker genes have been identified, which are expressed in totipotent stem cells and in cells from gemmules. Furthermore, genes
have been described that are characteristic for the three main cell lineages in sponges; they all originate from archaeocytes
and are involved in the differentiation of skeletal cells, epithelial cells and contractile cells. Finally it is shown that
after exposure to the endotoxin LPS (lipopolysaccharide) a differential gene expression occurs, leading to an upregulation
of the gene encoding perforin and a concomitant down-regulation of noggin, a stem cell marker. In parallel with this process
an increased phosphorylation of the mitogen-activating protein kinase p38 occurs. This modification of the p38 kinase has
been quantified with a novel ELISA assay. Our data suggest that in response to bacterial infection the number of stem cells
in sponges decreases.
KeywordsSponges-Cell culture-Infection-Stem cells-Primmorph-Strees-response genes-Gene expression-Sponge genes
... The rate of progression of the disease through the tissue was set at 0.5 cm per day. Maximum and minimum number of days depend on whether the initial lesion is in the center or edge of the sponge individual reports of sponges lost to disease in the Mediterranean, tropical Pacific, and Caribbean (e.g., Smith 1941;Pansini and Pronzato 1990;Vacelet et al. 1994;Pronzato et al. 1999;Butler et al. 1995;Cerrano et al. 2000;J. Cervino, personal communication;Perez et al. 2000;Wulff 2006). ...
For clonal organisms that can suffer high levels of partial mortality and still recover, the conditions that influence infection and development of disease (e.g., abiotic stressors, population density) may be very different from the conditions that influence recovery. Recovery from infectious disease may increase if an individual can mount a defense before infection spreads throughout its body. If pathogens spread within an organism from an initial infection point, growth form—in conjunction with size—can influence the amount of time before all the tissue is diseased, and recovery precluded. A simple model of pathogen progression within individual sponges predicts that species with massive growth forms will be most susceptible to being overwhelmed by pathogen infection, and branching species will be most likely to recover. These predictions may help to explain the seemingly contradictory observations that branching species had the greatest prevalence of disease, and massive species the greatest rate of loss, in a monitored coral reef community. Disease may be observed disproportionately frequently in the organisms that are most likely to recover, resulting in underestimation, by standard monitoring procedures, of the effect of disease on losses from the community.
In the last two decades, episodes of mass mortality in benthic communities have often been associated with climatic anomalies, but the ultimate mechanisms through which they lead to death have rarely been identified. This study reports a mass mortality of wild sponges in the Aegean Sea (Turkey, Eastern Mediterranean), which affected the keratose demosponge Sarcotragus foetidus in September 2021. We examined the occurrence of thermo-dependent bacteria of the genus Vibrio in the sponges, identified through 16S rRNA of colonies isolated from sponge tissue in specific culturing media. Six Vibrio sequences were identified from the sponges, three of them being putatively pathogenic ( V. fortis , V. owensii , V. gigantis ). Importantly, those Vibrios were isolated from only tissues of diseased sponges. In contrast, healthy individuals sampled in both summer and winter led to no Vibrio growth in laboratory cultures. A 50 years record of sea surface temperature (SST) data for the study area reveals a progressive increase in temperature from 1970 to 2021, with values above 24°C from May to September 2021, reaching an absolute historical maximum of 28.9°C in August 2021. We hypothesize that such elevated SST values maintained for several months in 2021 promoted proliferation of pathogenic Vibrio species (thermo-dependent bacteria) in S. foetidus , triggering or aggravating the course of sponge disease. Thus, vibrioisis emerges as one of the putative mechanisms through which global water warming in the Mediterranean Sea translates into sponge mortality. The historical time course of temperature data for the studied area in the Aegean Sea predicts that recurrent waves of elevated SST are likely to occur in the coming summers. If so, recurrent disease may eventually eliminate this abundant sponge from the sublittoral in the midterm, altering the original bathymetric distribution of the species and compromising its ecological role.
