title: Spherulization as a process for the exudation of chemical cues by the encrusting sponge C. crambe.
abstract: Ecological interactions in the marine environment are now recognized to be partly held by chemical cues produced by marine organisms. In particular, sponges are sessile animals thought to rely on the bioactive substances they synthesize to ensure their development and defense. However, the mechanisms leading the sponges to use their specialized metabolites as chemical cues remain unknown. Here we report the constant release of bioactive polycyclic guanidinic alkaloids by the Mediterranean sponge Crambe crambe into the dissolved and the particulate phases using a targeted metabolomics study. These compounds were proven to be stored into already described specialized (spherulous) sponge cells and dispersed into the water column after release through the sponge exhaling channels (oscula), leading to a chemical shield surrounding the sponge. Low concentrations of these compounds were demonstrated to have teratogenic effects on embryos of a common sea squirt (ascidian). This mechanism of action called spherulization may therefore contribute to the ecological success of encrusting sponges that need to extend their substrate cover to expand.
authors.affiliation: Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, Institut de Chimie de Nice, UMR 7272 CNRS, Faculté des Sciences, Parc Valrose, 06108 NICE Cedex 2, France.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ternon
authors.affiliation: Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, Institut de Chimie de Nice, UMR 7272 CNRS, Faculté des Sciences, Parc Valrose, 06108 NICE Cedex 2, France.|Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 and CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement de Villefranche-sur-mer, Observatoire Océanologique, F-06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zarate
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Avignon, CNRS, IRD, IMBE, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale, Station Marine d'Endoume, rue de la Batterie des Lions, 13007 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chenesseau
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 and CNRS, Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Biotechnologies Microbiennes (LBBM), Observatoire Océanologique, F-66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer, France.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Croué
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 and CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement de Villefranche-sur-mer, Observatoire Océanologique, F-06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer, France.
authors.forename: Rémi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dumollard
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 and CNRS, Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Biotechnologies Microbiennes (LBBM), Observatoire Océanologique, F-66650 Banyuls-sur-Mer, France.
authors.forename: Marcelino T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Avignon, CNRS, IRD, IMBE, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale, Station Marine d'Endoume, rue de la Batterie des Lions, 13007 Marseille, France.|National University of Ireland Galway, Marine Biodiscovery, School of Chemistry, University Road, Galway, Ireland.|Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, OCA, IRD, Géoazur, 250 rue Albert Einstein, 06560 Valbonne, France.
authors.forename: Olivier P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D047132:Crambe Sponge / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D055442:Metabolome; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D012623:Seawater; D013723:Teratogens / Q000737:chemistry; D014561:Urochordata / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D013723:Teratogens