Box, stalked, and upside-down? Draft genomes from diverse jellyfish (Cnidaria, Acraspeda) lineages: Alatina alata (Cubozoa), Calvadosia cruxmelitensis (Staurozoa), and Cassiopea xamachana (Scyphozoa)

Ohdera, Aki; Ames, Cheryl Lewis; Dikow, Rebecca B.; Kayal, Ehsan; Chiodin, Marta; Busby, Ben; La, Sean; Pirro, Stacy; Collins, Allen G.; Medina, Mónica; Ryan, Joseph F.

doi:10.1093/gigascience/giz069

Cited by 43 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…Amplification of the qPCR gene target was observed for both C. xamachana tissue and cassiosome samples using primers for the CrTX/CaTX gene, herein named CassTX-C (see Data Availability section below). Conversely, failure to amplify the target in non-Cassiopea medusozoans used in this study (despite reports of CrTX/CaTX genes documented in both Aurelia sp and A. alata 14,39 ) validates the specificity of our primers to a C. xamachana-derived gene target, indicating that cassiosomes originate in Cassiopea medusae.…”

Section: Cassiopea Xamachana Overview Life Cycle and Endosymbiosis Csupporting

confidence: 57%

“…1c-f). A shotgun proteomic analysis identified three isoforms of the target toxin family encoded in the C. xamachana genome 14 , which we call CassTX-A, CassTX-B and CassTX-C ( Fig. 7).…”

Section: Cassiopea Xamachana Overview Life Cycle and Endosymbiosis Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another indirect stinging mechanism is through mucus, such as in medusae of the upside-down mangrove jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana Bigelow 1892 (Class Scyphozoa; Order Rhizostomeae), an emerging cnidarian model for its relevance to the study of coevolution as well as symbiosis-driven development (reviewed in ref. 14 ). Additionally, the ubiquity of Cassiopea medusae in healthy mangroves has earned the upside-down jellyfish status as a potential bioindicator species for coastal management and conservation efforts 15,16 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We document the presence of cassiosomes in five species spanning four families of the order Rhizostomeae, while also confirming their absence in the moon jellyfish Aurelia (Semaeostomeae), a representative of the sister lineage, and discuss the possibility of a single evolutionary event behind this envenomation strategy which, to our knowledge, is unique. Despite the growing body of work on C. xamachana from an organismal biology perspective 14,26 , this study is the first to directly investigate stinging properties of the mucus of this jellyfish and the potential ecological and evolutionary relevance.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Cassiosomes are stinging-cell structures in the mucus of the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana

et al. 2020

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Snorkelers in mangrove forest waters inhabited by the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana report discomfort due to a sensation known as stinging water, the cause of which is unknown. Using a combination of histology, microscopy, microfluidics, videography, molecular biology, and mass spectrometry-based proteomics, we describe C. xamachana stinging-cell structures that we term cassiosomes. These structures are released within C. xamachana mucus and are capable of killing prey. Cassiosomes consist of an outer epithelial layer mainly composed of nematocytes surrounding a core filled by endosymbiotic dinoflagellates hosted within amoebocytes and presumptive mesoglea. Furthermore, we report cassiosome structures in four additional jellyfish species in the same taxonomic group as C. xamachana (Class Scyphozoa; Order Rhizostomeae), categorized as either motile (ciliated) or nonmotile types. This inaugural study provides a qualitative assessment of the stinging contents of C. xamachana mucus and implicates mucus containing cassiosomes and free intact nematocytes as the cause of stinging water.

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Section: Cassiopea Xamachana Overview Life Cycle and Endosymbiosis Csupporting

confidence: 57%

“…1c-f). A shotgun proteomic analysis identified three isoforms of the target toxin family encoded in the C. xamachana genome 14 , which we call CassTX-A, CassTX-B and CassTX-C ( Fig. 7).…”

Section: Cassiopea Xamachana Overview Life Cycle and Endosymbiosis Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Cassiosomes are stinging-cell structures in the mucus of the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana

et al. 2020

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“…The diminishing cost and technological advances in sequencing technologies will result in more 'omics' datasets for venomous taxa becoming available in coming years, highlighted by the recent publication of multiple cnidarian genomes [118,[123][124][125][126][127]. These genomic data represent a rich resource for comparative studies and the elucidation of venom evolution.…”

Section: Characterising Toxin Expression Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterising Functional Venom Profiles of Anthozoans and Medusozoans within Their Ecological Context

et al. 2020

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This review examines the current state of knowledge regarding toxins from anthozoans (sea anemones, coral, zoanthids, corallimorphs, sea pens and tube anemones). We provide an overview of venom from phylum Cnidaria and review the diversity of venom composition between the two major clades (Medusozoa and Anthozoa). We highlight that the functional and ecological context of venom has implications for the temporal and spatial expression of protein and peptide toxins within class Anthozoa. Understanding the nuances in the regulation of venom arsenals has been made possible by recent advances in analytical technologies that allow characterisation of the spatial distributions of toxins. Furthermore, anthozoans are unique in that ecological roles can be assigned using tissue expression data, thereby circumventing some of the challenges related to pharmacological screening.

