Polyandrocarpa Explained

Polyandrocarpa is a genus of ascidian tunicates within the family Styelidae.

Taxonomy

Tunicates are a subphylum of the Chordata and occupy a diverse range of marine habitats such as shallow water, near shore, open ocean, and the deep sea.[1] Tunicates are invertebrates, and their bodies are surrounded by a tunic resembling cartilage, composed of proteins, carbohydrates, and tunicin, with thickness ranging from thin and delicate to transparent and gelatinous.[2] The three classes of tunicates are Ascidiacea, Thaliacea, and Appendicularia.

The Ascidiacea class, also known as the sea squirts, are primarily sessile species that filter-feed and reproduce by budding.[3] [4] This class contains three orders: Aplousobranchia, Phlebobranchia, and Stolidobranchia.

The order Stolidobranchia are distinguished from other tunicates due to the presence of folded pharyngeal baskets.[5] The order Stolidobranchia contains three families: Molgulidae, Pyuridae, and Styelidae.[6] [7]

Styelidae contain both colonial and solitary species, and a number of these species have intermediate morphologies. For example, certain social species within the Styelidae family reproduce clonally, and others grow in large clusters that resemble social colonies; some species brood larvae, and others are solitary, free-spawning species; and some species within Styelidae exhibit direct development.

Polyandrocarpa are a genus within the family Styelidae. Characteristics of Polyandrocarpa species include bilateral symmetry, colonial organization, a soft-bodied skeletal structure, i.e., invertebrates, and may possibly include an ocelli visual system. Species are filter feeders in marine benthic and shallow environments.[8]

Species

Species within the genus Polyandrocarpa include:[9]

Habitat and distribution

Polyandrocarpa have been found in marine environments globally.[14] Species can range from shallow environments to benthic environments. For example, Polyandrocarpa zorritensis is a shallow species, whereas Polyandrocarpa arianae have been found deeper than 90 meters in the Mediterranean Sea.[15]

Polyandrocarpa have been reported in various regions, including the coasts of North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.[16]

Some species of Polyandrocarpa are invasive in certain regions. For example, Polyandrocarpa zorritensis is native to the Atlantic Ocean but is considered a threat to certain marine species in the Mediterranean Sea.[17]

Habitats of Polyandrocarpa species include coral reefs, estuaries, rocky or other hard surfaces, and marine benthic environments. Species attach to surfaces using an adhesive secretion.[18]

Species of Polyandrocarpa play an important role in marine ecosystems as filter feeders, helping to remove small particles and pollutants from the water.[19] [20]

Diet

Polyandrocarpa feed on small particles and plankton.

Life history

Polyandrocarpa are characterized by their small size and simple body structure. They typically form small, spherical colonies that consist of multiple individuals, or zooids, connected together.[21]

Polyandrocarpa form colonies composed of multiple individuals.

Polyandrocarpa can have colonies with embedded zooids or separate zooids joined by basal stolons, though the majority of species within this genus do not have completely embedded zooids. Each zooid has a sac-like body with two siphons: an inhalant siphon that draws in water and food particles, and an exhalant siphon that expels waste and water back into the surrounding environment.[22] An exception to this is Polyandrocarpa colligata. P. colligata has completely embedded zooids and an encrusting colony.

Tunicates can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Polyandrocarpa zorritensis have the ability to reproduce via non-embryonic development (NED), i.e., asexual budding. Polyandrocarpa are capable of regenerating body parts.[23]

Some Polyandrocarpa species have adapted to high-flow environments and are tolerant to temperature and salinity changes.[24]

Uses by humans

Some species of Polyandrocarpa are also used in biomedical research due to their ability to regenerate body parts, which may have implications for human tissue engineering and organ transplantations in the future.