This chapter presents an overview of the clinical signs and major disease syndromes affecting captive and wild invertebrates. This grouping includes all animal groups not in the subphylum Vertebrata. Covered in this chapter are the Porifera (sponges), coelenterates (jellyfish, anemones, corals – wild and in cultivation), mollusks (bivalves), gastropods (abalone), cephalopods, crustaceans, and urochordates.
Marine sponges harbor numerous microorganisms, among which sponge-associated yeasts are the least explored. To gain greater knowledge of sponge-associated yeasts, an investigation was therefore performed on marine sponges in Sattahip Bay, Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea. Seventy-one (71) marine sponge samples were collected at sites near Samae-san, Mu, and Khram islands, and were subsequently identified as 17 sponge species in 14 genera. Eighty-seven (87) yeast strains were isolated from 42 samples. The identification of yeasts by similarity analysis of the D1/D2 domain sequences of the large subunit rRNA gene revealed that 64% of the yeast strains obtained belonged to the phylum Basidiomycota, while the remaining strains belonged to the phylum Ascomycota. The strains that belonged to Ascomycota comprised 11 known yeast species in five genera (Candida, Kodamaea, Magnusiomyces, Meyerozyma, and Pichia). The strains belonging to the phylum Basidiomycota comprised 14 known yeast species in eight genera (Cutaneotrichosporon, Cystobasidium, Naganishia, Papiliotrema, Rhodosporidiobolus, Rhodotorula, Trichosporon, and Vishniacozyma). In addition, three strains represented a potential novel species closest to Cys. slooffiae; one strain represented a potential novel species closest to R. toruloides; and one strain represented a potential novel species closest to V. foliicola. The species with the highest occurrence was Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. No marked difference was found in the principal coordinates analysis of the ordinations of yeast communities from the three sampling sites. The estimation using EstimateS software showed that the expected species richness was higher than the observed species richness. As the marine sponge–yeast association remains unclear, more systematic investigations should be carried out.
For decades, water quality in Florida Bay and the shallow, back-reef areas of large portions of the Florida Keys (Florida, USA) have varied dramatically as a consequence of climatic conditions and water management strategies in the adjacent freshwater marshes of the Everglades. The resulting fluctuations in water quality have led to die-offs of seagrass and sponges in hard-bottom habitats, transforming the ecosystem. In this study, we examined the implications of water quality on sponge community structure in two ways. First, in laboratory experiments we tested the tolerance of five prominent sponge species to salinities ranging from 15 psu to 45 psu at typical summer and winter temperatures. We then compared sponge distributions at 32 sites in the Florida Keys with regional patterns in water quality. Our experiments showed that during the summer the loggerhead sponge (Speciospongia vesparium) and glove sponge (Spongia cheiris) were the most tolerant of sustained changes in salinity, but most species died at higher rates at salinities other than 35 psu. Salinity-associated mortality declined in the winter, but was again higher at salinities <35 psu. A pulsed change in salinity at summer temperatures yielded idiosyncratic results depending on the species. Analysis of the field data showed that some species such as Ircinia variablis and Cinachyrella alloclada grow in most environments, whereas the occurrence of most species declines when salinity is variable and at high nutrient concentrations. These results provide a more detailed picture of the species-specific environmental tolerance of several shallow-water Caribbean sponges, and suggest that changes in environmental conditions are likely to significantly impact their distribution and species composition with potentially drastic impacts on ecosystem function.
This chapter develops the synchronization control for a class of nonlinear fractional-order systems subjected to input saturation based on the state-feedback control method. Section details the problem formulation. Section presents the synchronization controller based on the saturation function and the state vector. Simulation studies are presented in Section to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed synchronization control method; some concluding remarks are made in Section .
