title: Up in Arms: Immune and Nervous System Response to Sea Star Wasting Disease.
abstract: Echinoderms, positioned taxonomically at the base of deuterostomes, provide an important system for the study of the evolution of the immune system. However, there is little known about the cellular components and genes associated with echinoderm immunity. The 2013-2014 sea star wasting disease outbreak is an emergent, rapidly spreading disease, which has led to large population declines of asteroids in the North American Pacific. While evidence suggests that the signs of this disease, twisting arms and lesions, may be attributed to a viral infection, the host response to infection is still poorly understood. In order to examine transcriptional responses of the sea star Pycnopodia helianthoides to sea star wasting disease, we injected a viral sized fraction (0.2 μm) homogenate prepared from symptomatic P. helianthoides into apparently healthy stars. Nine days following injection, when all stars were displaying signs of the disease, specimens were sacrificed and coelomocytes were extracted for RNA-seq analyses. A number of immune genes, including those involved in Toll signaling pathways, complement cascade, melanization response, and arachidonic acid metabolism, were differentially expressed. Furthermore, genes involved in nervous system processes and tissue remodeling were also differentially expressed, pointing to transcriptional changes underlying the signs of sea star wasting disease. The genomic resources presented here not only increase understanding of host response to sea star wasting disease, but also provide greater insight into the mechanisms underlying immune function in echinoderms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lauren E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Fuess
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Morgan E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Eisenlord
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Collin J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Closek
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Allison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Tracy
authors.affiliation: Donald P. Shiley Bioscience Center, San Diego, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mauntz
authors.affiliation: Marine Science Center, Northeastern University, Nahant, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gignoux-Wolfsohn
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Monica M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Moritsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Reyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America; School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Colleen A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Burge
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: C Drew
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Harvell
authors.affiliation: School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Carolyn S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hewson
authors.affiliation: U. S. Geological Survey, Western Fisheries Research Center, Marrowstone Marine Field Station, Nordland, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Paul K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Hershberger
authors.affiliation: School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Steven B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Roberts
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D017990:Densovirus / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007107:Immune System / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D009420:Nervous System / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013215:Starfish / Q000821:virology*; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D019282:Wasting Syndrome / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors; D003165:Complement System Proteins