title: Isolation and identification of chitin in three-dimensional skeleton of Aplysina fistularis marine sponge.
abstract: The recent discovery of chitin within skeletons of numerous marine and freshwater sponges (Porifera) stimulates further experiments to identify this structural aminopolysaccharide in new species of these aquatical animals. Aplysina fistularis (Verongida: Demospongiae: Porifera) is well known to produce biologically active bromotyrosines. Here, we present a detailed study of the structural and physico-chemical properties of the three-dimensional skeletal scaffolds of this sponge. Calcofluor white staining, Raman and IR spectroscopy, ESI-MS as well as chitinase digestion test were applied in order to unequivocally prove the first discovery of α-chitin in skeleton of A. fistularis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemical Technology and Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, M. Sklodowskiej-Curie 2, 60965 Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wysokowski
authors.forename: Vasilii V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Bazhenov
authors.forename: Mikhail V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Tsurkan
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.forename: Allison L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Stelling
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stöcker
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Niederschlag
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gärtner
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Behm
authors.forename: Micha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ilan
authors.forename: Alexander Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Petrenko
authors.forename: Teofil
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jesionowski
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ehrlich
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000737:chemistry*; D002686:Chitin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011161:Porifera / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000737:chemistry*; D012863:Skeleton
chemical_list: D002686:Chitin
keywords: Chitin; Marine sponges; Scaffold