National Committee on Marine Sciences (NCMS)
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- Detection of horizontal gene transfer in the genome of the choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosettaMatriano, Danielle M.; Alegado, Rosanna A.; Conaco, Cecilia (Springer, 2021-03-16)Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), the movement of heritable materials between distantly related organisms, is crucial in eukaryotic evolution. However, the scale of HGT in choanoflagellates, the closest unicellular relatives of metazoans, and its possible roles in the evolution of animal multicellularity remains unexplored. We identified at least 175 candidate HGTs in the genome of the colonial choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosetta using sequence-based tests. The majority of these were orthologous to genes in bacterial and microalgal lineages, yet displayed genomic features consistent with the rest of the S. rosetta genome—evidence of ancient acquisition events. Putative functions include enzymes involved in amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism, cell signaling, and the synthesis of extracellular matrix components. Functions of candidate HGTs may have contributed to the ability of choanoflagellates to assimilate novel metabolites, thereby supporting adaptation, survival in diverse ecological niches, and response to external cues that are possibly critical in the evolution of multicellularity in choanoflagellates.We thank Joshua Dizon and Francis Tablizo of the Philippine Genome Center Core Facility for Bioinformatics for assistance with scripts and database construction. We thank Becca Lensing (University of Hawai’i), Cheryl Andam (University of New Hampshire), Deo Onda and Ron Leonard Dy (University of the Philippines) for insightful comments and suggestions on the analysis and interpretation of the data. This work was supported by thesis grants from the Department of Science and Technology Accelerated Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program-National Science Consortium (DOST-ASTHRDP-NSC) and the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute to DM.
- Global mass spectrometric analysis reveals chemical diversity of secondary metabolites and 44-Methylgambierone production in Philippine Gambierdiscus strainsMalto, Zabrina Bernice L.; Benico, Garry A.; Batucan, Jeremiah D.; Dela Cruz, James; Romero, Marc Lawrence J.; Azanza, Rhodora V.; Salvador-Reyes, Lilibeth A. (Frontiers Media SA, 2022-02-04)Surveillance and characterization of emerging marine toxins and toxigenic dinoflagellates are warranted to evaluate their associated health risks. Here, we report the occurrence of the ciguatera poisoning-causative dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus balechii in the Philippines. Toxin production and chemical diversity of secondary metabolites in G. balechii GtoxSAM092414, G. balechii Gtox112513, and the recently reported Gambierdiscus carpenteri Gam1BOL080513 were assessed using targeted and untargeted UPLC-MS/MS analysis and radioligand receptor-binding assay (RBA). 44-methylgambierone was produced by all three strains, albeitwith different levels based on RBA and UPLC-HRMS/MS analysis. The fatty acid composition was similar in all strains, while subtle differences in monosaccharide content were observed, related to the collection site rather than the species. Molecular networking using the GNPS database identified 45 clusters belonging to at least ten compound classes, with terpene glycosides, carbohydrate conjugates, polyketides, and macrolides as major convergence points. Species-specific peptides and polyhydroxylated compounds were identified in G. balechii GtoxSAM092414 and G. carpenteri Gam1BOL080513, respectively. These provide a glimpse of the uncharacterized biosynthetic potential of benthic dinoflagellates and highlight the intricate and prolific machinery for secondary metabolites production in these organisms.We would like to thank H. Junio and the Secondary Metabolites Profiling Laboratory of the Institute of Chemistry, University of the Philippines Diliman and K. B. Davis for assistance in the conduct of this study.
- Total polyphenol content of tropical marine and coastal flora: Potentials for food and nutraceutical applicationsNarvarte, Bienson Ceasar V.; Genovia, Tom Gerald T.; Hinaloc, Lourie Ann R.; Gonzaga, Shienna Mae C.; Tabonda-Nabor, April Mae; Palecpec, Flora Maye R.; Dayao, Helen M.; Roleda, Michael Y. (Springer, 2023-07-08)The marine environment is abundant in natural products that are beneficial to humans. Among these compounds are the polyphenols produced by marine flora as secondary metabolites and used as a defense against stressful environmental conditions. Accordingly, recent pharmacological and biomedical studies showed that polyphenols from marine and coastal floras have several important bioactivities including antioxidant property. In this study, we measured the total polyphenol content (TPC) of 75 species of marine-associated flora. The TPC of their methanolic extracts was measured spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay and was expressed both as mg phloroglucinol equivalent per g of dry weight (mg PGE g−1 DW) and as mg gallic acid equivalent per g dry weight (mg GAE g−1 DW). The TPC values are higher when expressed in terms of GAE compared to PGE. Also, the mean TPC of tracheopytes (229 ± 43.0 mg PGE g−1 DW) was higher compared to the mean TPC of macroalgae (69.4 ± 9.59 mg PGE g−1 DW). For macroalgae, ochrophytes (97.9 ± 22.7 mg PGE g−1 DW) had the highest mean TPC followed by chlorophytes (80.0 ± 20.5 mg PGE g−1 DW) and rhodophytes (49.5 ± 8.60 mg PGE g−1 DW). Moreover, our study also showed that TPC varied between young and mature tissues, among different color morphotypes and different parts of the plants. Although the concentrations of total polyphenols varied among species, ages, strains and parts of the plant, our study showed that marine and coastal floras are rich sources of polyphenols that could be further examined for their biological activities and other applications in food industry.
- Diversity and novelty of venom peptides from Conus (Asprella) rolani revealed by analysis of its venom duct transcriptomeTaguchi, Ryoichi; Masacupan, Dan Jethro; Lluisma, Arturo (Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering, 2024-04-22)Conus species in the sub-genus Asprella are poorly studied because they inhabit deep-water habitats. To date, only a few peptides have been characterized from this clade. In this study, the venom duct transcriptome of a member of this clade, Conus rolani, was mined for potential conopeptides. Using a highthroughput RNA sequencing platform (Illumina) and a multiple k-mer de novo assembly, we found 103 putative conopeptide precursor amino acid sequences, including the few peptides previously reported for this species. The sequences, predominantly novel based on amino acid sequence, were diverse, comprising 36 gene superfamilies (including the “unassigned” superfamilies). As observed in other Conus species, the O1 gene superfamily was the most diverse (12 distinct sequences) but interestingly none of the sequences were found to contain the conserved amino acids associated with certain bioactivities in peptides found in piscivorous Conus species. The O2 superfamily was also highly diverse but conikot-ikot and an unassigned superfamily (MMSRMG) were more diverse than the rest of the superfamilies. In terms of gene expression levels, the understudied MEFRR paralog of the ancestral divergent M---L-LTVA superfamily was found to be the most highly expressed in the transcriptome, suggesting a novel role. Additionally, a conopeptide with high sequence similarity to A2 secretory group XII phospholipases is the first reported member of this phospholipase group in Conus and potentially represents a novel superfamily, expanding the catalog of known phospholipases present in cone snail venoms. The discovery of these putative conopeptides provides the first but early glimpse of the diversity and novelty of the peptides in the Asprella group and sets the stage for their functional characterization.This work was funded by the Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD). The collection of C. rolani samples was made possible under Gratuitous Permit No. 0252- 23 granted by the Department of Agriculture — Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Philippines (DA-BFAR). The fieldwork was done with the help of Olango island fishermen, led by Antonio Mosqueda. We extend our gratitude to Antonio Catalig, Zae-Zae Aguinaldo, Kreighton Cadorna, Jonathan Wong, and Niño Dan Posadas for troubleshooting and assisting in the generation of the figures.