Metabolic variation in Caribbean giant barrel sponges: Influence of age and sea-depth

Lina M Bayona,Min-Sun Kim,Thomas Swierts,Geum-Sook Hwang,Nicole J De Voogd,Young Hae Choi

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105503

Abstract

The biochemical differentiation of widely distributed long-living marine organisms according to their age or the depth of waters in which they grow is an intriguing topic in marine biology. Especially sessile life forms, such as sponges, could be expected to actively regulate biological processes and interactions with their environment through chemical signals in a multidimensional manner. In recent years, the development of chemical profiling methods such as metabolomics provided an approach that has encouraged the investigation of the chemical interactions of these organisms. In this study, LC-MS based metabolomics followed by Feature-based molecular networking (FBMN) was used to explore the effects of both biotic and environmental factors on the metabolome of giant barrel sponges, chosen as model organisms as they are distributed throughout a wide range of sea-depths. This allowed the identification of differences in the metabolic composition of the sponges related to their age and depth.

Highlights

In recent years, coral reefs around the world have experienced sub stantial changes in their biodiversity as a response to changes in the environment resulting from both natural and anthropogenic phenomena (Hughes et al, 2007; Pandolfi et al, 2003)
The metabolome of giant barrel sponges belonging to two distinct genetic groups revealed their different response to changes along a depth gradient
Only samples belonging to genetic group 7 displayed an effect on the metabolome in relation to the depth gradient

Summary

Introduction

Coral reefs around the world have experienced sub stantial changes in their biodiversity as a response to changes in the environment resulting from both natural and anthropogenic phenomena (Hughes et al, 2007; Pandolfi et al, 2003). Giant barrel sponges, which belong to the genus Xestospongia (order Haplosclerida), have been identified as an important reef player. Recent studies have shown that the population growth rate of X. muta has been rapidly increasing (McMurray et al, 2015), to the point that they are one of the most abundant organisms on Caribbean reefs (Loh and Pawlik, 2014). They play an active part in the regulation of the nitrogen and carbon cycles in their habitat (Fiore et al, 2013; Southwell et al, 2008)

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Discussion

Conclusion