Sea Cucumber Holothuria Forskali Research Articles

Food sources, digestive efficiency and resource allocation in the sea cucumber Holothuria forskali (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea): Insights from pigments and fatty acids

Food sources, digestive efficiency and resource allocation in the sea cucumber <i>Holothuria forskali</i> (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea): Insights from pigments and fatty acids

(3, 2)D 1H, 13C BIRDr,X-HSQC-TOCSY for NMR structure elucidation of mixtures: application to complex carbohydrates

Overlap of NMR signals is the major cause of difficulties associated with NMR structure elucidation of molecules contained in complex mixtures. A 2D homonuclear correlation spectroscopy in particular suffers from low dispersion of 1H chemical shifts; larger dispersion of 13C chemical shifts is often used to reduce this overlap, while still providing the proton–proton correlation information e.g. in the form of a 2D 1H, 13C HSQC-TOCSY experiment. For this methodology to work, 13C chemical shift must be resolved. In case of 13C chemical shifts overlap, 1H chemical shifts can be used to achieve the desired resolution. The proposed (3, 2)D 1H, 13C BIRDr,X-HSQC-TOCSY experiment achieves this while preserving singlet character of cross peaks in the F1 dimension. The required high-resolution in the 13C dimension is thus retained, while the cross peak overlap occurring in a regular HSQC-TOCSY experiment is eliminated. The method is illustrated on the analysis of a complex carbohydrate mixture obtained by depolymerisation of a fucosylated chondroitin sulfate isolated from the body wall of the sea cucumber Holothuria forskali.

Stress responses of the sea cucumber Holothuria forskali during aquaculture handling and transportation

ABSTRACTAnimal welfare during handling and transportation to aquaculture facilities or public aquaria is commonly estimated by addressing injury and mortality levels. Although these procedures have been optimized for different species, data on individual species’ cellular capabilities to tolerate stress are still scarce. In the present study, several biomarkers related with oxidative stress and energy metabolism were assessed in Holothuria forskali during animal acclimation, pre-transport, transport and quarantine. Combined analyses confirmed that sea cucumbers experienced high oxidative stress during transport, but had the capability to deal with it using a complex of cellular defence mechanisms, which enabled recovery from oxidative stress without permanent damage. Through a better understanding of individual species and the development of optimal parameters, this approach has the potential to improve animal wellbeing during and after acclimation, transportation and recovery processes.

Antimicrobial and Enzymatic activity of microorganisms isolated from the gut of sea cucumber (Holothuria forskali)

Event Abstract Back to Event Antimicrobial and Enzymatic activity of microorganisms isolated from the gut of sea cucumber (Holothuria forskali) Ana Catarina Duarte1, Ana Catarina Perfeito1, Joana A. Galante1, Marta G. Oliveira1, Teresa M. Baptista2, Ana Violante Pombo2, Maria Manuel S. Cristóvão2 and Clélia N. Afonso2* 1 Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar, Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, Portugal 2 MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, Portugal, Portugal Sea cucumbers awaken a huge curiosity because of their potential applications at food level and also for their medicinal value. Thus the investment in production of intensive aquaculture systems has been accentuated. The high density of organisms, together with the aquatic environment fosters the spread of pathogens easily which is a major drawback in this industry. Sea cucumbers lack a well-developed immune system and feed on sediments present in the bottom of the sea, where we can assume that the probiotic flora might play an important role in the defense of this organisms. Probiotics often promote a better use of the nutrients through the production of enzymes or promote a defense against pathogens through the production of antimicrobial substances. In this study, we aimed to isolate and characterize some of the microorganisms living in the gut of Holothuria forskali and evaluate their activity against the main disease in farmed sea cucumbers – vibriosis and to detect the main enzymatic activities present. H. forskali intestinal content was collected from the gut and inoculated in Marine Agar (MA) and Tryptic soy agar (TSA) plates. Isolated microorganisms were characterized morphologically and by Gram staining techniques, KOH, catalase and oxidase and isolated to pure cultures. We have selected a total of 55 colonies and proceed with the enzymatic and antimicrobial tests.Vibrio harveyi and Vibrio alginolyticus were used as indicator strains for the grown inhibition tests. The enzymatic activities, namely protease, amylase, agarase, lipase e celulase were assessed in the appropriate media. Acknowledgements The authors ACD, ACP, JAG and MGO contributed equally to this work. Our special thanks to Cristiana Gastão, Inês Franco and Adriana Januário, who assisted in field and laboratory work. This study had the support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013 granted to MARE. Keywords: sea cucumber, Holothuria forskali, Enzymatic activity, Antibacterial activity, Disk diffusion method Conference: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2016, Peniche, Portugal, 14 Jul - 15 Jul, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster presentation Topic: Blue Biotechnology Citation: Duarte A, Perfeito A, Galante JA, Oliveira MG, Baptista TM, Violante Pombo A, Cristóvão MS and Afonso CN (2016). Antimicrobial and Enzymatic activity of microorganisms isolated from the gut of sea cucumber (Holothuria forskali). Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2016. doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.04.00054 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 29 Apr 2016; Published Online: 13 Jul 2016. * Correspondence: Prof. Clélia N Afonso, MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, Portugal, Peniche, 2520-641, Portugal, clelia@ipleiria.pt Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Ana Catarina Duarte Ana Catarina Perfeito Joana A Galante Marta G Oliveira Teresa M Baptista Ana Violante Pombo Maria Manuel S Cristóvão Clélia N Afonso Google Ana Catarina Duarte Ana Catarina Perfeito Joana A Galante Marta G Oliveira Teresa M Baptista Ana Violante Pombo Maria Manuel S Cristóvão Clélia N Afonso Google Scholar Ana Catarina Duarte Ana Catarina Perfeito Joana A Galante Marta G Oliveira Teresa M Baptista Ana Violante Pombo Maria Manuel S Cristóvão Clélia N Afonso PubMed Ana Catarina Duarte Ana Catarina Perfeito Joana A Galante Marta G Oliveira Teresa M Baptista Ana Violante Pombo Maria Manuel S Cristóvão Clélia N Afonso Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Fucosylated Chondroitin Sulfates from the Body Wall of the Sea Cucumber Holothuria forskali: Conformation, Selectin Binding, And Biological Activity

