Sponges Collected during the Third Indian Antarctic Research Expedition with Description of Isodictya Echinata Sp. Novo

Six species of sponges collected from the Antarctic Sea off Queen Maud Land (69°54'S and 12°49' E) during the Third Indian Antarctic Research Expedition (December, 1983 to March, 1984) are described with suitable illustrations. Of the six species, three are referable to the Class Demospongiae Soli as and the others to the Class Hexactinellida Schmidt. One species of the Class Demospongiae, Isodictya echinata is described here as new to science

The Ongoing Study of the Chemistry of the Marine Inhabitants of The Ramsar Site of Port Royal, Jamaica

Research efforts to examine the chemistry of marine organisms collected from the Ramsar site of Port Royal, Jamaica, has led to the isolation of a range of compounds as diverse as the species from which they were derived. Six sponges, two algal species, one ascidian and one soft coral collected from the mangrove area and the shallow coastal reefs were studied to yield compounds including steroids, aromatic compounds and terpenoids

Advancement into the Arctic Region for Bioactive Sponge Secondary Metabolites

Porifera have long been a reservoir for the discovery of bioactive compounds and drug discovery. Most research in the area has focused on sponges from tropical and temperate waters, but more recently the focus has shifted to the less accessible colder waters of the Antarctic and, to a lesser extent, the Arctic. The Antarctic region in particular has been a more popular location for natural products discovery and has provided promising candidates for drug development. This article reviews groups of bioactive compounds that have been isolated and reported from the southern reaches of the Arctic Circle, surveys the known sponge diversity present in the Arctic waters, and details a recent sponge collection by our group in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The collection has yielded previously undescribed sponge species along with primary activity against opportunistic infectious diseases, malaria, and HCV. The discovery of new sponge species and bioactive crude extracts gives optimism for the isolation of new bioactive compounds from a relatively unexplored source

Phylogenetic Relationships of the Marine Haplosclerida (Phylum Porifera) Employing Ribosomal (28S rRNA) and Mitochondrial (cox1, nad1) Gene Sequence Data

The systematics of the poriferan Order Haplosclerida (Class Demospongiae) has been under scrutiny for a number of years without resolution. Molecular data suggests that the order needs revision at all taxonomic levels. Here, we provide a comprehensive view of the phylogenetic relationships of the marine Haplosclerida using many species from across the order, and three gene regions. Gene trees generated using 28S rRNA, nad1 and cox1 gene data, under maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches, are highly congruent and suggest the presence of four clades. Clade A is comprised primarily of species of Haliclona and Callyspongia, and clade B is comprised of H. simulans and H. vansoesti (Family Chalinidae), Amphimedon queenslandica (Family Niphatidae) and Tabulocalyx (Family Phloeodictyidae), Clade C is comprised primarily of members of the Families Petrosiidae and Niphatidae, while Clade D is comprised of Aka species. The polyphletic nature of the suborders, families and genera described in other studies is also found here

The Ability of biofilter sponge demospongiae class with various forms of growth towards the turbidity and total suspended solid

The sponge is an invertebrate animal from phylum porifera that lives permanently and filters out what is in the water column. The sponge has various forms of growth, including massive, branching, and submissive. Each form of growth is indicated to have different filtering abilities, so this research needs to be done. This study aims to determine whether the ability to filter (biofilter) Turbidity and Total Suspended Solid sponge depends on the form of growth (Massive, Submassive, and Branching). This research was conducted from September to October 2016. Taking sponges in the waters of Barranglompo Island, testing was carried out at the Hatchery Marine Station at Hasanuddin University, Barranglompo Island and measurements of water quality parameters were carried out at the Chemical Oceanography Laboratory, Department of Marine Sciences, Faculty of Marine and Fisheries, Hasanuddin University. The acclimatization process needs to be done to adapt the sponge before being given treatment. Each aquarium is filled with seawater that has been mixed with sediments as much as 0.17 mg/l. Then each form of sponge growth is put into an aquarium with the same body volume of 500 cm3 and sees the ability to filter it for 10 hours and 24 hours. After that, water samples were taken at each aquarium to measure turbidity parameters, Total Suspended Solid, and Total Organic Materials. The results showed that at 10 hours and 24 hours the sponge with submassive growth forms filtered more particles in the water column than massive and branching growth forms, while sponge with branching growth forms run into stress and death after filtering for 24 hours.Keywords: growth pattern, biofilter, sediment, sponge

Phylogenetic Diversity of Bacterial Community Associated with the Marine Sponge Halichondira nigrocutis Collected off Southwest Indian Coast

This study aimed to evaluate the bacterial communities associated with the marine sponge Halichondria nigrocutis present in Indian waters by both cultivation and cultivation-independent techniques. Results using cultivation method showed that bacteria belonging to Bacillus, Acinetobacter and Vibrio spp. to be the predominant groups. Metagenomic study of sponge-associated bacteria by cultivation independent approach, involving cloning and sequencing of the 16S rDNA gene generated sequences that were subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Results demonstrated the community structure to be represented by the phyla Proteobacteria (alpha-, gamma- and delta-classes), Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, with isolates belonging to alpha-proteobacterial group to be predominating. To our knowledge this study appears to be the first to record cultivable and uncultivable bacterial groups associated with H.nigrocutis from Indian waters

