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Occurrence of a Silicatein Gene in Glass Sponges (Hexactinellida: Porifera)

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Abstract

Silicatein genes are involved in spicule formation in demosponges (Demospongiae: Porifera). However, numerous attempts to isolate silicatein genes from glass sponges (Hexactinellida: Porifera) resulted in a limited success. In the present investigation, we performed analysis of potential silicatein/cathepsin transcripts in three different species of glass sponges (Pheronema raphanus, Aulosaccus schulzei, and Bathydorus levis). In total, 472 clones of such transcripts have been analyzed. Most of them represent cathepsin transcripts and only three clones have been found to represent transcripts, which can be related to silicateins. Silicatein transcripts were identified in A. schulzei (Hexactinellida; Lyssacinosida; Rosselidae), and the corresponding gene was called AuSil-Hexa. Expression of AuSil-Hexa in A. schulzei was confirmed by real-time PCR. Comparative sequence analysis indicates high sequence identity of the A. schulzei silicatein with demosponge silicateins described previously. A phylogenetic analysis indicates that the AuSil-Hexa protein belongs to silicateins. However, the AuSil-Hexa protein contains a catalytic cysteine instead of the conventional serine.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Grant Program “Principles of Basic Investigations of Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials” of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Far East Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

    Galina N. Veremeichik, Yuri N. Shkryl, Victor P. Bulgakov, Sergey V. Shedko & Yuri N. Zhuravlev

  2. Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Far East Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

    Valery B. Kozhemyako, Svetlana N. Kovalchuk & Vladimir B. Krasokhin

  3. Institute for Automation and Control Processes, Far East Branch of Russian Academy of Science, Vladivostok, Russia

    Yuri N. Kulchin

Authors
  1. Galina N. Veremeichik
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  2. Yuri N. Shkryl
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  3. Victor P. Bulgakov
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  4. Sergey V. Shedko
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  5. Valery B. Kozhemyako
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  6. Svetlana N. Kovalchuk
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  7. Vladimir B. Krasokhin
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  8. Yuri N. Zhuravlev
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  9. Yuri N. Kulchin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Victor P. Bulgakov.

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Supplemental Figure 1

The multiple sequence alignment of poriferan silicateins and cathepsins. (DOC 8,323 kb)

Supplemental Figure 2

A phylogram of sponge silicateins and cathepsins resulting from the Bayesian analysis (WAG + I + G substitution model). Silicateins are marked by different colors: subclade I (blue), subclade II (purple), and subclade III (green). The scale bar indicates the number of changes per site. (DOC 28 kb)

Supplemental Figure 3

A phylogram of sponge silicateins and cathepsins resulting from the maximum likelihood analysis (WAG + I + G substitution model). Silicateins are marked by different colors: subclade I (blue), subclade II (purple), and subclade III (green). The scale bar indicates the number of changes per site. (DOC 28 kb)

Supplemental Figure 4

A phylogram of sponge silicateins and cathepsins resulting from the maximum parsimony analysis using a stepmatrix derived from the Blosum62 amino acid transition matrix. Silicateins are marked by different colors: subclade I (blue), subclade II (purple), and subclade III (green). The scale bar indicates the number of changes. (DOC 28 kb)

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Veremeichik, G.N., Shkryl, Y.N., Bulgakov, V.P. et al. Occurrence of a Silicatein Gene in Glass Sponges (Hexactinellida: Porifera). Mar Biotechnol 13, 810–819 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-010-9343-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-010-9343-6

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