To forecast marine disease outbreaks as oceans warm requires new environmental surveillance tools. We describe an iterative process for developing these tools that combines research, development and deployment for suitable systems. The first step is to identify candidate host–pathogen systems. The 24 candidate systems we identified include sponges, corals, oysters, crustaceans, sea stars, fishes and sea grasses (among others). To illustrate the other steps, we present a case study of epizootic shell disease (ESD) in the American lobster. Increasing prevalence of ESD is a contributing factor to lobster fishery collapse in southern New England (SNE), raising concerns that disease prevalence will increase in the northern Gulf of Maine under climate change. The lowest maximum bottom temperature associated with ESD prevalence in SNE is 128C. Our seasonal outlook for 2015 and long-term projections show bottom temperatures greater than or equal to 128C may occur in this and coming years in the coastal bays of Maine. The tools presented will allow managers to target efforts to monitor the effects of ESD on fishery sustainability and will be iteratively refined. The approach and case example highlight that temperature-based surveillance tools can inform research, monitoring and management of emerging and continuing marine disease threats.
México has great biological diversity, but deforestation and climate change threatens its conservation. The loss of biodiversity has been inferred, quantifying deforestation of the principal vegetation types, relating that loss with the reduction in natural habitat. Nonetheless, this scope does not evaluate the impact of deforestation at species level. Climate change is causing changes in climatic regimes that are already impacting in different aspects of biodiversity, like alteration in geographic distributional ranges of species. In this chapter, we integrated habitat loss and climate change to evaluate the effect in the geographic distribution range of a selection of vertebrate species and species from the Opuntia genera in México. Ecological niche models were generated and then projected as distributional ranges. The actual distribution for each species was estimated according to the loss of vegetation types to which these species are associated, using a land use and vegetation map for México. Projections on two different climate change scenarios were done, using scenario A2 (severe or "pessimistic") and B2 (conservative or "non pessimistic") for 2020, 2050 and 2080 in order to anticipate its effect in the distribution of the species selected.
Competition and pathogenesis are two important ecological processes in marine ecosystems. Competition defines interactions between individuals relative to the acquisition of limiting resources. This process includes the act of fouling, but for the purposes of this chapter, we will focus largely on competitive interactions between macroorganisms. Pathogenesis is the initiation and progression of a disease in a host organism, and it has become recognized as an increasingly important process in marine ecosystems, particularly in the face of accelerating climate change and stress from anthropogenic stressors. There is fairly solid evidence that these processes can be mediated by allelochemicals and antimicrobials, respectively. Yet unequivocal proof that natural products are acting in an ecologically relevant manner, in situ, represents a major experimental challenge for marine ecologists. The goal of this chapter is to (1) provide an overview of these ecological processes, (2) single out particularly successful research techniques relative to these processes, and (3) distinguish marine natural products that have been identified as defenses against competitors and pathogens. This chapter will focus on sessile invertebrates and plants since their mechanisms for defending themselves against competition and pathogenesis are more likely to include the production of natural products. To date, there are several examples of extracts from marine plants and invertebrates that have demonstrated allelopathic and antimicrobial activity using a diversity of experimental methodologies. Highlighted are examples of metabolites shown to play a role in allelopathic interactions with algae, soft corals, and sponges, as well as compounds that display antimicrobial activity in algae, soft corals, and sponges.
Diversity of Tunisian demosponges : A review of studies carried out until 2003 on sponge systematic, benthic bionomy and on Tunisian marine biodiversity, as well as recent signalisations, allowed us to draw up a list of Tunisian demosponges (Demospongiae, Porifera) of 143 species, belonging to 65 genera, 37 families and 13 orders (including three sub-orders), not equitably distributed within the three Tunisian geographical regions: North, east and south.
