Geodia barretti is a massive deep-sea sponge species found in the boreal waters of the North Atlantic Ocean,[1] and is fairly common on the coasts of Norway and Sweden. It is a dominant species in boreal sponge grounds.[2][3] Supported by morphology and molecular data, this species is classified in the family Geodiidae.[4]
Massive sponge, often irregularly lobate, whitish to light yellow color. The inside is light brown. Surface is smooth. Oscules are grouped in more or less shallow depressions (= preoscules) while pores are spread over the whole body. There is a distinct cortex about 0.5 mm thick, it is made of ball-shaped spicules called sterrasters.
Spicules
Megascleres.
Oxeas (1000-5000 μm).
Dichotriaenes with rhabdomes up to 5000 μm long (more rarely orthotriaenes).
Anatriaenes.
Meso/protriaenes (rare).
Microscleres.
Microxeas (190-900 μm), sometimes slightly centrotylote.
The whole genome of this sponge was first published in 2023;[7] it was sequenced on PacBio and Illumina (HiSeqX) platforms from a specimen collected in 2016 in Kosterhavet National Park, on the Swedish west coast. This nuclear genome assembly is 144 Mbp long (4,535 scaffolds) with a BUSCO completeness of 71.5%, while the mitochondrial genome is 17,996 bp long.[7] Annotation of the nuclear genome found 31,884 protein-coding genes.
Systematics
Etymology
This sponge was named in honor of one of its discoverers, the biologist Lucas Barrett (1837-1862).
Vernacular names
This sponge is called "rutabaga sponge" in Norwegian (kålrabisvamp) and "football sponge" in Swedish (fotbollssvampdjur).
Type material
This sponge was collected by biologists Robert McAndrew and Lucas Barrett in 1855 on the South side of Vikna Island (formerly called Vigten or Vikten Island), North-Trøndelag, Norway, at a depth of 183 meters. It was later described by the British sponge taxonomist James Scott Bowerbank in 1858.
The holotype is a dry specimen stored at the Natural History Museum in London with the museum number BNHM 1877.5.21.1399. There are also slides of the holotype: BNHM 1877.5.21.1400 (one slide of surface and one spicule preparation) and BNHM 1877.5.21.1401 (slide of a section).
G. barretti is present throughout the boreal waters of the North Atlantic,[1] where water temperature is usually 3-9 degrees Celsius. This species is present on the Swedish west coast[9] and all along the Norwegian coast and Svalbard.[10]
One single specimen was formally recorded from the Mediterranean Sea, in the 'Canyon des Moines' (south Corsica), at 167 m (water temperature was 13 °C).[1] Deeper specimens (1100-1700 meter depths) were also recorded off the Atlantic coast of Morocco (Ibero-Moroccan Gulf).[1] Several deep specimens were collected on the mid-Atlantic ridge at 1650 m depth.[11]
Bathymetry
It is found from 30 to 2000 meter depths.[1] Most North-East Atlantic records are from the continental margins, between 200 and 500 m. In the North-West Atlantic (Grand Banks, Flemish Cap, Nova Scotia, and Davis Strait), it has been recorded between 410 and 1852 meter depths. Shallow specimens are common along the Norwegian coast,[12] especially in fjords.
Biology
Reproduction
G. barretti is an oviparous species with separated males and females.[13][14] The reproductive cycle is annual with one or two events of gamete release per year, the major reproductive season being from late spring to early autumn.[14] The larvae has never been observed. Asexual reproduction has never been formally described.
The reproduction molecular toolkit of boreo-arctic Geodia species has been investigated, including in Geodia barretti, using proteomic and trancriptomic data. Genes involved in the formation of the gametes appeared close to the ones found in the rest of the animals.[15]
G. barretti has less associated macrofauna than any of the other boreo-arctic Geodia species: only ten different species of epibionts were recorded vs. 62 for Geodia macandrewii.[18]
Microbiology
G. barretti is a high microbial abundance (HMA) sponge,[19] such that the mesohyl is essentially packed with microbes, and just a few sponge cells. It was calculated that the sponge itself (canals, choanocyte chambers and cells) represents only 5% of its total volume, the rest being microbes.[20]
Estimates of the number of bacteria in G. barretti are between 2.9x1011[19] and 3.1x1011[20] microbes/cm3 sponge.