Notes and References

  1. Holland . Linda Z. . 2016-02-22 . Tunicates . Current Biology . 26 . 4 . R146–R152 . 10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.024 . 26906481 . 235602431 . 0960-9822. free . 2016CBio...26.R146H .
  2. Daugavet . M. A. . Dobrynina . M. I. . Shaposhnikova . T. G. . Solovyeva . A. I. . Mittenberg . A. G. . Shabelnikov . S. V. . Babkina . I. Yu. . Grinchenko . A. V. . Ilyaskina . D. V. . Podgornaya . O. I. . 2022-08-22 . New putative phenol oxidase in ascidian blood cells . Scientific Reports . 12 . 1 . 14326 . 10.1038/s41598-022-18283-9 . 2045-2322 . 9395347 . 35995990. 2022NatSR..1214326D .
  3. Scelzo . Marta . Alié . Alexandre . Pagnotta . Sophie . Lejeune . Camille . Henry . Pauline . Gilletta . Laurent . Hiebert . Laurel S. . Mastrototaro . Francesco . Tiozzo . Stefano . December 2019 . Novel budding mode in Polyandrocarpa zorritensis: a model for comparative studies on asexual development and whole body regeneration . EvoDevo . 10 . 1 . 7 . 10.1186/s13227-019-0121-x . free . 2041-9139 . 6446293 . 30984365.
  4. Shenkar . Noa . Swalla . Billie J. . 2011-06-20 . Global Diversity of Ascidiacea . PLOS ONE . 6 . 6 . e20657 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0020657 . 1932-6203 . 3119061 . 21701684 . 2011PLoSO...620657S . free .
  5. Book: Barnes, Robert D. . Invertebrate zoology . 1980 . Saunders College . 0-03-056747-5 . 4 . Philadelphia . 5830048.
  6. Alié . Alexandre . Hiebert . Laurel Sky . Simion . Paul . Scelzo . Marta . Prünster . Maria Mandela . Lotito . Sonia . Delsuc . Frédéric . Douzery . Emmanuel J P . Dantec . Christelle . Lemaire . Patrick . Darras . Sébastien . Kawamura . Kazuo . Brown . Federico D . Tiozzo . Stefano . 2018-07-01 . King . Nicole . Convergent Acquisition of Nonembryonic Development in Styelid Ascidians . Molecular Biology and Evolution . 35 . 7 . 1728–1743 . 10.1093/molbev/msy068 . 0737-4038 . 5995219 . 29660002.
  7. Zeng . Liyun . Jacobs . Molly W. . Swalla . Billie J. . June 1, 2006 . Coloniality has evolved once in Stolidobranch Ascidians . 2023-04-19 . Integrative and Comparative Biology. 46 . 3 . 255–268 . 10.1093/icb/icj035 . 21672740 .
  8. Web site: Polyandrocarpa Michaelsen 1904 - Encyclopedia of Life . 2023-04-19 . eol.org.
  9. Web site: WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Polyandrocarpa Michaelsen, 1904 . 2023-04-19 . www.marinespecies.org.
  10. Kott . Patricia . 2005-09-27 . Novel Australian Polyzoinae (Styelidae, Tunicata) . Journal of Natural History . 39 . 32 . 2997–3011 . 10.1080/00222930500239702 . 2005JNatH..39.2997K . 86839475 . 0022-2933.
  11. Carman . Mary R. . 2011 . Ascidians at the Pacific and Atlantic entrances to the Panama Canal . Aquatic Invasions . 6 . 4 . 371–380. 10.3391/ai.2011.6.4.02 . 1912/5294 . free .
  12. Web site: Convergent Acquisition of Nonembryonic Development in Styelid Ascidians . 2023-04-19 . academic.oup.com.
  13. Scelzo . Marta . Alié . Alexandre . Pagnotta . Sophie . Lejeune . Camille . Henry . Pauline . Gilletta . Laurent . Hiebert . Laurel S. . Mastrototaro . Francesco . Tiozzo . Stefano . 2019-04-03 . Novel budding mode in Polyandrocarpa zorritensis: a model for comparative studies on asexual development and whole body regeneration . EvoDevo . 10 . 1 . 7 . 10.1186/s13227-019-0121-x . 2041-9139 . 6446293 . 30984365 . free .