The southern one is the most rich in number of species and genera. Besides, the species are divided in three groups. The first one of 33 species, has a large geographical repartition from the North up to the South of Tunisia,; The second one, of 37 species occurring in two regions at the same time (north and east, north and south or east and south). While the third group of 72 species, the most important one, has a geographical repartition restricted to one only of the three regions (northern region or the eastern region or the southern one). Furthermore, a Czekanowski’s coefficient, weak and not so different from a region to an other, as well as the existence of a contingent of 72 species with a single regional occurrence, don’t allow conclusions regarding the existence of a regional centre of species diffusion, but support the idea of regional specificity for the Tunisian demosponges stocks, mainly in the southern and northern region.
The life-history traits of long-lived benthic littoral invertebrates remain poorly understood. In this study, we analysed patterns of growth in three abundant sublittoral sponges from the western Mediterranean Sea, chosen for their close phylogenetic relatedness, sympatric distribution, and contrasting amounts of photosymbionts: high in Ircinia
fasciculata, lower in I. variabilis, and absent in I. oros. Sponge area, perimeter, number of oscula, and epibiont abundance were quantified from in situ digital images taken monthly for 1.5 years and volumetric growth rates were calculated from empirical area–volume relationships. Volumetric growth rates were different among species and coherent with the photosymbiont abundance: high in I. fasciculata (40.03 ± 4.81 % year−1, mean ± SE), low in I. variabilis (5.65 ± 6.11 % year−1), and almost nil in I. oros (−0.04 ± 3.02 % year−1). Furthermore, a marked seasonality was observed in the first two species, with greater growth during the warm season. The high growth rates of I. fasciculata were likely fuelled by symbiont-derived photosynthates and required to compete in the well-lit, algal-dominated habitats this species prefers. In contrast, I. variabilis and I. oros tended to dwell in shaded habitats, where competition from slow-growing invertebrates is intense, and featured lower growth rates. The flattened morphology and lower circularity of I. variabilis indicates a capacity for adaptation to any space that is freed, while I. oros had less oscula and was more massive and circular, suggesting a strategy of passive occupation and minimisation of biological interactions. The results show that even congeneric species living sympatrically can achieve important biomass using different growth and substrate occupation strategies.
Healthy specimens of the Mediterranean Petrosia ficiformis har bour endocellular cyanobacteria (Aphanocapsa feldmanni) caus ing a violet pigmentation of the sponge. Necrosis in P. ficiformis can be easily detected by the occurrence of white patches scat tered over the surface. Necrotic specimens were examined along the Gallinara Island coasts (Western Ligurian Sea), in coincidence with environmental stress (heavy rainfall, land run‐off, high sea‐water temperature). The appearance of white patches is due to the gradual sloughing of the pinacodermal covering, as evidenced by scanning electron microscopic observations. Sloughing leads to progressive tissue degeneration in the deeper parts. Histologi‐cal sections showed that, concomitantly with the loss of the su perficial layer, internal sponge tissues degenerate and the sponge body becomes exposed to the invasion of ciliates. Spicule bun dles of the skeletal network separate damaged tissues from the healthy ones, thereby slowing down spread of necrosis and en abling successful recovery.
There is increasing interest in biotechnological production of marine sponge biomass owing to the discovery of many commercially
important secondary metabolites in this group of animals. In this article, different approaches to producing sponge biomass
are reviewed, and several factors that possibly influence culture success are evaluated. In situ sponge aquacultures, based
on old methods for producing commercial bath sponges, are still the easiest and least expensive way to obtain sponge biomass
in bulk. However, success of cultivation with this method strongly depends on the unpredictable and often suboptimal natural
environment. Hence, a better-defined production system would be desirable. Some progress has been made with culturing sponges
in semicontrolled systems, but these still use unfiltered natural seawater. Cultivation of sponges under completely controlled
conditions has remained a problem. When designing an in vitro cultivation method, it is important to determine both qualitatively
and quantitatively the nutritional demands of the species that is to be cultured. An adequate supply of food seems to be the
key to successful sponge culture. Recently, some progress has been made with sponge cell cultures. The advantage of cell cultures
is that they are completely controlled and can easily be manipulated for optimal production of the target metabolites. However,
this technique is still in its infancy: a continuous cell line has yet to be established. Axenic cultures of sponge aggregates
(primmorphs) may provide an alternative to cell culture. Some sponge metabolites are, in fact, produced by endosymbiotic bacteria
or algae that live in the sponge tissue. Only a few of these endosymbionts have been cultivated so far. The biotechnology
for the production of sponge metabolites needs further development. Research efforts should be continued to enable commercial
exploitation of this valuable natural resource in the near future.
