| gfp-like chromoproteins as a source of far-red fluorescent proteins. | we have employed a new approach to generate novel fluorescent proteins (fps) from red absorbing chromoproteins. an identical single amino acid substitution converted novel chromoproteins from the species anthozoa (heteractis crispa, condylactis gigantea, and goniopora tenuidens) into far-red fps (emission lambda(max)=615-640 nm). moreover, coupled site-directed and random mutagenesis of the chromoprotein from h. crispa resulted in a unique far-red fp (hcred) that exhibited bright emission at 645 ... | 2001 | 11682051 |
| importance of time and place: patterns in abundance of symbiodinium clades a and b in the tropical sea anemone condylactis gigantea. | the capacity of some corals and other cnidarians to form symbioses with multiple algae (symbiodinium) is a candidate route by which these symbioses tolerate variable environmental conditions. on bermuda, the coral reef dwelling anemone condylactis gigantea bears symbiodinium of clades a and b. at thermally variable inshore and nearshore sites, clade a predominates (as sole symbiont or in mixed infection with clade b), whereas animals at offshore sites with more uniform temperatures bear only cla ... | 2008 | 19098145 |
| enzymatic and structural characterization of a basic phospholipase a(2) from the sea anemone condylactis gigantea. | this work aimed at the isolation and structural/functional characterization of a phospholipase a(2) (cgpla(2)) from the extract of the anemone condylactis gigantea. cgpla(2) was isolated with a high purity level through three chromatographic steps, showing pi 8.6 and molecular weights of 14,500 and 29,000 for the monomer and dimer, respectively. cgpla(2) showed a high catalytic activity upon fluorescent phospholipids inducing no direct hemolytic activity. this enzyme, which is ca(2+)-dependent, ... | 2010 | 20562011 |
| cgna, a type i toxin from the giant caribbean sea anemone condylactis gigantea shows structural similarities to both type i and ii toxins, as well as distinctive structural and functional properties(1). | cgna (condylactis gigantea neurotoxin) is a 47-amino-acid- residue toxin from the giant caribbean sea anemone condylactis gigantea. the structure of cgna, which was solved by 1h-nmr spectroscopy, is somewhat atypical and displays significant homology with both type i and ii anemone toxins. cgna also displays a considerable number of exceptions to the canonical structural elements that are thought to be essential for the activity of this group of toxins. furthermore, unique residues in cgna defin ... | 2007 | 17506725 |
| bioindication potential of carbonic anhydrase activity in anemones and corals. | activity levels of carbonic anhydrase (ca) were assessed in anemones condylactis gigantea and stichodactyla helianthus with laboratory exposures to copper, nickel, lead, and vanadium, and also in animals collected from polluted vs pristine field sites. ca activity was found to be decreased with increase in metal concentration and also in animals collected from the polluted field site. preliminary assessments to adapt the ca assay for use in the widespread coral montastraea cavernosa show decreas ... | 2001 | 11585066 |
| the role of symbiotic dinoflagellates in the temperature-induced bleaching response of the subtropical sea anemone aiptasia pallida. | coral bleaching involves the loss of symbiotic dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae) from reef corals and other cnidarians and may be a stress response of the host, algae or both. to determine the role of zooxanthellae in the bleaching process, aposymbiotic sea anemones from bermuda (aiptasia pallida) were infected with symbionts from other sea anemones (aiptasia pallida from florida, bartholomea annulata and condylactis gigantea). the expulsion of algae was measured during 24-h incubations at 25, 32 ... | 2001 | 11137501 |
| purification and properties of a toxin from the sea anemone condylactis gigantea. | | 1982 | 6124212 |
| properties of a cytolytic toxin from the sea anemone, stoichactis kenti. | a cytolytic toxin (kentin) from the indo-pacific sea anemone, stoichactis kenti, was purified to near homogeneity. the toxin is a basic polypeptide of molecular weight approximately 18,000. it broadly resembles cytotoxins from stoichactis helianthus (helianthin), as well as similar toxins from a number of other anemones, namely condylactis, epiactis, actinia, pseudactinia, tealia, anthopleura, radianthus and gyrostoma. the amino acid composition of kentin shows considerable resemblance to that o ... | 1985 | 2868547 |
| isolation, characterization, and amino acid sequence of a polypeptide neurotoxin occurring in the sea anemone stichodactyla helianthus. | an aqueous exudate collected from frozen and thawed bodies of a caribbean sea anemone, stichodactyla (formerly stoichactis) helianthus, contained a polypeptide neurotoxin (sh i) selectively toxic to crustaceans. the polypeptide was purified by g-50 sephadex, phosphocellulose, and sulfopropyl-sephadex chromatography and shown to have a molecular size of 5200 daltons and a pi of 8.3. the amino acid sequence determined by automatic edman degradations of whole rcm sh i and of its clostripain, staphy ... | 1989 | 2568126 |
