Anatomical and ultrastructural studies of chemical defence in the sponge Dysidea fragilis

The marine sponge Dysidea fragilis from El Mar Menor, a hypersaline coastal lagoon (Murcia, Spain), contains the furanosesquiterpenoid ent-furodysinin as the major secondary metabolite. D. fragilis emits a defensive white fluid when it is disturbed. Electron micrographs of this fluid revealed intact vesiculated cells together with other amorphous material. Dissociated cells are more rounded in shape but maintain the same ultrastructural features as cells observed in ultrathin sections of the whole sponge. The defensive secretion is composed mainly of sponge cells with abundant light vesicles. Sometimes these light vesicles appear to open into the intercellular space; this correlates with surface blebs on these cells observed under scanning electron microscopy. The intracellular location of ent-furodysinin was confirmed by Erlich staining. In laboratory assays, we examined the role of ent-furodysinin as a feeding deterrent to generalist fish predators. It was isolated from D. fragilis and incorporated into a carrageenan-based artificial diet. The addition of ent-furodysinin to the artificial diet reduced feeding by the fish Thalassoma pave. Similarly, fish did not feed on artificial diet above which defensive secretion of D. fragilis had been ejected with a small syringe.

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Marin A. Lopez D. Esteban M.A. Meseguer J. Munoz J. y Fontana A. Anatomical and ultrastructural studies of chemical defence in the sponge Dysidea fragilis. Springer Nature, 1998. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050356

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Fecha de creación 05-11-2024
Fecha de última modificación 19-01-2025
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Identificador de los metadatos f9945fcc-31d4-530c-80f1-71bfe5fe1a90
Idioma de los metadatos Español
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Categoría del conjunto de alto valor (HVD) Observación de la Tierra y medio ambiente
Categoría temática ISO 19115
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Nombre del autor Marin, A., Lopez, D., Esteban, M.A., Meseguer, J., Munoz, J. y Fontana, A.
Nombre del editor Springer Nature
Identificador alternativo DOI: 10.1007/s002270050356
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Email del autor arnaldo@um.es
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