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Adhesive Secretions in Echinoderms: A Review

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Biological Adhesives

Abstract

Echinoderms are quite exceptional in the sense that most species belonging to this group use adhesive secretions extensively. Two different adhesive systems may be recognised in these animals: the tube feet, organs involved in attachment to the substratum or food capture, and the Cuvierian tubules, organs involved in defence. These two systems rely on different types of adhesion and therefore differ in the way they operate, in their structure and in the composition of their adhesive. Although tube feet are present in every extant echinoderm species, only those of asteroids and regular echinoids have been studied in detail in terms of adhesion. These organs are involved in temporary adhesion, functioning as duo-gland adhesive systems in which adhesive cells release a proteinaceous secretion, while de-adhesive cells allow detachment. To date, only two adhesive proteins have been characterized in echinoderm tube feet, i.e., Sfp1 in sea stars and Nectin in sea urchins. These two proteins do not appear to be related, but they share similar protein–carbohydrate interaction domains. Cuvierian tubules occur only in some holothuroid species. These single-use organs rely on instantaneous adhesion, their contact with a surface triggering the release of the protein-based adhesive from a single cell type. Some proteins have been identified in the adhesive, but no confirmation of their adhesive function has been provided so far.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the Fund for Scientific Research of Belgium (F.R.S.–FNRS), by the ‘Service Public de Wallonie—Programme Winnomat 2’, by the ‘Communauté française de Belgique—Actions de Recherche Concertées’ and by COST Action TD0906. P.F. is Research Director of the F.R.S.-FNRS. RS is supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through a post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/109081/2015). This study is a contribution from the ‘Centre Interuniversitaire de Biologie Marine’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Biosciences, Biology of Marine Organisms and Biomimetics, University of Mons—UMONS, Mons, Belgium

    Patrick Flammang, Mélanie Demeuldre & Elise Hennebert

  2. Research Institute for Biosciences, Cell Biology, University of Mons—UMONS, Mons, Belgium

    Elise Hennebert

  3. Science Faculty, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Romana Santos

  4. Science Faculty, Chemistry and Biochemistry Centre, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Romana Santos

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Correspondence to Patrick Flammang .

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  1. Department of Biology, Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Andrew M. Smith

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Flammang, P., Demeuldre, M., Hennebert, E., Santos, R. (2016). Adhesive Secretions in Echinoderms: A Review. In: Smith, A. (eds) Biological Adhesives. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46082-6_9

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