| actions of three structurally distinct sea anemone toxins on crustacean and insect sodium channels. | the membrane actions of three recently isolated polypeptide neurotoxins from the sea anemones stichodactyla helianthus (toxin shi), condylactis gigantea (toxin cgii) and calliactis parasitica (toxin cpi) were investigated on action potentials and voltage-clamp membrane currents of the giant axon of the crayfish procambarus clarkii. the first two toxins were also tested on the cockroach (periplaneta americana) giant axon. all three toxins were particularly lethal to crustaceans, moderately toxic ... | 1992 | 1336629 |
| effects of a high molecular weight toxin from the sea anemone condylactis gigantea on cholinergic responses. | 1. the effects of a high molecular weight toxin isolated from the sea anemone condylactis gigantea (condytoxina 2) on the cholinergic responses were studied in two different preparations: identified cells of a land snail and enzymatically dissociated mice sensory neurons. these neurons were studied using intracellular recording and concentration clamp techniques respectively. 2. the toxin produces a concentration-dependent dual effect on the cholinergic responses in both preparations. thus the a ... | 1992 | 1360393 |
| transplantation immunity in the sea anemone condylactis gigantea. | | 1994 | 8192351 |
| isolation of nucleic acids from the sea anemone condylactis gigantea (cnidaria: anthozoa). | standard procedures for isolating nucleic acids from specialized tissues such as the mucus-containing tissues found in many marine organisms are, in many cases, not effective, resulting in isolates contaminated with polysaccharides that encumber subsequent analysis. a method is described for isolating nucleic acids from the sea anemone condylactis gigantea (cnidaria: anthozoa) using the compound hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (ctab). this substance has historically been effective in produci ... | 1994 | 7522360 |
| neurofilament-like immunoreactivity in the sea anemone condylactis gigantea (cnidaria: anthozoa). | the neuronal cytoskeleton contains neurofilament proteins that serve as markers for nervous tissue in many species across phyla. antiserum generated to mammalian neurofilaments was used for immunocytochemical staining of tissues in the sea anemone condylactis gigantea (cnidaria: anthozoa). specific staining, visible at the light and electron microscope levels, was found in the tissues of the tentacle. proteins were extracted from the tissues and solubilized. sds-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresi ... | 1994 | 7811789 |
| identification of synaptophysin-like immunoreactivity in the sea anemone condylactis gigantea (cnidaria: anthozoa). | synaptophysin is a membrane protein of synaptic vesicles that serves as an antigenic marker for nervous and endocrine systems in mammals. monoclonal antisera generated against synaptophysin were used for immunocytochemical staining in tissues of the tentacles of the sea anemone condylactis gigantea (cnidaria: anthozoa). specific staining, visible at the light and electron microscope levels, was found in the tentacle. proteins were extracted from the tissues and solubilized. using sds-polyacrylam ... | 1994 | 7841234 |
| identification of a new 6-bromo-5,9-eicosadienoic acid from the anemone condylactis gigantea and the zoanthid palythoa caribaeorum. | a new brominated fatty acid, 6-bromo-5,9-eicosadienoic acid [1] was identified in the phospholipids (mainly phosphatidylethanolamine) of the anemone condylactis gigantea and the zoanthid palythoa caribaeorum. the delta 5,9 fatty acids, 5,9-octadecadienoic acid, 5,9-eicosadienoic acid, 5,9-docosadienoic acid, and 5,9-tetracosadienoic acid, were also identified in both organisms. structural elucidation was accomplished by spectroscopic and chemical means. our results further corroborate that delta ... | 1995 | 8594145 |
| molecular quantification of symbiotic dinoflagellate algae of the genus symbiodinium. | the dinoflagellate microalga symbiodinium is the dominant algal symbiont in corals and related marine animals. to explore the incidence of mixed infections, methods employing real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qpcr) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (fish) were developed. in experiments focusing on symbiodinium clades a and b, qpcr and fish results were well correlated and generally more precise and sensitive than those from the endpoint pcr-restriction fragment length polymo ... | 2007 | 17565115 |
| functional significance of genetically different symbiotic algae symbiodinium in a coral reef symbiosis. | the giant sea anemone condylactis gigantea associates with members of two clades of the dinoflagellate alga symbiodinium, either singly or in mixed infection, as revealed by clade-specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction of large subunit ribosomal dna. to explore the functional significance of this molecular variation, the fate of photosynthetically fixed carbon was investigated by (14)c radiotracer experiments. symbioses with algae of clades a and b released ca. 30-40% of fixed carbon to ... | 2007 | 17868294 |
