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Analysis of fluorescent and non-fluorescent sea anemones from the Mediterranean Sea during a bleaching event

Analysis of fluorescent and non-fluorescent sea anemones from the Mediterranean Sea during a bleaching event
Analysis of fluorescent and non-fluorescent sea anemones from the Mediterranean Sea during a bleaching event
We examined the physiological responses to bleaching of two shallow water anemones, Anemonia sulcata var. smaragdina and A. rustica, common to the Mediterranean Sea. The tentacle coloration of A. sulcata var. smaragdina is caused by proteins homologous to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) from Aequorea victoria. Minor amounts of the transcripts for the same GFP-like proteins were also detected in tentacles of the non-fluorescent Anemonia rustica. During a bleaching event observed in the Mediterranean Sea, representatives of both species lost 90% of their zooxanthellae, indicating that the green fluorescent host pigmentation had no influence on the degree of bleaching of the two sea anemone species. Interestingly, the content of fluorescent proteins was also significantly reduced in bleached individuals of A. sulcata. The content of mycosporine-like aminoacids (MAAs) was essentially unaltered in bleached specimens. Bleached anemones were characterized by increased levels of superoxide dismutase activity, whereas the catalase activity in these animals was significantly reduced. The latter results indicate that oxidative stress might have been involved in the observed bleaching of Anemonia spp.
anthozoa, bleaching, fluorescent proteins, gfp, photoprotection, zooxanthellae
0022-0981
221-234
Leutenegger, A.
095cda02-3f8a-4c6f-8723-0bb8245e7fbb
Kredel, S.
d2661b60-bdf2-4928-ab60-f21d02cb5f18
Gundel, S.
c4045ba7-8975-43a5-ad49-247c021d0f18
D'Angelo, C.
0d35b03b-684d-43aa-a57a-87212ab07ee1
Salih, A.
20176292-4829-4e28-bac4-b0e7e22ba64a
Wiedenmann, J.
ad445af2-680f-4927-90b3-589ac9d538f7
Leutenegger, A.
095cda02-3f8a-4c6f-8723-0bb8245e7fbb
Kredel, S.
d2661b60-bdf2-4928-ab60-f21d02cb5f18
Gundel, S.
c4045ba7-8975-43a5-ad49-247c021d0f18
D'Angelo, C.
0d35b03b-684d-43aa-a57a-87212ab07ee1
Salih, A.
20176292-4829-4e28-bac4-b0e7e22ba64a
Wiedenmann, J.
ad445af2-680f-4927-90b3-589ac9d538f7

Leutenegger, A., Kredel, S., Gundel, S., D'Angelo, C., Salih, A. and Wiedenmann, J. (2007) Analysis of fluorescent and non-fluorescent sea anemones from the Mediterranean Sea during a bleaching event. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 353 (2), 221-234. (doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2007.09.013).

Record type: Article

Abstract

We examined the physiological responses to bleaching of two shallow water anemones, Anemonia sulcata var. smaragdina and A. rustica, common to the Mediterranean Sea. The tentacle coloration of A. sulcata var. smaragdina is caused by proteins homologous to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) from Aequorea victoria. Minor amounts of the transcripts for the same GFP-like proteins were also detected in tentacles of the non-fluorescent Anemonia rustica. During a bleaching event observed in the Mediterranean Sea, representatives of both species lost 90% of their zooxanthellae, indicating that the green fluorescent host pigmentation had no influence on the degree of bleaching of the two sea anemone species. Interestingly, the content of fluorescent proteins was also significantly reduced in bleached individuals of A. sulcata. The content of mycosporine-like aminoacids (MAAs) was essentially unaltered in bleached specimens. Bleached anemones were characterized by increased levels of superoxide dismutase activity, whereas the catalase activity in these animals was significantly reduced. The latter results indicate that oxidative stress might have been involved in the observed bleaching of Anemonia spp.

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More information

Published date: 28 December 2007
Keywords: anthozoa, bleaching, fluorescent proteins, gfp, photoprotection, zooxanthellae
Organisations: Ocean and Earth Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 51164
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/51164
ISSN: 0022-0981
PURE UUID: 207a8056-6c46-40e2-b3dc-d0ce61e78c20
ORCID for J. Wiedenmann: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2128-2943

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 08 May 2008
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:53

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Contributors

Author: A. Leutenegger
Author: S. Kredel
Author: S. Gundel
Author: C. D'Angelo
Author: A. Salih
Author: J. Wiedenmann ORCID iD

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