1
|
Vandepas LE, Stefani C, Domeier PP, Traylor-Knowles N, Goetz FW, Browne WE, Lacy-Hulbert A. Extracellular DNA traps in a ctenophore demonstrate immune cell behaviors in a non-bilaterian. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2990. [PMID: 38582801 PMCID: PMC10998917 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46807-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024] Open
Abstract
The formation of extracellular DNA traps (ETosis) is a first response mechanism by specific immune cells following exposure to microbes. Initially characterized in vertebrate neutrophils, cells capable of ETosis have been discovered recently in diverse non-vertebrate taxa. To assess the conservation of ETosis between evolutionarily distant non-vertebrate phyla, we observed and quantified ETosis using the model ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi and the oyster Crassostrea gigas. Here we report that ctenophores - thought to have diverged very early from the metazoan stem lineage - possess immune-like cells capable of phagocytosis and ETosis. We demonstrate that both Mnemiopsis and Crassostrea immune cells undergo ETosis after exposure to diverse microbes and chemical agents that stimulate ion flux. We thus propose that ETosis is an evolutionarily conserved metazoan defense against pathogens.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E Vandepas
- NRC Research Associateship Program, Seattle, WA, USA.
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, 98112, USA.
- Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA.
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA.
| | - Caroline Stefani
- Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
| | - Phillip P Domeier
- Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
| | - Nikki Traylor-Knowles
- Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL, 33149, USA
| | - Frederick W Goetz
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, 98112, USA
| | - William E Browne
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA
| | - Adam Lacy-Hulbert
- Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Boohar RT, Vandepas LE, Traylor-Knowles N, Browne WE. Phylogenetic and Protein Structure Analyses Provide Insight into the Evolution and Diversification of the CD36 Domain "Apex" among Scavenger Receptor Class B Proteins across Eukarya. Genome Biol Evol 2023; 15:evad218. [PMID: 38035778 PMCID: PMC10715195 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) domain defines the characteristic ectodomain associated with class B scavenger receptor (SR-B) proteins. In bilaterians, SR-Bs play critical roles in diverse biological processes including innate immunity functions such as pathogen recognition and apoptotic cell clearance, as well as metabolic sensing associated with fatty acid uptake and cholesterol transport. Although previous studies suggest this protein family is ancient, SR-B diversity across Eukarya has not been robustly characterized. We analyzed SR-B homologs identified from the genomes and transcriptomes of 165 diverse eukaryotic species. The presence of highly conserved amino acid motifs across major eukaryotic supergroups supports the presence of a SR-B homolog in the last eukaryotic common ancestor. Our comparative analyses of SR-B protein structure identify the retention of a canonical asymmetric beta barrel tertiary structure within the CD36 ectodomain across Eukarya. We also identify multiple instances of independent lineage-specific sequence expansions in the apex region of the CD36 ectodomain-a region functionally associated with ligand-sensing. We hypothesize that a combination of both sequence expansion and structural variation in the CD36 apex region may reflect the evolution of SR-B ligand-sensing specificity between diverse eukaryotic clades.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Reed T Boohar
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
| | - Lauren E Vandepas
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
| | - Nikki Traylor-Knowles
- Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - William E Browne
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Vandepas LE, Tassia MG, Halanych KM, Amemiya CT. Unexpected Distribution of Chitin and Chitin Synthase across Soft-Bodied Cnidarians. Biomolecules 2023; 13:biom13050777. [PMID: 37238647 DOI: 10.3390/biom13050777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Cnidarians are commonly recognized as sea jellies, corals, or complex colonies such as the Portuguese man-of-war. While some cnidarians possess rigid internal calcareous skeletons (e.g., corals), many are soft-bodied. Intriguingly, genes coding for the chitin-biosynthetic enzyme, chitin synthase (CHS), were recently identified in the model anemone Nematostella vectensis, a species lacking hard structures. Here we report the prevalence and diversity of CHS across Cnidaria and show that cnidarian chitin synthase genes display diverse protein domain organizations. We found that CHS is expressed in cnidarian species and/or developmental stages with no reported chitinous or rigid morphological structures. Chitin affinity histochemistry indicates that chitin is present in soft tissues of some scyphozoan and hydrozoan medusae. To further elucidate the biology of chitin in cnidarian soft tissues, we focused on CHS expression in N. vectensis. Spatial expression data show that three CHS orthologs are differentially expressed in Nematostella embryos and larvae during development, suggesting that chitin has an integral role in the biology of this species. Understanding how a non-bilaterian lineage such as Cnidaria employs chitin may provide new insight into hitherto unknown functions of polysaccharides in animals, as well as their role in the evolution of biological novelty.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E Vandepas
- Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Michael G Tassia
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
- Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Kenneth M Halanych
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
- Departments of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA
| | - Chris T Amemiya
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California at Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Dieter AC, Vandepas LE, Browne WE. Isolation and Maintenance of In Vitro Cell Cultures from the Ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2450:347-358. [PMID: 35359317 PMCID: PMC9761543 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2172-1_18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The ability to isolate, monitor, and examine specific cells of interest enables targeted experimental manipulations that would otherwise be difficult to perform and interpret in the context of the whole organism. In vitro primary cell cultures derived from ctenophores thus serve as an important tool for understanding complex cellular and molecular interactions that take place both within and between various ctenophore cell types. Here we describe methods for reliably generating and maintaining primary cell cultures derived from the lobate ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi that can be used for a wide variety of experimental applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Lauren E Vandepas
- Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
- National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Manchester, WA, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
Innate immunity is an ancient physiological response critical for protecting metazoans from invading pathogens. It is the primary pathogen defense mechanism among invertebrates. While innate immunity has been studied extensively in diverse invertebrate taxa, including mollusks, crustaceans, and cnidarians, this system has not been well characterized in ctenophores. The ctenophores comprise an exclusively marine, non-bilaterian lineage that diverged early during metazoan diversification. The phylogenetic position of ctenophore lineage suggests that characterization of the ctenophore innate immune system will reveal important features associated with the early evolution of the metazoan innate immune system. Here, we review current understanding of the ctenophore immune repertoire and identify innate immunity genes recovered from three ctenophore species. We also isolate and characterize Mnemiopsis leidyi cells that display macrophage-like behavior when challenged with bacteria. Our results indicate that ctenophores possess cells capable of phagocytosing microbes and that two distantly related ctenophores, M. leidyi and Hormiphora californiensis, possess many candidate innate immunity proteins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nikki Traylor-Knowles
- Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, FL 33149, USA
| | - Lauren E Vandepas
- Benaroya Research Institute, 1201 9th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101, USA.,Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - William E Browne
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Cox Science Building, 1301 Memorial Drive, Miami, FL 33146, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Vandepas LE, Warren KJ, Amemiya CT, Browne WE. Establishing and maintaining primary cell cultures derived from the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 220:1197-1201. [PMID: 28137975 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.152371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2016] [Accepted: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
We have developed an efficient method for the preparation and maintenance of primary cell cultures isolated from adult Mnemiopsis leidyi, a lobate ctenophore. Our primary cell cultures are derived from tissue explants or enzymatically dissociated cells, and maintained in a complex undefined ctenophore mesogleal serum. These methods can be used to isolate, maintain and visually monitor ctenophore cells to assess proliferation, cellular morphology and cell differentiation in future studies. Exemplar cell types that can be easily isolated from primary cultures include proliferative ectodermal and endodermal cells, motile amebocyte-like cells, and giant smooth muscle cells that exhibit inducible contractile properties. We have also derived 'tissue envelopes' containing sections of endodermal canal surrounded by mesoglea and ectoderm that can be used to monitor targeted cell types in an in vivo context. Access to efficient and reliably generated primary cell cultures will facilitate the analysis of ctenophore development, physiology and morphology from a cell biological perspective.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E Vandepas