Isolation and study of specific bacteria
Streptomyces sp. GBA 94-10, an Actinomycetota, was isolated from a Norwegian G. barretti.[21] It was shown to be a close relative of the terrestrial Streptomyces albus J1074. The genome was fully sequenced (Genbank accession numbers CM002271- plasmid pGBA1 CM002272).
Streptomycesporiferorum (type strain P01-B04T), an Actinomycetota, was isolated and described in two Norwegian sponges (Antho dichotoma and G. barretti).[22] This bacteria might provide their host with chemical defenses and might be involved in nitrogen metabolism. The whole genome was sequenced (Genbank accession number JAELVH010000000); the 16S rRNA gene sequence can also be found on Genbank (MW583039).
Actinoalloteichus fjordicus, an Actinomycetota, was isolated and described in two Norwegian sponges (Antho dichotoma and G. barretti).[23] This Actinomycetota genus has been found in terrestrial and marine habitats. This bacterium's genome was fully sequenced (Genbank accession numbers CP016077-plasmid CP016078).
Microbiomes
Chemistry
The major compound of G. barretti, called barettin, was isolated in 1986 at Uppsala University, Sweden; barettin has antifouling activity. Since then, two more barettins were discovered, as well as other small molecules (see Table below). Peptides called barrettides were found and published in 2015.[24] Using metabolomics on specimens of G. barretti from Sweden, most of these compounds could be found, in addition to nucleotides, nucleosides and nucleobases, as well as some fatty acids.[25]
^Klitgaard, A. B.; Tendal, O. S. (2004-04-01). "Distribution and species composition of mass occurrences of large-sized sponges in the northeast Atlantic". Progress in Oceanography. 61 (1): 57–98. Bibcode:2004PrOce..61...57K. doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2004.06.002.
^Murillo, Francisco Javier; Muñoz, Pablo Durán; Cristobo, Javier; Ríos, Pilar; González, Concepción; Kenchington, Ellen; Serrano, Alberto (2012-11-01). "Deep-sea sponge grounds of the Flemish Cap, Flemish Pass and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland (Northwest Atlantic Ocean): Distribution and species composition". Marine Biology Research. 8 (9): 842–854. doi:10.1080/17451000.2012.682583. hdl:10508/927. ISSN1745-1000. S2CID83867051.
^ abcCárdenas, Paco; Rapp, Hans Tore; Schander, Christoffer; Tendal, Ole S. (2010-01-01). "Molecular taxonomy and phylogeny of the Geodiidae (Porifera, Demospongiae, Astrophorida) – combining phylogenetic and Linnaean classification". Zoologica Scripta. 39 (1): 89–106. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2009.00402.x. hdl:1956/4020. ISSN1463-6409. S2CID85137461.
^Cárdenas, Paco; Rapp, Hans Tore (2013-09-01). "Disrupted spiculogenesis in deep-water Geodiidae (Porifera, Demospongiae) growing in shallow waters". Invertebrate Biology. 132 (3): 173–194. doi:10.1111/ivb.12027. ISSN1744-7410.
^Spetland, Frank; Rapp, Hans Torre; Hoffmann, Friederike; Tendal, Ole Secher (2007). "Sexual reproduction of Geodia barretti Bowerbank, 1858 (Porifera, Astrophorida) in two Scandinavian fjords". In: M. R. Custódio, e. Hajdu, G. Lóbo-Hajdu & G. Muricy (Eds), Porifera Research: Biodiversity, Innovation and Sustainability. Proceedings of the 7th International Sponge Symposium. Série Livros 28, Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro: 613–620.
^Warrén, Anders; Klitgaard, Anne (1991). "Hanleya nagelfar, a sponge-feeding ecotype of H. hanleyi or a distinct species of chiton". Ophelia. 34: 51–70. doi:10.1080/00785326.1991.10429706.
^Cedhagen, Tomas (1994-07-15). "Taxonomy and biology of Hyrrokkin sarcophaga gen. et sp. n., a parasitic foraminiferan (Rosalinidae)". Sarsia. 79 (1): 65–82. doi:10.1080/00364827.1994.10413549. ISSN0036-4827.
^Lidgren, Göran; Bohlin, Lars; Bergman, Jan (January 1986). "Studies of swedish marine organisms VII. A novel biologically active indole alkaloid from the sponge Geodia baretti". Tetrahedron Letters. 27 (28): 3283–3284. doi:10.1016/s0040-4039(00)84776-0. ISSN0040-4039.
^ abcSjögren, Martin; Göransson, Ulf; Johnson, Ann-Louise; Dahlström, Mia; Andersson, Rolf; Bergman, Jan; Jonsson, Per R.; Bohlin, Lars (March 2004). "Antifouling Activity of Brominated Cyclopeptides from the Marine SpongeGeodia barretti". Journal of Natural Products. 67 (3): 368–372. doi:10.1021/np0302403. ISSN0163-3864. PMID15043412.
^ abcdHedner, Erik; Sjögren, Martin; Frändberg, Per-Anders; Johansson, Tobias; Göransson, Ulf; Dahlström, Mia; Jonsson, Per; Nyberg, Fred; Bohlin, Lars (October 2006). "Brominated Cyclodipeptides from the Marine Sponge Geodia barretti as Selective 5-HT Ligands". Journal of Natural Products. 69 (10): 1421–1424. doi:10.1021/np0601760. ISSN0163-3864. PMID17067154.
^Lind, K. F; Østerud, B. (2015). "The immunomodulatory effects of barettin and involvement of the kinases CAMK1α and RIPK2". Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology. 37 (5): 458–464. doi:10.3109/08923973.2015.1082584. PMID26466644. S2CID21255063.
^ abcdefOlsen, Elisabeth K.; Hansen, Espen; W. K. Moodie, Lindon; Isaksson, Johan; Sepčić, Kristina; Cergolj, Marija; Svenson, Johan; Andersen, Jeanette H. (2016). "Marine AChE inhibitors isolated from Geodia barretti: natural compounds and their synthetic analogs". Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry. 14 (5): 1629–1640. doi:10.1039/c5ob02416a. ISSN1477-0520. PMID26695619.
^ abcdLidgren, Göran; Bohlin, Lars; Christophersen, Carsten (November 1988). "Studies of Swedish Marine Organisms, Part X. Biologically Active Compounds from the Marine Sponge Geodia baretti". Journal of Natural Products. 51 (6): 1277–1280. doi:10.1021/np50060a041. ISSN0163-3864.
^ abOlsen, Elisabeth K.; Søderholm, Kine L.; Isaksson, Johan; Andersen, Jeanette H.; Hansen, Espen (2016-04-21). "Metabolomic Profiling Reveals the N-Acyl-Taurine Geodiataurine in Extracts from the Marine Sponge Geodia macandrewii (Bowerbank)". Journal of Natural Products. 79 (5): 1285–1291. doi:10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5b00966. ISSN0163-3864. PMID27100857.
^Hougaard, L.; Anthoni, U.; Christophersen, C.; Larsen, C.; Nielsen, P.H. (January 1991). "Characterization and quantitative estimation of quaternary ammonium compounds in marine demosponges". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Comparative Biochemistry. 99 (2): 469–472. doi:10.1016/0305-0491(91)90072-l. ISSN0305-0491.
^ abHougaard, L.; Christophersen, C.; Nielsen, P.H.; Klitgaard, A.; Tendal, O. (June 1991). "The chemical composition of species of Geodia, Isops and Stryphnus (Choristida: Demospongia: Porifera)—A comparative study with some taxonomical implications". Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. 19 (3): 223–235. doi:10.1016/0305-1978(91)90006-l. ISSN0305-1978.