Effect of Phlorethol from the Brown Alga Costaria costata (Turn.) Saund. (Order Laminariales) on Gametes and Embryogenesis of the Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius (A. Agassiz, 1864)

Regulation of DNA-like RNA and the apparent activation of ribosomal RNA synthesis in sea urchin embryos: Quantitative measurements of newly synthesized RNA

Estradiol and endocrine disrupting compounds adversely affect development of sea urchin embryos at environmentally relevant concentrations

A multixenobiotic resistance (MXR) mechanism mediated by ABC binding cassette (ABC) transport proteins is an efficient chemical defence mechanism in sea urchin embryos. The aim of our work was to evidence whether exposure to sub-lethal doses of specific contaminants (oxybenzone (OXI), mercuric chloride (HgCl2) and trybutiltin (TBT)) would induce MXR transporter activity during embryonic development (from zygote to blastula stage) in purple sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) embryos. Further, we present data on molecular identification, transport function, expression levels and gene localisation of two ABC efflux transporters-P-glycoprotein (ABCB1/P-gp) and sulfonylurea-receptor-like protein (ABCC9/SUR-like). Partial cDNA sequences of abcb1 and abcc9 were identified and quantitative PCR (qPCR) evidenced an increase in mRNA transcript levels of both ABC transporters during the two-cell, as well as an overall decrease during the blastulae stage. Calcein-AM efflux activity assay indicated the activation of multidrug resistance-associated protein/ABCC-like transport in the presence of HgCl2 and TBT in exposed blastulae. The in situ hybridisation of the two-cell and blastula stages showed ubiquitous localisation of both transcripts within cells, supporting qPCR data. In conclusion, ABCB1 and ABCC9 are constitutive, as are HgCl2, TBT and OXI-inducible ABC membrane transporters, coexpressed in the zygote, two-cell and blastula stages of the P. lividus. Their ubiquitous cell localisation further fortifies their protective role in early embryonic development.

Expression of 11 genes of the Hox cluster (SiHox1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9/10, 11/13a, 11/13b, and 11/13c) was assessed in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius at early developmental stages, including the blastula (13 h post fertilization (hpf)), gastrula (35 hpf), prism (46 hpf), and pluteus (4 and 9 days post fertilization (dpf)) stages. Expression of SiHox7, 11/13b, and 11/13c was observed at the blastula stage; early activation of 11/13c was detected for the first time in regular sea urchins. The expression level was very low at the gastrula and prism stages. The pluteus stage showed a significant increase in expression of all Hox cluster genes. Deviations from temporal collinearity of Hox gene expression in echinoderms are discussed.

Identification of nickel response genes in abnormal early developments of sea urchin by differential display polymerase chain reaction

Effects of monocrotophos pesticide on cholinergic and dopaminergic neurotransmitter systems during early development in the sea urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus

Direct Induction of DNA Hypermethylation in Sea Urchin Embryos by Microinjection of 5-Methyl dCTP Stimulates Early Histone Gene Expression and Leads to Developmental Arrest

Blastula protease 10 (BP10) is a metalloenzyme involved in sea urchin embryogenesis, which has been assigned to the astacin family of zinc-dependent endopeptidases. It shows greatest homology with the mammalian tolloid-like genes and contains conserved structural motifs consistent with astacin, tolloid, and bone morphogenetic protein 1. Astacin, a crustacean digestive enzyme, has been proposed to carry out hydrolysis via a metal-centered mechanism that involves a metal-coordinated "tyrosine switch." It has not been determined if the more structurally complex members of this family involved in eukaryotic development share this mechanism. The recombinant BP10 has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli, its metalloenzyme nature has been confirmed, and its catalytic properties have been characterized through kinetic studies. BP10 shows significant hydrolysis toward gelatin both in its native zinc-containing form and copper derivative. The copper derivative of BP10 shows a remarkable 960% rate acceleration toward the hydrolysis of the synthetic substrate N-benzoyl-arginine-p-nitroanilide when compared with the zinc form. The enzyme also shows calcium-dependent activation. These are the first thorough mechanistic studies reported on BP10 as a representative of the more structurally complex members of astacin-type enzymes in deuterostomes, which can add supporting data to corroborate the metal-centered mechanism proposed for astacin and the role of the coordinated Tyr. We have demonstrated the first mechanistic study of a tolloid-related metalloenzyme involved in sea urchin embryogenesis.

An Orthodenticle-Related Protein from Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

Dynamic responses during early development of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius to CO2-driven ocean acidification: A microRNA-mRNA integrated analysis.

The degree of conservation among phyla of early mechanisms that pattern the left-right (LR) axis is poorly understood. Larvae of sea urchins exhibit consistently oriented LR asymmetry. The main part of the adult rudiment is formed from the left coelomic sac of larvae, the left hydrocoel. Although this left preference is conserved among all echinoderm larvae, its mechanism is largely not understood. Using two marker genes, HpNot and HpFoxFQ-like, which are asymmetrically expressed during larval development of the sea urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, we examined in this study the possibility that the recently discovered ion flux mechanism controls asymmetry in sea urchins as it does in several vertebrate species. Several ion-transporter inhibitors were screened for the ability to alter the expression of the asymmetric marker genes. Blockers of the H(+)/K(+)-ATPase (omeprazole, lansoprazole and SCH28080), as well as a calcium ionophore (A23187), significantly altered the normal sidedness of asymmetric gene expression. Exposure to omeprazole disrupted the consistent asymmetry of adult rudiment formation in larvae. Immuno-detection revealed that H(+)/K(+)-ATPase-like antigens in sea urchin embryos were present through blastula stage and exhibited a striking asymmetry being present in a single blastomere in 32-cell embryos. These results suggest that, as in vertebrates, endogenous spatially-regulated early transport of H(+) and/or K(+), and also of Ca(2+), functions in the establishment of LR asymmetry in sea urchin development.

Effects of 5 azacytidine on DNA methylation and early development of sea urchins and ascidia

Cell surface changes occurring during sea urchin embryonic development monitored by quantitative agglutination with plant lectins

We tested the hypothesis that development of the Antarctic urchin Sterechinus neumayeri under future ocean conditions of warming and acidification would incur physiological costs, reducing the tolerance of a secondary stressor. The aim of this study is twofold: (1) quantify current austral spring temperature and pH near sea urchin habitat at Cape Evans in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica and (2) spawn S. neumayeri in the laboratory and raise early developmental stages (EDSs) under ambient (−0.7 °C; 400 µatm pCO2) and future (+2.6 °C; 650 and 1,000 µatm pCO2) ocean conditions and expose four EDSs (blastula, gastrula, prism, and 4-arm echinopluteus) to a one hour acute heat stress and assess survivorship. Results of field data from 2011 to 2012 show extremely stable inter-annual pH conditions ranging from 7.99 to 8.08, suggesting that future ocean acidification will drastically alter the pH-seascape for S. neumayeri. In the laboratory, S. neumayeri EDSs appear to be tolerant of temperatures and pCO2 levels above their current habitat conditions. EDSs survived acute heat exposures >20 °C above habitat temperatures of −1.9 °C. No pCO2 effect was observed for EDSs reared at −0.7 °C. When reared at +2.6 °C, small but significant pCO2 effects were observed at the blastula and prism stage, suggesting that multiple stressors are more detrimental than single stressors. While surprisingly tolerant overall, blastulae were the most sensitive stage to ocean warming and acidification. We conclude that S. neumayeri may be unexpectedly physiologically tolerant of future ocean conditions.

Characterization of RNA species synthesized during early development of sea urchins