Arbacia punctulata explained

The Atlantic purple sea urchin (Arbacia punctulata) is a species of sea urchins from the family Arbaciidae, native to the Atlantic Ocean.

Description

The Atlantic purple sea urchin is a spherical, dark purple-spined sea urchin, with a nearly flat oral face. It can reach up to 8 cm in diameter, and is native to the North Atlantic Ocean.

Habitat and range

Its natural habitat is in the western Atlantic Ocean. A. punctulata can be found in shallow water from Massachusetts to Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula, from Texas to Florida in the Gulf of Mexico, the coast from Panama to French Guiana, and in the Lesser Antilles, usually on rocky, sandy, or shelly bottoms.^[1]

Ecology and behaviour

A. punctulata is omnivorous, consuming a wide variety of prey^[2] although Karlson^[3] classified it as a generalized carnivore. Its galactolipids, rather than phlorotannins, act as herbivore deterrents in Fucus vesiculosus against A. punctulata.^[4]

Uses in science

For more than a century, developmental biologists have valued the sea urchin as an experimental model organism. Sea urchin eggs are transparent and can be manipulated easily in the research laboratory. Their eggs can be easily fertilized and then develop rapidly and synchronously.^{[5] [6]}

For decades, the sea urchin embryo has been used to establish the chromosome theory of heredity, the description of centrosomes, parthenogenesis, and fertilization.^{[7] [8] [9]} Research work during the last 30 years established such important phenomena as stable mRNA and translational control, isolation and characterization of the mitotic apparatus, and the realization that the major structural proteins of the mitotic apparatus are microtubules.^{[10] [11]} Sea urchin studies provided the first evidence of actin in nonmuscle cells.^{[12] [13]}

Arbacia punctulata is also a model organism of marine sediment toxicity^{[14] [15]} and for sperm study.^{[16] [17]}

External links

• Animal Diversity Web Card
• Marine Biological Laboratory Card

Notes and References

1. Serafy DK . 1979 . Echinoids (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) . Mem. Hourglass Cruises . 5 . 1–120 .
2. Sharp . D. T. . Gray . I. E. . 1962 . Studies on factors affecting the local distribution of two sea urchins, Arbacia punctulata and Lytechinus variegatus . Ecology . 43 . 2. 309–313 . 10.2307/1931986. 1931986 .
3. Karlson R . 1978 . Predation and space utilization patterns in a marine epifaunal community . J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. . 31 . 3. 225–239 . 10.1016/0022-0981(78)90060-6 .
4. 10.1007/s00442-003-1242-3 . 136 . Galactolipids rather than phlorotannins as herbivore deterrents in the brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus . 2003 . Oecologia . 107–114 . Deal MS . 1 . 12684854. 2003Oecol.136..107D . 5821145 .
5. RULON O. The modification of developmental patterns in Arbacia eggs with malonic acid. Anat. Rec.. 99. 4. 652. December 1947. 18895450.
6. Kanungo J. Prolonged incubation in seawater induces a DNA-dependent protein phosphorylation activity in Arbacia punctulata eggs. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun.. 294. 3. 667–71. June 2002. 12056821. 10.1016/S0006-291X(02)00539-9.
7. FAILLA PM. Recovery from Division Delay in Irradiated Gametes of Arbacia punctulata. Radiat. Res.. 25. 2. 331–40. June 1965. 14295124. 10.2307/3571975. 3571975 . 1965RadR...25..331F.
8. Sachs MI, Anderson E . A cytological study of artificial parthenogenesis in the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata. J. Cell Biol.. 47. 1. 140–58. October 1970. 4327513. 2108410. 10.1083/jcb.47.1.140.
9. Kite GL. The Nature of the Fertilization Membrane of the Egg of the Sea Urchin (Arbacia Punctulata). Science. 36. 930. 562–564. October 1912. 17812420. 10.1126/science.36.930.562-a. 1912Sci....36..562K.
10. ZIMMERMAN AM, MARSLAND D . Cell division: Effects of pressure on the mitotic mechanisms of marine eggs (Arbacia punctulata). Exp. Cell Res.. 35. 2. 293–302. July 1964. 14195437. 10.1016/0014-4827(64)90096-5.
11. SCOTT A. A cytological analysis of the effects of cyanide and 4,6-dinitro-orthocresol on the mitotic phases in Arbacia punctulata. Biol. Bull.. 99. 2. 362–3. October 1950. 14791535. 10.1086/BBLv99n2p321.
12. Henson JH, Schatten G . Calcium regulation of the actin-mediated cytoskeletal transformation of sea urchin coelomocytes. Cell Motil.. 3. 5–6. 525–34. 1983. 6420068. 10.1002/cm.970030519.
13. Kabat-Zinn J, Singer RH . Sea urchin tube feet: unique structures that allow a cytological and molecular approach to the study of actin and its gene expression. J. Cell Biol.. 89. 1. 109–14. April 1981. 6894447. 2111775. 10.1083/jcb.89.1.109.
14. Jäntschi L, Bolboaca SD . A structural modelling study on marine sediments toxicity. Mar Drugs. 6. 2. 372–88. 2008. 18728732. 2525494. 10.3390/md20080017. free.
15. Rudolph A, Medina P, Urrutia C, Ahumada R . Ecotoxicological sediment evaluations in marine aquaculture areas of Chile. Environ Monit Assess. 155. 1–4. 419–29. July 2008. 18633720. 10.1007/s10661-008-0444-x. 41962710.
16. Lillie FR. The Fertilizing Power of Sperm Dilutions of Arbacia. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.. 1. 3. 156–60. March 1915. 16575966. 1090763. 10.1073/pnas.1.3.156. 1915PNAS....1..156L. free.
17. Inamdar MV, Kim T, Chung YK, Was AM, Xiang X, Wang CW, Takayama S, Lastoskie CM, Thomas FI, Sastry AM . Assessment of sperm chemokinesis with exposure to jelly coats of sea urchin eggs and resact: a microfluidic experiment and numerical study. J. Exp. Biol.. 210. Pt 21. 3805–20. November 2007. 17951422. 10.1242/jeb.005439. free.