In 1986 a severe epidemic affecting horny sponges broke out in several areas of the Mediterranean Sea. The disease rapidly spread to species of marketing interest belonging to the genera Spongia and Hippospongia. Ultrastructural studies of Spongia officinalis evidenced two main features: 1) peculiar bacteria with irregularly dotted electron‐dense walls within the tissue; 2) profound alterations of the skeleton with bacterial damage of fibres. These lesions made the sponges unsuitable for commercial purposes. Long‐term investigation in the Marsala Lagoon (northwestern Sicily) and at the Portofino Promontory (eastern Ligurian coast) in 1986–1989 evidenced striking incidence of the disease on the abundance of sponges. Reparative processes were also present in specimens collected during the epidemic that affected even other demosponges besides horny sponges. The etiology of the disease is discussed.
Most Keratose sponges of the order Dictyoceratida and some sponges of other orders contain a huge population of extracellular bacteria in their tissue. Electron microscopy shows that, in all specimens of two Mediterranean specie of Verongia, these bacteria constitute more than 33% of the volume of the living material. The gram negative bacteria belong to several morphologically distinct types, some of which are characterized by an extensive thickening of the cell wall. The larvae of the Dictyoceratida take along bacteria from their mother. The relationships between the bacteria and the sponge may be complex, but the prolific growth of the bacteria compared to sea water conditions and the direct consumption of the bacteria by the sponge cells are most apparent. The importance of such a bacterial population in the physiology of the animal, mainly in its nutrition, is discussed. Some other rare and morphologically different intracellular bacteria are described.
Isometric particles have been observed in the nuclei of giant cells occurring in a disturbed area of the tissue of the sponge Verongia cavernicola. Morphological similarities are apparent between these particles and adenoviruses. In the same area, other giant cells, probably related to the preceding, contain either nuclear rings or cytoplasmic granules of possible viral nature.
Thesis (doctoral)--Université de Lyon, 1906. Includes bibliographical references (p. 180-185). Microfiche.
Three kinds of fibers with a widely different morphology were isolated from several species of horny sponges: (a) intercellular collagen fibrils (spongin A of Gross3); (b) spongin fibers (spongin B3); and (c) a distinct filament present only in Ircinia. In the last two fibers elementary fibrils can be distinguished under the electron microscope which are densely packed in spongin fibers and helically coiled and surrounded by an amorphous cuticule in Ircinia filaments8.
The chemical composition of these three fibers was studied by comparing their nitrogen, iron, hexose, hexosamine and amino acid composition. The collagenous nature of Ircinia filaments was confirmed by their amino acid composition and by the presence of glycosyl galactosyl hydroxylysine. Compared to spongin fibers and to intercellular collagen fibrils the Ircinia filaments show some significant differences. Like spongin, the Ircinia filaments contain less threonine and serine and show a lower degree of glycosylation of hydroxylysine than intercellular collagen.
Ircinia filaments and spongin resisted heating to 90° in 5% trichloroacetic acid. On the other hand intercellular collagen was “solubilized” under these conditions as vertebrate collagens.
The kinetics of “solubilization” of spongin fibers and Ircinia filaments were studied in water and in ethanolic KOH. The speed of hydrolysis of both fibers increased considerably in the presence of ethanol suggesting the importance of hydrophobic interactions in the stabilization of these fibers. Ircinia filaments were solubilized more rapidly than spongin fibers. The difference in alkali sensitivity of these two fibers may be related to their different tertiary and quaternary structure.
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