Abstract

The mucus produced by many marine organisms is a complex mixture of proteins and polysaccharides forming a weak watery gel. It is essential for vital processes including locomotion, navigation, structural support, heterotrophic feeding and defence against a multitude of environmental stresses, predators, parasites, and pathogens. In the present study we focused on mucus produced by a benthic cnidarian, the sea anemone Actinia equina (Linnaeus, 1758) for preventing burial by excess sedimentation and for protection. We investigated some of the physico-chemical properties of this matrix such as viscosity, osmolarity, electrical conductivity, protein, carbohydrate, and total lipid contents. Some biological activities such as hemolytic, cytotoxic, and antibacterial lysozyme-like activities were also studied. The A. equina mucus is mainly composed by water (96.2% ± 0.3%), whereas its dry weight is made of 24.2% ± 1.3% proteins and 7.8% ± 0.2% carbohydrates, with the smallest and largest components referable to lipids (0.9%) and inorganic matter (67.1%). The A. equina mucus matrix exhibited hemolytic activity on rabbit erythrocytes, cytotoxic activity against the tumor cell line K562 (human erythromyeloblastoid leukemia) and antibacterial lysozyme-like activity. The findings from this study improve the available information on the mucus composition in invertebrates and have implications for future investigations related to exploitation of A. equina and other sea anemones’ mucus as a source of bioactive compounds of high pharmaceutical and biotechnological interest.

Highlights

  • To adhere on immersed substrata in their aquatic habitats, many marine organisms, including invertebrates, secrete viscoelastic adhesive gels such as mucus consisting primarily of a network of polysaccharides and proteins entangled to form a weak gel containing more than 95% water [1,2,3,4].Different from synthetic glue polymers, these bio-molecules are produced in an aqueous environment, including water as a key constituent [5]

  • A. equina mucus was 2.1 ± 0.02 cPs in respect to the 1 cPs viscosity of water measured at 20 °C

  • The present paper represents a preliminary contribution on this topic since we provide novel data on the physico-chemical and biological properties of the sea anemone A. equina mucus

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Summary

Introduction

To adhere on immersed substrata in their aquatic habitats, many marine organisms, including invertebrates, secrete viscoelastic adhesive gels such as mucus consisting primarily of a network of polysaccharides and proteins entangled to form a weak gel containing more than 95% water [1,2,3,4]. Different from synthetic glue polymers, these bio-molecules are produced in an aqueous environment, including water as a key constituent [5]. This represents a major difference between natural adhesive and synthetic polymers. Mucus is essential to several aquatic organisms for various reasons, e.g., to reduce drag forces, prevent sedimentation, enhance adhesion, limit water loss, and facilitate locomotion [6]. A mucus layer provides a physical shield [7]

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