title: Identification and first insights into the structure and biosynthesis of chitin from the freshwater sponge Spongilla lacustris.
abstract: This work demonstrates that chitin is an important structural component within the skeletal fibers of the freshwater sponge Spongilla lacustris. Using a variety of analytical techniques ((13)C solid state NMR, FT-IR, Raman, NEXAFS, ESI-MS, Morgan-Elson assay and Calcofluor White Staining); we show that this sponge chitin is much closer to α-chitin, known to be present in other animals, than to β-chitin. Genetic analysis confirmed the presence of chitin synthases, which are described for the first time in a sponge. The presence of chitin in both marine (demosponges and hexactinellids) and freshwater sponges indicates that this important structural biopolymer was already present in their common ancestor.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Physics, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, 09599 Freiberg, Germany; Institute of Bioanalytical Chemistry, TU Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: hermann.ehrlich@physik.tu-freiberg.de.
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ehrlich
authors.affiliation: Limnological Institute SB RAS, 664033 Irkutsk, Russia; Institute of Bioanalytical Chemistry, TU Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Oksana V
authors.initials: OV
authors.lastname: Kaluzhnaya
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioanalytical Chemistry, TU Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Eike
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brunner
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research & Max Bergmann Centre for Biomaterials, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Mikhail V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Tsurkan
authors.affiliation: Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Ecology, CNRS, IRD, Aix-Marseille University, 13007 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ereskovsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
authors.forename: Micha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ilan
authors.affiliation: P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Konstantin R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Tabachnick
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Physics, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, 09599 Freiberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Vasilii V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Bazhenov
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioanalytical Chemistry, TU Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paasch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioanalytical Chemistry, TU Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kammer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Science, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Born
authors.affiliation: Carl-Gustav-Carus Klinikum, TU Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stelling
authors.affiliation: Carl-Gustav-Carus Klinikum, TU Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.affiliation: Limnological Institute SB RAS, 664033 Irkutsk, Russia.
authors.forename: Sergei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Belikov
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics Komi SC UrD RAS, Syktyvkar, Russia.
authors.forename: Olga V
authors.initials: OV
authors.lastname: Petrova
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics Komi SC UrD RAS, Syktyvkar, Russia.
authors.forename: Victor V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Sivkov
authors.affiliation: Institute of Solid State Physics, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vyalikh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioanalytical Chemistry, TU Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hunoldt
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Palaeontology & Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 München, Germany; GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 München, Germany; Bayerische Staatssammlungen für Paläontologie und Geologie, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 München, Germany. Electronic address: woerheide@lmu.de.
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wörheide
mesh_terms: D000117:Acetylglucosamine / Q000378:metabolism; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002686:Chitin / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D002687:Chitin Synthase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011161:Porifera / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D056928:X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy
chemical_list: D002686:Chitin; D002687:Chitin Synthase; D000117:Acetylglucosamine
keywords: Bioanalytics; Chitin; Chitin synthase; Skeleton; Sponges