Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T17:09:03.820Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Amino acids in the octocoral Veretillum cynomorium: the effect of seasonality and differences from scleractinian hexacorals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 April 2012

Miguel Baptista ,
Ana Luísa Maulvault ,
Katja Trübenbach ,
Luis Narciso ,
António Marques  and
Rui Rosa
Miguel Baptista*
Affiliation:
Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Nossa Senhora do Cabo, 939, 2750-374 Cascais, Portugal
Ana Luísa Maulvault
Affiliation:
Unidade de Valorização de Produtos da Pesca e Aquicultura, IPIMAR, Avenida de Brasília, 1449-006 Lisboa, Portugal
Katja Trübenbach
Affiliation:
Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Nossa Senhora do Cabo, 939, 2750-374 Cascais, Portugal
Luis Narciso
Affiliation:
Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Nossa Senhora do Cabo, 939, 2750-374 Cascais, Portugal
António Marques
Affiliation:
Unidade de Valorização de Produtos da Pesca e Aquicultura, IPIMAR, Avenida de Brasília, 1449-006 Lisboa, Portugal
Rui Rosa
Affiliation:
Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Nossa Senhora do Cabo, 939, 2750-374 Cascais, Portugal
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M. Baptista, Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Centro de Oceanografia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Nossa Senhora do Cabo, 939, 2750-374 Cascais, Portugal email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The majority of biochemical studies in corals has been focused on the lipidic composition and little attention has been given to the amino acid profile of these invertebrates. The objectives of this work were to investigate, for the first time, the temporal variations in the total amino acid (AA) composition of an octocoral, namely the sea pen Veretillum cynomorium, and to evaluate possible interspecific differences in AA profile between this octocoral and hexacorals. The quantitatively most important AAs in V. cynomorium colonies were: glutamic acid, varying from 3.92 to 5.94% dry weight (dw) and representing around 14–15% of total AA content; aspartic acid (3.34–4.99% dw; 11–12%); and glycine (2.87–4.57% dw; 9–12%). On the other hand, the minor AAs were methionine (0.41–0.73% dw; 1–2%) and histidine (0.54–0.76% dw; 2%). Almost all AAs showed the same significant seasonal variations, with the highest values in February, second highest in October and the lowest in June. Some AAs, namely lysine, phenylalanine and methionine did not follow this trend and showed the major peak in October. Most of the AA variations seemed to be linked to changes in food availability and/or gametogenesis. Principal component analysis clearly separated the octocoral from the group of hexacorals, mainly due to the higher percentages of arginine, tyrosine and glycine in V. cynomorium, and valine, serine, histidine, isoleucine and alanine in hexacorallia species. We speculate that this differentiation possibly derived from physiological differences related to phylogeny, and was not affected by reproductive or environmental seasonality.