Fucosylated chondroitin sulfate (fCS) extracted from the sea cucumber Holothuria forskali is composed of the following repeating trisaccharide unit: → 3)GalNAcβ4,6S(1 → 4) [FucαX(1 → 3)]GlcAβ(1 →, where X stands for different sulfation patterns of fucose (X = 3,4S (46%), 2,4S (39%), and 4S (15%)). As revealed by NMR and molecular dynamics simulations, the fCS repeating unit adopts a conformation similar to that of the Le(x) blood group determinant, bringing several sulfate groups into close proximity and creating large negative patches distributed along the helical skeleton of the CS backbone. This may explain the high affinity of fCS oligosaccharides for L- and P-selectins as determined by microarray binding of fCS oligosaccharides prepared by Cu(2+)-catalyzed Fenton-type and photochemical depolymerization. No binding to E-selectin was observed. fCS poly- and oligosaccharides display low cytotoxicity in vitro, inhibit human neutrophil elastase activity, and inhibit the migration of neutrophils through an endothelial cell layer in vitro. Although the polysaccharide showed some anti-coagulant activity, small oligosaccharide fCS fragments had much reduced anticoagulant properties, with activity mainly via heparin cofactor II. The fCS polysaccharides showed prekallikrein activation comparable with dextran sulfate, whereas the fCS oligosaccharides caused almost no effect. The H. forskali fCS oligosaccharides were also tested in a mouse peritoneal inflammation model, where they caused a reduction in neutrophil infiltration. Overall, the data presented support the action of fCS as an inhibitor of selectin interactions, which play vital roles in inflammation and metastasis progression. Future studies of fCS-selectin interaction using fCS fragments or their mimetics may open new avenues for therapeutic intervention.

Sea Cucumber: New source of Protein for Human Consumption

Event Abstract Back to Event Sea Cucumber: New source of Protein for Human Consumption Daniela V. Pratas1*, Filipa P. Santos1, Teresa Baptista1 and Ana Violante Pombo1 1 GIRM , Marine Resources Research Group, IPL, Portugal Aquaculture, probably the fastest growing food-producing sector, now accounts for nearly 50 percent of the world's food fish consumed by humans, and this share is expected to increase further to meet future demand. Sea cucumbers are considered highly marketable product and this has resulted in an increasing overfishing of natural sea cucumber stocks. Nevertheless, these resources are almost unexploited in the Mediterranean region. Many species of holothurians have been recognized as an alternative source of first quality protein and considered a putative functional food, like hypocholesterolemic proprieties and contain many other bioactive compounds. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine and compare the protein content of two sea cucumber species, Holothuria forskali and Stichopus regalis. The Kjeldahl method was used to determine the crude protein through the measurement of nitrogen amount in each sample. The obtained results demonstrated that both species contain high protein levels, with higher results for S. regalis, which revealed values between 19,1% and 20,4%. H. forskali showed a protein level among 12,1% and 15,4%. Holothurian protein levels reveal great potential for human consumption. Those resources can be used as a partial substitute of fish meal (eg. sea bream nutrition), either to intern market as well as for exportation to Asian countries. Sea cucumber farming could have lucrative potential in the Mediterranean, converting sea cucumbers into aquaculture value-added products bringing to this region profitable economic benefits. Keywords: holothurian, sea cucumber, protein, Aquaculture, Mediterranean Conference: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2014, Peniche, Portugal, 10 Jul - 11 Jul, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: AQUACULTURE Citation: Pratas DV, Santos FP, Baptista T and Violante Pombo A (2014). Sea Cucumber: New source of Protein for Human Consumption. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2014. doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2014.02.00124 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 25 Apr 2014; Published Online: 18 Jul 2014. * Correspondence: Dr. Daniela V Pratas, GIRM , Marine Resources Research Group, IPL, Peniche, Portugal, 4130347@my.ipleiria.pt Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Daniela V Pratas Filipa P Santos Teresa Baptista Ana Violante Pombo Google Daniela V Pratas Filipa P Santos Teresa Baptista Ana Violante Pombo Google Scholar Daniela V Pratas Filipa P Santos Teresa Baptista Ana Violante Pombo PubMed Daniela V Pratas Filipa P Santos Teresa Baptista Ana Violante Pombo Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Consumption and remediation of European Seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) waste by the sea cucumber Holothuria forskali

Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) systems combining finfish and sea cucumbers remain largely untested. Integrating a deposit-feeding species into existing aquaculture units prerequires survival of the deposit feeder, waste diet consumption and bioremediation effect of feeding activity. The sea cucumber, Holothuria forskali, was fed waste from cultured European Seabass, Dicentrarchus labrax, to determine palatability and impact of grazing by H. forskali. Sea cucumbers readily consumed waste diet at amounts suitable to process biodeposition beneath commercial sea-based D. labrax farms. Grazing by H. forskali significantly reduced total nitrogen content of D. labrax waste in short-term controlled feeding experiments (unpaired t test, p < 0.05) and suppressed total carbon content of D. labrax waste in long-term controlled feeding experiments (unpaired t test, p < 0.05). Survival, palatability and nutrient reduction results support investigation of H. forskali inclusion in IMTA systems focussed on bioremediation of finfish waste if limitations in understanding of growth potential, biology and life history are addressed.

Elucidation of molecular diversity and body distribution of saponins in the sea cucumber Holothuria forskali (Echinodermata) by mass spectrometry

Sea cucumbers contain triterpene glycosides called saponins. We investigated the complex saponin mixture extracted from the common Mediterranean species Holothuria forskali. Two different body components were analyzed separately: the body wall (which protects the animal and is moreover the most important organ in terms of surface and weight) and the Cuvierian tubules (a defensive organ that can be expelled on predators in response to an attack). MALDI/MS and MALDI/MS/MS were used to detect saponins and describe their molecular structures. As isomers have been found in the Cuvierian tubules, LC/MS and LC/MS/MS were performed to identify each saponin separately. Twelve saponins have been detected in the body wall and 26 in the Cuvierian tubules. All the saponins from the body wall are also present in the Cuvierian tubules but the latter also contain 14 specific saponins. The presence of isomeric saponins complicated structure elucidation for the whole set but 16 saponins have been described tentatively. Among these, 3 had already been reported in the literature as holothurinosides A and C, and desholothurin A. Molecular structures have been proposed for the 13 others which, in the present work, have been provisionally named holothurinosides E, F, G, H, I, A(1), C(1), E(1), F(1), G(1), H(1) and I(1) and desholothurin A(1). The diversity and organ specificity of the saponins described here are much higher than what had been reported to date in any sea cucumber species.

Proposed resolution of the paradox of extensive crosslinking and low tensile strength of cuvierian tubule collagen from the sea cucumber Holothuria forskali

The extruded tubules of the sea cucumber possess the amino acid composition, intermolecular crosslinking and fibre banding patterns typical of mammalian collagen fibres. Despite this resemblance, particularly the crosslinking normally associated with high tensile strength, the tubule fibres are extremely extensible. We suggest that the molecules are crosslinked through the normal head-to-tail mechanism but that further transverse crosslinking between the irregular fibrils is inhibited by the surrounding sheath of glycosaminoglycan, which also serves the purpose of a lubricant thus allowing slippage of adjacent fibrils under tension.

Evolutionary variation between a monomer and a dimer arginine kinase. Purification of the enzyme from Holothuria forskali and a comparison of some properties with that from Homarus vulgaris

1. A purification procedure for the dimeric arginine kinase of the sea cucumber Holothuria forskali is described. 2. The enzyme has a mean molecular weight of 77250 and is composed of two equal, dissociable subunits. 3. It also shows co-operativity between substrate binding at one catalytic site to a much greater extent than the nomomeric lobster arginine kinase for which such co-operativity could not be detected unambiguously. The constants for substrate binding are reported assuming that the enzyme follows rapid-equilibrium random kinetics. From a comparison with other species, the development of co-operativity between the nucleotide- and guanidine-binding sites on one subunit is suggested to have occurred more than once in the evolution of the phosphagen kinases and is not dependent on subunit aggregation. 4. Both enzymes show similar pH profiles for thermal inactivation at 22 degrees C and have very similar stabilities. Above 40 degrees C the dimeric enzyme is much more stable than the monomer. Rate constants for heat inactivation and Arrhenius activation energies are reported. 5. The dimeric enzyme is also more stable to urea inactivation. Substrates and argininic acid all improve the stability of both enzymes. The effects of individual substrates are more distincitive with the dimeric enzymes and increase its stability to an extent that makes it about as stable as dogfish creatine kinase. In the physiological range dimerization does not seem to confer any particular advantage with respect to stability over the monomer form.