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Kaitlyn J Warren
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Chris T Amemiya
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.,Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
| | - William E Browne
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Vandepas LE, Dooley FD, Barord GJ, Swalla BJ, Ward PD. A revisited phylogeography of Nautilus pompilius. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:4924-35. [PMID: 27547323 PMCID: PMC4979717 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2016] [Revised: 05/09/2016] [Accepted: 05/16/2016] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The cephalopod genus Nautilus is considered a "living fossil" with a contested number of extant and extinct species, and a benthic lifestyle that limits movement of animals between isolated seamounts and landmasses in the Indo-Pacific. Nautiluses are fished for their shells, most heavily in the Philippines, and these fisheries have little monitoring or regulation. Here, we evaluate the hypothesis that multiple species of Nautilus (e.g., N. belauensis, N. repertus and N. stenomphalus) are in fact one species with a diverse phenotypic and geologic range. Using mitochondrial markers, we show that nautiluses from the Philippines, eastern Australia (Great Barrier Reef), Vanuatu, American Samoa, and Fiji fall into distinct geographical clades. For phylogenetic analysis of species complexes across the range of nautilus, we included sequences of Nautilus pompilius and other Nautilus species from GenBank from localities sampled in this study and others. We found that specimens from Western Australia cluster with samples from the Philippines, suggesting that interbreeding may be occurring between those locations, or that there is limited genetic drift due to large effective population sizes. Intriguingly, our data also show that nautilus identified in other studies as N. belauensis, N. stenomphalus, or N. repertus are likely N. pompilius displaying a diversity of morphological characters, suggesting that there is significant phenotypic plasticity within N. pompilius.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E. Vandepas
- Friday Harbor LaboratoriesBiology DepartmentUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashington
| | - Frederick D. Dooley
- Friday Harbor LaboratoriesBiology DepartmentUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashington
| | - Gregory J. Barord
- Department of BiologyGraduate CenterCity University of New YorkNew York CityNew York10016
- Department of BiologyBrooklyn CollegeCity University of New YorkBrooklynNew York11210
| | - Billie J. Swalla
- Friday Harbor LaboratoriesBiology DepartmentUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashington
| | - Peter D. Ward
- Friday Harbor LaboratoriesBiology DepartmentUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashington
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Abstract
Ascidians (Chordata, Tunicata) are an important group for the study of invasive species biology due to rapid generation times, potential for biofouling, and role as filter feeders in an ecosystem. Phallusia nigra is a putative cosmopolitan ascidian that has been described as introduced or invasive in a number of regions in the Indo-Pacific Ocean (India, Japan, and Hawaii) and in the Mediterranean. The taxonomic description of P. nigra includes a striking smooth, black tunic and large size. However, there are at least two similar Phallusia species-P. philippinensis and P. fumigata-which also have dark black tunics and can be difficult to discern from P. nigra. The distribution of P. nigra broadly overlaps with P. philippinensis in the Indo-Pacific and P. fumigata in the Mediterranean. A morphological comparison of P. nigra from Japan, the Caribbean coast of Panama, and Brazil found that Atlantic and Pacific samples were different species and led us to investigate the range of P. nigra using morphological and molecular analyses. We sequenced 18S rDNA and cytochrome oxidase B of individual ascidians from the Red Sea, Greece, Singapore, Japan, Caribbean Panama, Florida, and Brazil. Our results show that identification of the disparate darkly pigmented species has been difficult, and that several reports of P. nigra are likely either P. fumigata or P. philippinensis. Here we include detailed taxonomic descriptions of the distinguishing features of these three species and sequences for molecular barcoding in an effort to have ranges and potential invasions corrected in the ascidian literature.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren E Vandepas
- Biology Department, University of Washington, and Friday Harbor Laboratories, Seattle, Washington
| | - Livia M Oliveira
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Serina S C Lee
- Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore; and
| | - Euichi Hirose
- Department of Chemistry, Biology, and Marine Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara-cho, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Rosana M Rocha
- Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Billie J Swalla
- Biology Department, University of Washington, and Friday Harbor Laboratories, Seattle, Washington;
| |
Collapse
|