Project description:Sponges are ecologically important components of marine and freshwater benthic environments; these holobionts contain a variety of microorganisms and viruses. For the metagenomic characterization of potential taxonomic and functional diversity of sponge-associated dsDNA viruses, we surveyed two samples of Baikal endemic sponge Baikalospongia bacillifera (diseased and visually healthy). In total, after quality processing, we have obtained 3 375 063 and 4 063 311 reads; of these 97 557 and 88 517 sequences, accounting for ca. 2.9 and 2.2% of datasets, have been identified as viral. We have revealed approximately 28 viral families, among which the bacteriophages of the Myoviridae, Siphoviridae and Podoviridae families, as well as the viruses of the Phycodnaviridae and Poxviridae families, dominated in the samples. Analysis of viral sequences using the COG database has indicated 22 functional categories of proteins. Viral communities of visually healthy and diseased Baikal sponges were significantly different. The metagenome sequence data were deposited to NCBI SRA as BioProject PRJNA577390.
Project description:<p>Marine sponges can host abundant and diverse microbiomes, which can largely influence the metabolism and other phenotypic traits of the host. However, information on the potential relationships between sponge microbiomes and metabolic signatures, other than secondary metabolites explored for biotechnological purposes, needs further investigation. Applying an integrated approach, we investigated the microbiomes associated with 4 ubiquitous Mediterranean sponge species (i.e., Petrosia ficiformis, Chondrosia reniformis, Crambe crambe and Chondrilla nucula), correlated with their metabolomic patterns (in terms of lipidomics) and microbial predicted functions. Microscopy observations of sponge tissues revealed differences in microbial abundances, which, however, were only partially linked to their diversity assessed through metabarcoding. The microbiomes of the 4 sponges showed a species-specific composition and a different core size, which was independent from the microbial diversity of the surrounding seawater. Predicted functions of the associated microbiomes allowed identifying 2 functional host clusters: one more related to heterotrophic pathways and the other more linked to phototrophic activities. Differences in the microbiomes were also associated with different metabolic profiles, mostly due to specific compounds characterizing the host and its microbiome. Overall, this study provides new insights on the functionality of sponges and their prokaryotic symbioses’, and in particular, it discloses a descriptive sketch of the diverse compartments forming the sponge holobiont.</p>
Project description:Clinical use of intraoperative auto-transfusion requires the removal of platelets and plasma proteins due to the pump-based suction and water-soluble anticoagulant administration, which causes dilutional coagulopathy. Herein, we develop a carboxylated and sulfonated heparin-mimetic polymer-modified sponge that could spontaneously adsorb blood (1.149 kg/m-2 s-1/2) along with instantaneous anticoagulation. We demonstrate that intrinsic coagulation factors (especially XI) are inactivated by adsorption to the sponge surface, while inactivation of thrombin in the sponge-treated plasma effectively inhibits the common coagulation pathway. Benefiting from the multiple inhibitory effects of sponge on coagulation enzymes and calcium depletion, the whole blood auto-transfusion in trauma-induced hemorrhage is unprecedentedly realized. The transfusion of collected blood favors faster recovery of hemostasis compared to traditional heparinized blood in an animal model. Our work not only develops a safe and convenient approach for whole blood auto-transfusion, but also provides the mechanism of action of self-anticoagulant heparin-mimetic polymer-modified surfaces.
Project description:This paper reports on a new species of the Baikal endemic sponge (fam. Lubomirskiidae) Swartschewskia khanaevi sp. nov. The description of this species is based on morphological and molecular data (ITS and mitochondrial IGRs). Morphologically, S. khanaevi sp. nov. differs from S. papyracea by loose tracts arranged in an irregular network as well as the presence on strongyles of compound spines looking like tubercles densely ornamented with simple spines. Moreover, specimens of S. khanaevi sp. nov. show a peculiar structure of the aquiferous system at the body surface that may be an adaptive trait for environmental conditions. Phylogenetic analysis has revealed that S. khanaevi sp. nov. forms a well-supported (0.99) monophyletic clade with S. papyracea and is allocated as its sister taxa.
Project description:Freshwater sponges (Spongillida) are a unique lineage of demosponges that secondarily colonized lakes and rivers and are now found ubiquitously in these ecosystems. They developed specific adaptations to freshwater systems, including the ability to survive extreme thermal ranges, long-lasting dessication, anoxia, and resistance to a variety of pollutants. While spongillids have colonized all freshwater systems, the family Lubomirskiidae is endemic to Lake Baikal, and plays a range of key roles in this ecosystem. Our work compares the genomic content and microbiome of individuals of three species of the Lubomirskiidae, providing hypotheses for how molecular evolution has allowed them to adapt to their unique environments. We have sequenced deep (>92% of the metazoan 'Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs' (BUSCO) set) transcriptomes from three species of Lubomirskiidae and a draft genome resource for Lubomirskia baikalensis. We note Baikal sponges contain unicellular algal and bacterial symbionts, as well as the dinoflagellate Gyrodinium. We investigated molecular evolution, gene duplication and novelty in freshwater sponges compared to marine lineages. Sixty one orthogroups have consilient evidence of positive selection. Transporters (e.g. zinc transporter-2), transcription factors (aristaless-related homeobox) and structural proteins (for example actin-3), alongside other genes, are under strong evolutionary pressure in freshwater, with duplication driving novelty across the Spongillida, but especially in the Lubomirskiidae. This addition to knowledge of freshwater sponge genetics provides a range of tools for understanding the molecular biology and, in the future, the ecology (for example, colonization and migration patterns) of these key species.
Project description:A major challenge in Down syndrome (DS) is to understand how the extra-dose of functional chromosome 21 (HSA21) genetic elements can impact on the tissue-specific transcriptome to contribute to phenotypic alterations. MiRNAs are post-transcriptional modulators with genome-wide regulatory effects. Five microRNAs have been identified in HSA21 that are present in triple copy in DS individuals. Interestingly, in the Ts65Dn mouse model of DS two of these miRNAs, miR-155 and miR-802, are also triplicated resulting in its overexpression. In the current work, we have developed a lentiviral miRNA-sponge genetic strategy for miR-155 and miR-802 (Lv-miR155-802T) to identify novel mRNA targets involved in hippocampal function. Hippocampal injection of the lentiviral sponge in Ts65Dn mice reduced miR-155 and miR-802 overexpression. Noticeable lentiviral sponge rescued the expression of the miRNA predicted targets showing the potential of the strategy to identify miRNA dosage-sensitive genes with potential involvement in DS-hippocampal phenotypes.