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Biology
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Biology and Ecology of Sea Cucumbers
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Biology and Ecology of Sea Cucumbers

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 7226

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Libin Zhang

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
Interests: echinoderm behavior and physiology; marine habitat restoration; marine biological resource conservation; mariculture
Prof. Dr. Tianming Wang

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
College of Marine Science and Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China
Interests: echinoderm physiology; molecular and cellular biology; cell signaling; neuroendocrine; physiological ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sea cucumber is an important group of marine macrobenthos, which plays a critical role in maintaining the balance of the global marine ecosystem. It has a special evolutionary status, belonging to a class of deuterostomes among invertebrates. In recent years, we have made great progress in the research of physiology, biochemistry, nutritional value, and so on. However, there are still many problems that need to be further studied in the development of sea cucumbers, such as species resource investigation, physiological and ecological characteristics, and medicinal mechanisms.

This research topic aims to discuss the biology and ecology of sea cucumbers. The integration of different fields of research is instrumental to our ability to extend our knowledge of the links among the genome, physiology, immunology, behavior, and responses to environmental change. We would like to solicit papers that contribute to our better understanding of sea cucumber development and resource conservation.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

  • Sea cucumber genetics;
  • Sea cucumber behavioral ecology;
  • Sea cucumber immunology;
  • Sea cucumber resources conservation;
  • Sea cucumber bio-physiology.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Libin Zhang
Prof. Dr. Tianming Wang
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

  • sea cucumber
  • genetics
  • behavioral ecology
  • immunology
  • resources conservation
  • bio-physiology

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3862 KiB  
Article
Effects of Scallop Visceral Mass and Mantle as Dietary Supplements on the Growth, Immune Response and Intestinal Microflora of Juvenile Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus
by Yu Yu, Mengshu Wang, Yichao Ren, Xin Wang, Xiangyun Ge and Kecheng Li
Biology 2023, 12(9), 1239; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12091239 - 14 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1655
Abstract
Scallop visceral mass and mantle are aquatic byproducts and waste, but they have high contents of protein. In this study, scallop visceral mass and mantle were used as supplements in the diet of juvenile sea cucumber (A. japonicus) and their effects [...] Read more.
Scallop visceral mass and mantle are aquatic byproducts and waste, but they have high contents of protein. In this study, scallop visceral mass and mantle were used as supplements in the diet of juvenile sea cucumber (A. japonicus) and their effects on the growth, fatty acid and amino acid compositions, the non-specific immune responses and the intestinal microflora of A. japonicus were investigated through a 40 d feeding experiment. The results showed that dietary supplementation of scallop visceral mass significantly accelerated the specific growth rate (SGR) of juvenile A. japonicus by 3 times within 20 days, and also raised the contents of ω-3 fatty acids including EPA and DHA and the ω-3/ω-6 ratio of the sea cucumber tissue, which is favorable to the health and commercial value of the sea cucumber. Furthermore, it was found that the supplementation of scallop visceral mass and mantle stimulated the expression of immune-related genes and enhanced the immune defense in A. japonicus. Scallop visceral mass and mantle supplementation also increased the microbial diversity and the abundance of beneficial microbes including Bifidobacteriaceae, Streptomycetaceae, Clostridiaceae and Rhizobiales in the gut of A. japonicus. This study reveals the beneficial effects of dietary supplementation of scallop visceral mass and mantle on the growth of juvenile A. japonicus, which might be a promising way to reutilize this scallop waste and raise its economic value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology and Ecology of Sea Cucumbers)
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19 pages, 2665 KiB  
Article
Bisphenol A (BPA) Directly Activates the G Protein-Coupled Estrogen Receptor 1 and Triggers the Metabolic Disruption in the Gonadal Tissue of Apostichopus japonicus
by Jieyi Yuan, Jingwen Yang, Xiuwen Xu, Zexianghua Wang, Zhijing Jiang, Zhiqing Ye, Yucheng Ren, Qing Wang and Tianming Wang
Biology 2023, 12(6), 798; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12060798 - 31 May 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2076
Abstract
The sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus, is a marine benthic organism that feeds on small benthic particulate matter and is easily affected by pollutants. Bisphenol A (BPA, 4,4′-isopropylidenediphenol) has been identified as an endocrine disruptor. It is ubiquitously detectable in oceans and affects a [...] Read more.
The sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus, is a marine benthic organism that feeds on small benthic particulate matter and is easily affected by pollutants. Bisphenol A (BPA, 4,4′-isopropylidenediphenol) has been identified as an endocrine disruptor. It is ubiquitously detectable in oceans and affects a variety of marine animals. It functions as an estrogen analog and typically causes reproductive toxicity by interfering with the endocrine system. To comparatively analyze the reproductive effects of estradiol (E2) and BPA on sea cucumbers, we identified a G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER1) in A. japonicus and investigated its effects on reproduction. The results showed that BPA and E2 exposure activated A. japonicus AjGPER1, thereby mediating the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways. High-level expression of AjGPER1 in the ovarian tissue was confirmed by qPCR. Furthermore, metabolic changes were induced by 100 nM (22.83 μg/L) BPA exposure in the ovarian tissue, leading to a notable increase in the activities of trehalase and phosphofructokinase. Overall, our findings suggest that AjGPER1 is directly activated by BPA and affects sea cucumber reproduction by disrupting ovarian tissue metabolism, suggesting that marine pollutants pose a threat to the conservation of sea cucumber resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology and Ecology of Sea Cucumbers)
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14 pages, 4092 KiB  
Article
Effects of a High-Fat Diet on Intestinal and Gonadal Metabolism in Female and Male Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus
by Shuangyan Zhang, Xiaoshang Ru, Libin Zhang, David Gonçalves, Hongsheng Yang and Jialei Xu
Biology 2023, 12(2), 212; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12020212 - 29 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2411
Abstract
Parental nutrient reserves are directly related to reproductive performance in sea cucumbers. This study focused on the lipid requirements of male and female sea cucumbers Apostichopus japonicus during the reproductive stage and analyzed their physiological responses to a high-fat diet (HFD). The intestinal [...] Read more.
Parental nutrient reserves are directly related to reproductive performance in sea cucumbers. This study focused on the lipid requirements of male and female sea cucumbers Apostichopus japonicus during the reproductive stage and analyzed their physiological responses to a high-fat diet (HFD). The intestinal lipid metabolites and microbiome profile changed significantly in animals fed with the HFD, as given by an upregulation of metabolites related to lipid metabolism and an increase in the predominance of Proteobacteria in the microbiome, respectively. The metabolic responses of male and female sea cucumbers to the HFD differed, which in turn could have triggered sex-related differences in the intestinal microbiome. These results suggest that the lipid content in diets can be differentially adjusted for male and female sea cucumbers to improve nutrition and promote reproduction. This data contributes to a better understanding of the reproductive biology and sex differences of sea cucumbers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biology and Ecology of Sea Cucumbers)
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