  14. Web site: Polyandrocarpa zorritensis . 2023-04-19 . invasions.si.edu.
  15. Monniot . Françoise . 2016-06-28 . A new species of Polyandrocarpa (Ascidiacea, Styelidae) in the Mediterranean Sea . Zootaxa . 4132 . 1 . 87–96 . 10.11646/zootaxa.4132.1.7 . 27395654 . 1175-5334.
  16. Web site: Polyandrocarpa zorritensis . 2023-04-19 . invasions.si.edu.
  17. Web site: WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Polyandrocarpa zorritensis (Van Name, 1931) . 2023-04-19 . www.marinespecies.org .
  18. Mastrototaro . Francesco . 2022-01-07 . Polyandrocarpa zorritensis . CABI Compendium . CABI Compendium . 108975 . 10.1079/cabicompendium.108975 . 253656284 . 2958-3969. free .
  19. Burge . Colleen A. . CLosek . Collin J. . Friedman . Carolyn S. . Groner . Maya L. . Jenkins . Cody M. . Shore-Maggio . Amanda . Welsh . Jennifer E. . October 4, 2016 . The Use of Filter-feeders to Manage Disease in a Changing World . 2023-04-19 . Integrative and Comparative Biology . 56 . 4 . 573–587. 10.1093/icb/icw048 . 27371383 . free .
  20. Jacobi . Yuval . Yahel . Gitai . Shenkar . Noa . November 20, 2017 . Efficient filtration of micron and submicron particles by ascidians from oligotrophic waters: Submicron particle capture by ascidians . Limnology and Oceanography . 63 . S1 . S267–S279 . 10.1002/lno.10736. 90375734 . free .
  21. Alié . Alexandre . Hiebert . Laurel Sky . Simion . Paul . Scelzo . Marta . Prünster . Maria Mandela . Lotito . Sonia . Delsuc . Frédéric . Douzery . Emmanuel J P . Dantec . Christelle . Lemaire . Patrick . Darras . Sébastien . Kawamura . Kazuo . Brown . Federico D . Tiozzo . Stefano . 2018-07-01 . King . Nicole . Convergent Acquisition of Nonembryonic Development in Styelid Ascidians . Molecular Biology and Evolution . 35 . 7 . 1728–1743 . 10.1093/molbev/msy068 . 0737-4038 . 5995219 . 29660002.
  22. Koyama . Hiromichi . Kusunoki . Toyokazu . 1993-12-22 . Organization of the cerebral ganglion of the colonial ascidianPolyandrocarpa misakiensis . The Journal of Comparative Neurology . 338 . 4 . 549–559 . 10.1002/cne.903380405 . 8132860 . 6884687 . 0021-9967.
  23. Scelzo . Marta . Alié . Alexandre . Pagnotta . Sophie . Lejeune . Camille . Henry . Pauline . Gilletta . Laurent . Hiebert . Laurel S. . Mastrototaro . Francesco . Tiozzo . Stefano . 2019 . Novel budding mode in Polyandrocarpa zorritensis: a model for comparative studies on asexual development and whole body regeneration . EvoDevo . 10 . 1 . 7 . 10.1186/s13227-019-0121-x . 2041-9139 . 6446293 . 30984365 . free .
  24. Alié . Alexandre . Hiebert . Laurel Sky . Simion . Paul . Scelzo . Marta . Prünster . Maria Mandela . Lotito . Sonia . Delsuc . Frédéric . Douzery . Emmanuel J P . Dantec . Christelle . Lemaire . Patrick . Darras . Sébastien . Kawamura . Kazuo . Brown . Federico D . Tiozzo . Stefano . 2018-07-01 . King . Nicole . Convergent Acquisition of Nonembryonic Development in Styelid Ascidians . Molecular Biology and Evolution . 35 . 7 . 1728–1743 . 10.1093/molbev/msy068 . 0737-4038 . 5995219 . 29660002 . National Library of Medicine.

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