Sponges - systematics, as pests of molluscs, agents of bioerosion and a source of bioactive compounds

This paper on sponges deals mainly with 1) systematics, 2) as pests oj molluscs and agents oj bioerosion and 3) as a source of bioactive compounds. Sponges have many physical and physiological peculiarilies not seen in other animal groups, and hence they can be used in the study oJ cellular biology, evolution of ner-' vous system, reproduction, bioerosion, bioactiuity, symbiosis, etc. Many of the lower invertebrates are considered to possess chemical compounds with proven btodynamic potentials. But, in India, such studies, except in a few groups, have not progressed satisfactorily for want of sufficient expertise on the 'source material', their availability and taxonomic position. Hence, basic taxonomic studies will have to be initiated on all lower invertebrate groups as priority areas for a better management of any project aimed at synthesising 'wonder drugs' from marine animals and also to meet the biodiversity - linked mandate endorsed by the recent CATT Agreement

Marine Drugs from Sponge-Microbe Association—A Review

The subject of this review is the biodiversity of marine sponges and associated microbes which have been reported to produce therapeutically important compounds, along with the contextual information on their geographic distribution. Class Demospongiae and the orders Halichondrida, Poecilosclerida and Dictyoceratida are the richest sources of these compounds. Among the microbial associates, members of the bacterial phylum Actinobacteria and fungal division Ascomycota have been identified to be the dominant producers of therapeutics. Though the number of bacterial associates outnumber the fungal associates, the documented potential of fungi to produce clinically active compounds is currently more important than that of bacteria. Interestingly, production of a few identical compounds by entirely different host-microbial associations has been detected in both terrestrial and marine environments. In the Demospongiae, microbial association is highly specific and so to the production of compounds. Besides, persistent production of bioactive compounds has also been encountered in highly specific host-symbiont associations. Though spatial and temporal variations are known to have a marked effect on the quality and quantity of bioactive compounds, only a few studies have covered these dimensions. The need to augment production of these compounds through tissue culture and mariculture has also been stressed. The reviewed database of these compounds is available at www.niobioinformatics.in/drug.php

Monanchocidin A From Subarctic Sponges of the Genus Monanchora and Their Promising Selectivity Against Melanoma in vitro

© Copyright © 2020 Gogineni, Oh, Waters, Kelly, Stone and Hamann. Marine sources have long been known for their potential to produce unique skeletons and various biological activities. Fractionation of the ethanol extracts of an undescribed species of Monanchora Carter, 1883 and a specimen closely comparable to Monanchora pulchra (Lambe, 1894/1895) (Class Demospongiae, Order Poecilosclerida, Family Crambeidae), yielded a known compound, monanchocidin A. Monanchocidin A, a secondary metabolite, showed very modest antibacterial, antifungal, and antiprotozoal activities with IC50 values ranging between 255.75 and 7288.92 μM. Monanchocidin A also exhibited potent selective activity for the melanoma panel in the NCI cancer cell screening panel

DNA barcoding of sponges (Phylum Porifera) in South Africa

Abstract : South Africa is renowned for its biological diversity and is a hotspot for marine invertebrates (Griffith et al., 2010), including sponges (Porifera). Despite their pivotal role for the functionality of the marine ecosystem, a reliable estimate of the species richness of sponges in South Africa is difficult. Using morphological characters for species identification has its limitations: it is hindered by the paucity and plasticity of morphological characters (Blanquer & Uriz 2007, Sperling et al., 2011) which may result in numerous species being morphologically indistinguishable, i.e. “cryptic” species. The sponge fauna of South Africa is also understudied, although this issue has begun to be addressed, with more than 40 new species described from this region over the last 10 years. It is likely that the current estimate of sponge biodiversity nonetheless remains a considerable underestimate, and numerous suspected new species remain to be described (Samaai, pers. comm.). Over the last five years, increased efforts were placed on documenting South African biodiversity, with sponges as one of the focus groups. The present study is part of this initiative, and constitutes the first genetic study on South African sponges aimed at complementing morphological data to help resolve sponge taxonomy. The results indicate that South African sponges are not as widespread as previously thought, but comprise cryptic and genetically distinct evolutionary lineages. Importantly, the results show that sponges identified from South Africa as southern hemisphere are representatives of supposedly cosmopolitan species that have been misidentified. Moreover, some species assumed to be widespread in southern Africa actually turned out to be subdivided into regional evolutionary lineages with distinct distribution ranges. In some cases the molecular data corroborated the morphological species identification, whereas in other instances the combined approach revealed the presence of species complexes. This study represents a first step in constructing a reference library for South African sponges and to advance our understanding of the diversity, biogeography and evolutionary adaptability of South African sponges.M.Sc. (Zoology