| chromophore aspartate oxidation-decarboxylation in the green-to-red conversion of a fluorescent protein from zoanthus sp. 2. | the red fluorescence of a discosoma coral protein is the result of an additional autocatalytic oxidation of a green fluorescent protein (gfp)-like chromophore. this reaction creates an extra pi-electron conjugation by forming a c=n-c=o substituent. here we show that the red fluorescence of a protein from zoanthus sp. 2 (z2fp574) arises from a coupled oxidation-decarboxylation of asp-66, the first amino acid of the chromophore-precursory dyg sequence. comparative mutagenesis of highly homologous ... | 2007 | 17892303 |
| arrhythmogenic effect of a crude extract from sea anemone condylactis gigantea: possible involvement of rerg1 channels. | sea anemones possess a number of peptide toxins that target ion channels which provide powerful tools to study the molecular basis of diverse signaling pathways. it is also acknowledged that currents through erg1 k(+) channels in cardiac myocytes are important for electrical stability of the heart and alterations in its activity has been linked to the onset of a potentially life-threatening heart condition named long qt syndrome type 2. here, we report that a crude extract from sea anemone condy ... | 2013 | 23499927 |
| phyla- and subtype-selectivity of cgna, a na channel toxin from the venom of the giant caribbean sea anemone condylactis gigantea. | because of their prominent role in electro-excitability, voltage-gated sodium (na(v)) channels have become the foremost important target of animal toxins. these toxins have developed the ability to discriminate between closely related na(v) subtypes, making them powerful tools to study na(v) channel function and structure. cgna is a 47-amino acid residue type i toxin isolated from the venom of the giant caribbean sea anemone condylactis gigantea. previous studies showed that this toxin slows the ... | 2010 | 21833172 |
| the sea anemone bunodosoma caissarum toxin bciii modulates the sodium current kinetics of rat dorsal root ganglia neurons and is displaced in a voltage-dependent manner. | sea anemone toxins bind to site 3 of the sodium channels, which is partially formed by the extracellular linker connecting s3 and s4 segments of domain iv, slowing down the inactivation process. in this work we have characterized the actions of bciii, a sea anemone polypeptide toxin isolated from bunodosoma caissarum, on neuronal sodium currents using the patch clamp technique. neurons of the dorsal root ganglia of wistar rats (p5-9) in primary culture were used for this study (n=65). the main e ... | 2010 | 20015459 |
| a new toxin from the sea anemone condylactis gigantea with effect on sodium channel inactivation. | a new peptide toxin exhibiting a molecular weight of 5043da (av.) and comprising 47 amino acid residues was isolated from the sea anemone condylactis gigantea. purification of the peptide was achieved by a multistep chromatographic procedure monitoring its strong paralytic activity on crustacea (ld(50) approx. 1microg/kg). complete sequence analysis of the toxic peptide revealed the isolation of a new member of type i sea anemone sodium channel toxins containing the typical pattern of the six cy ... | 2006 | 16814340 |
| structure and reactivity of the chromophore of a gfp-like chromoprotein from condylactis gigantea. | here we present the study of the chromophore structure of the purple chromoprotein from condylactis gigantea. tandem mass spectrometry and 1h and 13c nmr of the chromopeptide reveal that the protein contains a chromophore with a chemical structure identical to that of the red fluorescent protein from discosoma sp. a single a63g substitution demonstrates that the nature of the first amino acid of the xyg chromophore-forming sequence is dispensable for the chromoprotein red shift development. it h ... | 2006 | 16752914 |
| allelopathic interaction between a reef coelenterate and benthic algae. | we did in situ experiments to study the influence of a water-borne substance, exuded by the reef anthozoan condylactis gigantea, on filamentous algae. algal biomass accumulation on experimental glass slides was significantly inhibited by the exudate. algal spores and diatoms were present in equal numbers on experimental and control slides, but the exudate inhibited germination of spores and was toxic to developing green, red and brown algae. the algal population on the control slides consisted o ... | 1984 | 28311013 |
| purification of a toxin from tentacles of the anemone condylactis gigantea. | | 1968 | 4387960 |
| condylactis toxin: interaction with nerve membrane ionic conductances. | a toxin from the bermuda anemone condylactis gigantea causes the early transient conductance change of crayfish giant axon membranes to persist without affecting the shape of its turning-on. the increase in late steadystate conductance is either not affected or slightly suppressed. the effect on the conductance components can adequately account for the prolonged action potential observed in the treated axon. | 1969 | 5762930 |