title: Quantitative proteomics identify molecular targets that are crucial in larval settlement and metamorphosis of Bugula neritina.
abstract: The marine invertebrate Bugula neritina has a biphasic life cycle that consists of a swimming larval stage and a sessile juvenile and adult stage. The attachment of larvae to the substratum and their subsequent metamorphosis have crucial ecological consequences. Despite many studies on this species, little is known about the molecular mechanism of these processes. Here, we report a comparative study of swimming larvae and metamorphosing individuals at 4 and 24 h postattachment using label-free quantitative proteomics. We identified more than 1100 proteins at each stage, 61 of which were differentially expressed. Specifically, proteins involved in energy metabolism and structural molecules were generally down-regulated, whereas proteins involved in transcription and translation, the extracellular matrix, and calcification were strongly up-regulated during metamorphosis. Many tightly regulated novel proteins were also identified. Subsequent analysis of the temporal and spatial expressions of some of the proteins and an assay of their functions indicated that they may have key roles in metamorphosis of B. neritina. These findings not only provide molecular evidence with which to elucidate the substantial changes in morphology and physiology that occur during larval attachment and metamorphosis but also identify potential targets for antifouling treatment.
authors.affiliation: KAUST Global Collaborative Research Program, Section of Marine Ecology and Biotechnology, Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Huoming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yue Him
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhangfan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shawn M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Arellano
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ravasi
authors.forename: Pei-Yuan
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Qian
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002013:Bryozoa / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development; D003094:Collagen / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007814:Larva / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008675:Metamorphosis, Biological; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism; D020543:Proteome / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011506:Proteins; D020543:Proteome; D003094:Collagen