''Bugula neritina'' ( commonly known as brown bryozoan or common bugula) is a

cryptic species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

marine animal in the genus ''

Bugula ''Bugula'' is a genus of common colonial arborescent bryozoa, often mistaken for seaweed. It commonly grows upright in bushy colonies of up to 15 cm in height.Bock, P. (2015). Bugula Oken, 1815. In: Bock, P.; Gordon, D. (2015) World List of ...

''.Gordon, D. (2015). Bugula neritina (Linnaeus, 1758). In: Bock, P.; Gordon, D. (2015) World List of Bryozoa. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=111158 on 2015-09-02 It is invasive with a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...

. ''Bugula neritina'' is of interest from a

drug discovery In the fields of medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology, drug discovery is the process by which new candidate medications are discovered. Historically, drugs were discovered by identifying the active ingredient from traditional remedies or by ...

perspective because its bacterial symbiont, ''Candidatus'' Endobugula sertula, produces the bryostatins, a group of around twenty bioactive

natural products A natural product is a natural Chemical compound, compound or chemical substance, substance produced by a living organism—that is, found in nature. In the broadest sense, natural products include any substance produced by life. Natural product ...

. The bryostatins are under investigation for their therapeutic potential directed at

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

immunotherapy Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...

, treatment of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

, and

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

eradication, due to their low toxicity and antineoplastic activity. The draft whole genome of ''Bugula neritina'' has recently been sequenced. This adds to the growing number of genomes on the total

list of sequenced animal genomes This list of sequenced animal genomes contains animal species for which complete genome sequences have been assembled, annotated and published. Substantially complete draft genomes are included, but not partial genome sequences or organelle-only se ...

. ''Bugula neritina'' is also of interest in materials science, where it is used as a

model organism A model organism (often shortened to model) is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workin ...

biofouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...

studies.

References

Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae. ii, 824 pp
Cheilostomatida Animals described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{bryozoan-stub