Keywords

amino acidsOctocoralliaPennatulaceareproductionVeretillum cynomorium
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Issue 4 , June 2013 , pp. 913 - 918
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Al-Lihaibi, S.S., Al-Sofyani, A.A. and Niaz, G.R. (1998) Chemical composition of corals in Saudi Red Sea coast. Oceanologica Acta 21, 495–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anthony, K.R.N. (2000) Enhanced particle-feeding capacity of corals on turbid reefs (Great Barrier Reef, Australia). Coral Reefs 19, 59–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anthony, K.R.N. and Fabricius, K.E. (2000) Shifting roles of heterotrophy and autotrophy in coral energetics under varying turbidity. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 252, 221–253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
AOAC (2005) Official methods of analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists International. 18th edition. Gaithersburg, MD: AOAC.Google Scholar
Arai, I., Kato, M., Heyward, A., Ikeda, Y., Iizuka, T. and Maruyama, T. (1993) Lipid composition of positively buoyant eggs of reef building corals. Coral Reefs 12, 71–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baptista, M., Lopes, V.M., Pimentel, M.S., Bandarra, N., Marques, A. and Rosa, R. (2012) Temporal fatty acid dynamics of the octocoral Veretillum cynomorium. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 161, 178–187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ben-David-Zaslow, R. and Benayahu, Y. (2000) Biochemical composition, metabolism, and amino acid transport in planula-larvae of the soft coral Heteroxenia fuscescens. Journal of Experimental Zoology 287, 401–412.3.0.CO;2-4>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cornelius, P.F.S., Manuel, R.L. and Ryland, J.S. (1995) Hydroids, sea anemones, jellyfish, and comb jellies (Phyla Cnidaria and Ctenophora). In Hayward, P.J. and Ryland, J.S. (eds) Handbook of the marine fauna of north-west Europe. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 62–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitzgerald, L.M. and Szmant, A.M. (1997) Biosynthesis of ‘essential’ amino acids by scleractinian corals. Biochemical Journal 322, 213–221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldberg, W.M., Hopkins, T.L., Holl, S.M., Schaefer, J., Kramer, K.J. and Morgan, T.D. (1994) Chemical composition of the sclerotized black coral skeleton (Coelenterata: Antipatharia): a comparison of two species. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 107, 633–643.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grover, R., Maguer, J.-F., Allemand, D. and Ferrier-Pagès, C. (2008) Uptake of dissolved free amino acids by the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata. Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 860–865.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henderson, J.W., Ricker, R.D., Bidlingmeyer, B.A. and Woodward, C. (2000) Rapid, accurate, sensitive and reproducible analysis of amino acids. Palo Alto, CA: Agilent Publication Number 5980-1193, ENAgilent Technologies.Google Scholar
Imbs, A.B., Latyshev, N.A., Zhukova, N.V. and Dautova, T.N. (2007) Comparison of fatty acid compositions of azooxanthellate Dendronephthya and zooxanthellate soft coral species. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 148, 314–321.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Imbs, A.B., Latyshev, N.A., Dautova, T.N. and Latypov, Y.Y. (2010) Distribution of lipids and fatty acids in corals by their taxonomic position and presence of zooxanthellae. Marine Ecology Progress Series 409, 65–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kasschau, M.R. and McCommas, S.A. (1982) Glycine concentration as a biochemical indicator of sex and maturation in the sea anemone Bunodosoma cavernata. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A: Physiology 72, 595–597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kükenthal, W. (1915) Pennatularia. Das Tierreich 43, 1–132.Google Scholar
Latyshev, N.A., Naumenko, N.V., Svetashev, V.I. and Latypov, Y.Y. (1991) Fatty acids of reef building corals. Marine Ecology Progress Series 76, 295–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
López-González, P.J., Gili, J.M. and Williams, G.C. (2001) New records of Pennatulacea (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) from the African Atlantic coast, with description of a new species and a zoogeographic analysis. Scientia Marina 65, 59–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matsushima, O. and Hayashi, Y.S. (1988) Uptake and accumulation of amino acids in the brackish-water bivalve Corbicula japonica Prime during high salinity acclimation. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 123, 201–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Migné, A. and Davoult, D. (2002) Experimental nutrition in the soft coral Alcyonium digitatum (Cnidaria: Octocorallia): removal rate of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Cahiers Biologie Marine 43, 9–16.Google Scholar
Munda, J.M. and Gubenesk, F. (1986) The amino acid content of some benthic marine algae from North Adriatic. Botanica Marina 29, 367–372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oku, H., Yamashiro, H., Onaga, K., Sakai, K. and Iwasaki, H. (2003) Seasonal changes in the content and composition of lipids in the coral Goniastrea aspera. Coral Reefs 22, 83–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palardy, J.E., Grottoli, A.G. and Matthews, K.A. (2005) Effects of upwelling, depth, morphology and polyp size on feeding in three species of Panamanian corals. Marine Ecology Progress Series 300, 79–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Puverel, S., Tambutté, E., Pereira-Mouriès, L., Zoccola, D., Allemand, D. and Tambutté, S. (2005) Soluble organic matrix of two scleractinian corals: partial and comparative analysis. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 141, 480–487.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rinkevich, B. (1989) The contribution of photosynthetic products to coral reproduction. Marine Biology 101, 259–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodrigues, L.J., Grottoli, A.G. and Pease, T.K. (2008) Lipid class composition of bleached and recovering Porites compressa Dana, 1846 and Montipora capitata Dana, 1846 corals from Hawaii. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 358, 136–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosa, R. and Nunes, M.L. (2003) Seasonal changes in nucleic acids, amino acids and protein content in juvenile Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus). Marine Biology 143, 565–572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosa, R., Calado, R., Narciso, L. and Nunes, M. (2007) Embryogenesis of decapod crustaceans with different life histories traits, feeding ecologies and habitats: a fatty acid approach. Marine Biology 151, 935–947.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosa, R., Costa, P.R. and Nunes, M.L. (2004) Effect of sexual maturation on the tissue biochemical composition of Octopus vulgaris and O. defilippi (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Marine Biology 145, 563–574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlichter, D. and Liebezeit, G. (1991) The natural release of amino acids from the symbiotic coral Heteroxenia fuscescens (Ehrb.) as a function of photosynthesis. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 150, 83–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sorokin, Y.I. (1973) On the feeding of some scleractinian corals with bacteria and dissolved organic matter. Limnology and Oceanography 18, 380–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Svetashev, V.I. and Vysotskii, M.V. (1998) Fatty acids of Heliopora coerulea and chemotaxonomic significance of tetracosapolyenoic acids in coelenterates. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 119, 73–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanaka, Y., Miyajima, T., Umezawa, Y., Hayashibara, T., Ogawa, H. and Koike, I. (2009) Net release of dissolved organic matter by the scleractinian coral Acropora pulchra. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 377, 101–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vysotskii, M.V. and Svetashev, V.I. (1991) Identification, isolation and characterization of tetracosapolyenoic acids in lipids of marine coelenterates. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1083, 161–165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, G.C. (1990) The Pennatulacea of southern Africa (Coelenterata, Anthozoa). Annals of the South African Museum 99, 31–119.Google Scholar
Yamashiro, H., Oku, H., Higa, H., Chinen, I. and Sakai, K. (1999) Composition of lipids, fatty acids and sterols in Okinawan corals. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 122, 397–407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, S.D. (1971) Organic material from scleractinian coral skeletons—I. Variation in composition between several species. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 40, 113–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zurburg, W. and De Zwaan, A. (1981) The role of amino acids in anaerobiosis and osmoregulation in bivalves. Journal of Experimental Zoology 215, 315–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar