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Current Advances in Echinoderm Research
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Current Advances in Echinoderm Research

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2024 | Viewed by 4986

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Muyan Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
Interests: molecular physiology; echinoderm; hypometabolism; aestivation; thermal stress; hypoxia; neurophysiology; sensory system; osmoregulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xiutang Yuan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, China
Interests: sea cucumber; shellfish; ocean acidification and warming; environmental factors; human impacts; environmental pollution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Echinoderms are a non-chordate deuterostome “bridging” the evolutionary gap between protostome and chordate. Echinoderms are a key component in marine ecosystems and an important part of the ocean food chain, playing numerous ecological roles. They are well known for the unusual regenerative capacity of their adult organs, disparity of body plans, variable collagen tissue and phylogenetic position. In addition to their high ecological and evolutionary significance, some echinoderms also have great economic and medical value. However, despite all the research undertaken so far, much still remains to be investigated about these animals. A large variety of classical and novel research methodologies can be used to obtain new advances in our understanding of echinoderms and their relationships with the environment, including the effects caused by climate changes and human activities on echinoderm communities. Microscopy, molecular biology, chemical, bioinformatic and biochemical studies can provide valuable new knowledge about these animals. This Special Issue aims to collect articles providing new and relevant information on various subjects regarding echinoderms, including ecology, morphology, physiology, biodiversity, pathology, evolution, reproduction, development, immunology and others such as aquaculture.

Prof. Dr. Muyan Chen
Prof. Dr. Xiutang Yuan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • echinoderms
  • sea cucumbers
  • starfish
  • brittle stars
  • sea urchins

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 2417 KiB  
Article
An Investigation on the Effects of Dietary Vitamin E on Juvenile Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius): Growth, Intestinal Microbiota, Immune Response, and Related Gene Expression
by Min Li, Dan Gou, Panke Gong, Weixiao Di, Lina Wang, Jun Ding, Yaqing Chang and Rantao Zuo
Biology 2023, 12(12), 1523; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12121523 - 14 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1285
Abstract
A 90 d feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of vitamin E (VE) on growth, intestinal microbiota, immune response, and related gene expression of juvenile sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius). Six dry feeds were made to contain graded levels of [...] Read more.
A 90 d feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of vitamin E (VE) on growth, intestinal microbiota, immune response, and related gene expression of juvenile sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius). Six dry feeds were made to contain graded levels of VE (78, 105, 152, 235, 302, and 390 mg/kg); these were named E78, E105, E152, E235, E302, and E390, respectively. Dry feed E50 and fresh kelp (HD) were used as the control diets. There were six replicates of cages in each dietary group, and each cage held 20 sea urchins with an initial body weight of approximately 1.50 g. Results exhibited that weight gain rate and gonadosomatic index (GSI) of the sea urchins were not significantly affected by dietary VE ranging from 78 to 390 mg/kg. Sea urchins in the dry feed groups showed poorer growth performance, but significantly higher GSI than those in the fresh kelp groups. The pepsin and lipase activities were not significantly promoted by low or moderate VE, but were inhibited by a high level of VE (302–390 mg/kg), while amylase and cellulase activities were significantly increased by low or moderate VE, with the highest values observed in the E105 and E235 groups, respectively. VE addition at a low dosage (105–152 mg/kg) showed inhibitory effects on immune and antioxidant enzyme activities and expression of inflammation-related genes, but showed no beneficial effects at moderate or high dosage (235–390 mg/kg), while a moderate or relatively higher level of VE (235–302 mg/kg) significantly increased the expression of several immune-related genes. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Ruegeria, and Maliponia in the intestine of the sea urchins increased with the increase in VE in the dry feeds. On the contrary, the relative abundance of the Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Escherichia-Shigella, Bacteroides, and Clostridium sensu stricto 1 gradually decreased as VE content increased. These results indicated that a moderate level of VE (172.5–262.4) can achieve ideal digestive enzyme activities and growth performance, but a relatively higher level of VE (235–302 mg/kg) was beneficial for maintaining the immune and antioxidant capacity of juvenile S. intermedius by regulating the expression of inflammation- and immune-related genes and abundance of some bacteria to a healthy state. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Echinoderm Research)
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8 pages, 1144 KiB  
Communication
Characteristics of the Intestine Extracts and Their Effect on the Crude Collagen Fibers of the Body Wall from Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus
by Shi-Qi Xu, Zheng-Yu Zhang, Bin Nie, Yi-Nan Du, Yue Tang and Hai-Tao Wu
Biology 2023, 12(5), 705; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12050705 - 12 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1345
Abstract
Sea cucumbers Apostichopus japonicus will vomit their intestines during certain stimulations, and the collagen of the body wall will then be degraded. To define the effect of the sea cucumber intestine extracts on the body wall, the intestinal extracts and crude collagen fibers [...] Read more.
Sea cucumbers Apostichopus japonicus will vomit their intestines during certain stimulations, and the collagen of the body wall will then be degraded. To define the effect of the sea cucumber intestine extracts on the body wall, the intestinal extracts and crude collagen fibers (CCF) of sea cucumber A. japonicus were prepared. According to the gelatin zymography, the type of endogenous enzymes in intestinal extracts were mainly serine endopeptidases with optimal activities at pH 9.0 and 40 °C. According to the rheology results, the viscosity of 3% CCF decreased from 32.7 Pa·s to 5.3 Pa·s by adding intestine extracts. The serine protease inhibitor phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride inhibited the activity of intestinal extracts and increased the viscosity of collagen fibers to 25.7 Pa·s. The results proved that serine protease in the intestinal extracts participated in the process of body wall softening in sea cucumbers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Echinoderm Research)
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Review

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21 pages, 1772 KiB  
Review
Morphology and Chemical Messenger Regulation of Echinoderm Muscles
by Huachen Liu and Muyan Chen
Biology 2023, 12(10), 1349; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12101349 - 20 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1515
Abstract
The muscular systems of echinoderms play important roles in various physiological and behavioral processes, including feeding, reproduction, movement, respiration, and excretion. Like vertebrates, echinoderm muscle systems can be subdivided into two major divisions, somatic and visceral musculature. The former usually has a myoepithelial [...] Read more.
The muscular systems of echinoderms play important roles in various physiological and behavioral processes, including feeding, reproduction, movement, respiration, and excretion. Like vertebrates, echinoderm muscle systems can be subdivided into two major divisions, somatic and visceral musculature. The former usually has a myoepithelial organization, while the latter contains muscle bundles formed by the aggregation of myocytes. Neurons and their processes are also detected between these myoepithelial cells and myocytes, which are capable of releasing a variety of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides to regulate muscle activity. Although many studies have reported the pharmacological effects of these chemical messengers on various muscles of echinoderms, there has been limited research on their receptors and their signaling pathways. The muscle physiology of echinoderms is similar to that of chordates, both of which have the deuterostome mode of development. Studies of muscle regulation in echinoderms can provide new insights into the evolution of myoregulatory systems in deuterostomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Echinoderm Research)
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