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Cnidaria (Coelenterates)

Shostak¹

2021

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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The study of cnidarians has contributed to concepts of biodiversity, evolution and development. Aquatic, mostly marine metazoans, cnidarians are distinguished from members of other phyla by the presence of cnidocytes typically on tentacles. A cnidocyte contains a cnidocyst, a subcellular capsule containing an extrusible tubule capable of everting as an arrow‐like cnida functioning primarily in predation and defence. Cnidarians are predominantly tubular polyps or disk‐ to bell‐shaped medusae. Sexual reproduction generally results in solid planula larvae that develop into polyps, while asexual reproduction performed by polyps results in both polyps and medusae. Polyps bud individuals and members of colonies (e.g. corals). Cnidaria is broken into three subphyla: (1) Anthozoa, composed exclusively of polyps, comprises Octocorallia (soft corals) and Hexacorallia (hard corals); (2) Medusozoa contains both polyps and medusae. This subphylum encompasses Staurozoa, Cubozoa, Scyphozoa and Hydrozoa; (3) Endocnidozoa contains highly reduced endoparasites (myxozoans) plus some larger outliers. Key Concepts Cnidarians are aquatic, mostly marine metazoans, once lumped with ctenophores in the phylum Coelenterata. By sorting out many competing phylogenetic claims, taxonomists have brought cnidarian classification to its present level of clarity. Cnidarians are typically in the form of cylindrical polyps or bell‐shaped medusae. The subphylum Anthozoa consists exclusively of polyps; the subphylum Medusozoa has both polyps and medusae and the subphylum Endocnidozoa is epitomised by myxozoa parasites of annelid or bryozoan and fish, Polypodium hydriforme, an oligocellular parasite of sturgeon and paddlefish eggs, and Buddenbrockia plumatellae, a worm‐like parasite of bryozoans. Uniquely, members of the phylum Cnidaria possess cnidocytes (Gr. knī́dē nettle, sea nettle + kyto hollow vessels) aka nematocytes (Gr. nema‐ thread + hollow vessels), an alternative name for cnidocysts (with the exception of spirocytes and ptychocytes). These cells develop from cnidoblasts and produce cnidocysts (aka nematocysts), encapsulated inside‐out tubules that evert to become adhesive, ensnaring, entangling, penetrating, constructing or poisoning darts (cnidae). Cnidocysts are concentrated in the epidermis of tentacles protruding from the oral end of polyps and from the rim of medusae. Cnidocysts also occur elsewhere on the body both externally and internally. Both asexual and sexual reproduction occur among polyps, but sexual reproduction in the Medusozoa is predominantly the function of medusae. Fertilised eggs generally give rise to solid, ciliated planula larvae that grow into polyps. These polyps may subsequently produce medusae asexually, typically by fragmentation (strobilation). The studies of evolution, cladistics and development gained momentum with the advent of molecular biology in the twentieth century, isoelectric focusing and immunological methods, followed by multiple deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA )‐based approaches; DNA hybridisation; restriction enzyme digestion; random polymerase chain reaction ( PCR ) amplification of ribosomal genes, mitochondrial (mt) small subunit (S) 12S and 16S and large subunit 18S ribosomal ribonucleic acid ( rRNA ) and mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid ( mtDNA ); amplification, use of species‐specific PCR primers; DNA sequencing and so on. The application of these methods now dominates cnidarian classification, perspectives on mechanism of development, and cnidarian evolution.

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Box, stalked, and upside-down? Draft genomes from diverse jellyfish (Cnidaria, Acraspeda) lineages: Alatina alata (Cubozoa), Calvadosia cruxmelitensis (Staurozoa), and Cassiopea xamachana (Scyphozoa)

Cited by 43 publications

References 109 publications

Cassiosomes are stinging-cell structures in the mucus of the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana

Cassiosomes are stinging-cell structures in the mucus of the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana

Characterising Functional Venom Profiles of Anthozoans and Medusozoans within Their Ecological Context

Cnidaria (Coelenterates)

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