''Tectitethya crypta'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

demosponge Demosponges (Demospongiae) are the most diverse class in the phylum Porifera. They include 76.2% of all species of sponges with nearly 8,800 species worldwide (World Porifera Database). They are sponges with a soft body that covers a har ...

belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Tethyidae Tethyidae is a family of sea sponges belonging to the order Tethyida. ReferencesTethyidae
at

It is a massive, shallow-water sponge found in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. This sponge was first discovered by Werner Bergmann in 1945 and later classified by de Laubenfels in 1949. It is located in reef areas situated on softer substrates such as sand or mud. Oftentimes, it is covered in sand and algae. This results in an appearance that is cream colored/ gray colored; however, when the animal is washed free of its sediment coverings, its body plan appears more green and gray. It's characterized with ostia peaking out of its body cavity, with the ability to abruptly open or close, changing its desired water flow rate through its

mesohyl The mesohyl, formerly known as mesenchyme or as mesoglea, is the gelatinous matrix within a sponge. It fills the space between the external pinacoderm and the internal choanoderm. The mesohyl resembles a type of connective tissue and contains sev ...

. This sponge is widely known for its contributions to the field of medicine as a source for potent nucleoside analogues used in treating H.I.V, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, pancreatic cancer, Ebola, and others. The

nucleosides Nucleosides are glycosylamines that can be thought of as nucleotides without a phosphate group. A nucleoside consists simply of a nucleobase (also termed a nitrogenous base) and a five-carbon sugar (ribose or 2'-deoxyribose) whereas a nucleotide ...

spongothymidine and spongouridine were isolated from this sponge, providing the basis for anti-viral drugs and anti-cancer drugs.

Vidarabine Vidarabine or 9-β-D-arabinofuranosyladenine (ara-A) is an antiviral drug which is active against herpes simplex and varicella zoster viruses. Discovery In the 1950s two nucleosides were isolated from the Caribbean sea sponge, sponge ''Tethya c ...

, an

antiviral drug Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do n ...

, was derived from these compounds. The discovery of these nucleosides also led to the development of

cytarabine Cytarabine, also known as cytosine arabinoside (ara-C), is a chemotherapy medication used to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It is given by in ...

for clinical use in the treatment of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

and

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

Gemcitabine Gemcitabine, with brand names including Gemzar, is a chemotherapy medication. It treats cancers including testicular cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and bladder cancer. It is administered by i ...

, a fluorinated derivative of cytarabine, is used to treat pancreatic, breast, bladder, and non-small-cell lung cancer. Holding such valuable compounds, free-living within the animal, ''T. crypta'' has shaped the present and future world of medicine.

Anatomy & Physiology

Body Morphology

As described by Laubenfels, the body of this sponge is amorphous, bulky, and approximately the size of one's fist. Its dimensions are around 4x7x12cm and may be cylindrical, conical, or hemispherical in shape. More recent studies have indicated a larger range of size within this species. The outermost, visible layer of the animal can be seen to have flat tubercules, approximately 3 to 5 millimeters in diameter and a thick layer of sediment. Its actual olive pigment isn't easily visible under this layer of sand/ sediment. In clustered bundles on the surface of the animal are structures called megascleres, radiating and branching outwards. Ray tips are rounded; micrasters are seen to be 8 to 12 micrometers in diameter. Star

spicules Spicules are any of various small needle-like anatomical structures occurring in organisms Spicule may also refer to: *Spicule (sponge), small skeletal elements of sea sponges *Spicule (nematode), reproductive structures found in male nematodes ( ...

makeup a layer beneath its exterior skeleton. ''T. crypta'' is not characterized with a cortex.

Size

Three main developmental phases have been identified in conjunction with the sponges' localization of course sediment within its body. The small sponges are characterized with a spherical shape and possess evenly spread sediment. The medium ''T. crypta'' sponges are seen to have a conical shape with their sediment concentrated near their bottom or base. The larger sponges are seen to be irregular in shape and also have evenly distributed sediments. With each body size are different habits that each acquire. Smaller sponges are unattached and are seen to rest and roll freely. The medium sponges are also unattached; however, they still have great stability with their shape and sediment concentration. Lastly, the larger sponges are attached on their bottom-end. Typically, 67% of their body is buried in sand.

Movement

''T. crypta'' are capable of strong body contractions and allow oscula the ability to move (open/ close) at a quick rate. In fact, this sponge is capable of closing its osculum completely, which has been proven to be a useful adaptation for an animal living in sandy environments. Ostia are about 1 millimeter in size, occurring in clusters along the flank of the sponge. The

osculum The osculum (plural "oscula") is an excretory structure in the living sponge, a large opening to the outside through which the current of water exits after passing through the spongocoel. Wastes diffuse into the water and the water is pumped thr ...

, bearing a diameter of 20 to 25 millimeters, are seen near the top of the cone. These structures have the ability to be contracted. The ability to circulate water through bottom sediments possibly makes for a nutrient-rich and attractive environment for other organisms to live in or near the sponges.

Sediment Organization

The dirty exterior of the sponge smothered in layers of algae/ sediment/ sand serves a purpose to the animal and has been shown to hold structural organization across its species. Sand that is brought into the body will be organized in patterns determined by its granulometry and sponge size. This sorting and distribution occur in the choanosome: sediments smaller than 500 micrometers gather in clusters (known as nuclei) while the larger particles are found to be distributed evenly through the sponge body. ''T. crypta'' sponges have been noted to favor the selection of fine sediment grains within the range of 40 to 60 micrometers. Additional analysis through microscopic tools has revealed high selection for allocthonous sponge spicules, radiolarians, and diatoms. Deeper analysis of incorporated sediment is needed to identify additional materials and cells that have not been identified as of now. The sand is eventually transported by a specific cell to a desired location through the use of a cellular track which facilitates sediment transport from the ectosome to the accumulated nuclei. The ontogeny of the ''T. crypta'' sponge is largely affected by this process of sediment incorporation and organization. Differentiation between smaller and larger sediments and their corresponding location has proven useful in identifying possible functioning of positioning of these particles on the surface of the sponge. Smaller, fine sediments are packed in the nuclei within the body of the sponge while the more coarse grains are located towards the base of the sponge; this localization helps in anchoring and stabilizing the sponge with the help of gravity. The sediments are involved in part with the morphogenesis of the animal. The forming of the nuclei clusters stabilizes the sponge's body, allowing the animal to alter its skeleton structure. A radial morphology is then able to change into a branched one, which further allows the animal to develop into its massive, irregular fully-formed shape.

Feeding

''T. crypta'' are filter feeders, utilizing their

choanocyte Choanocytes (also known as "collar cells") are cells that line the interior of asconoid, syconoid and leuconoid body types of sponges that contain a central flagellum, or ''cilium,'' surrounded by a collar of microvilli which are connected by a th ...

s to generate an inward current and pulling in their nutrients. The course of action of filter feeding goes as follows: ostium, spongocoel, and osculum. In the middle of this route, nutrients may be absorbed and taken in by the sponge to utilize. ''T. crypta'' generally eat the following organisms: Chaetoceros, pinnulaira, striatella unipunctata, and skeleronema tropicum.

Reproduction

''T. crypta'' reproduction may be oviparous through the use of parenchymella larvae or it may be carried out asexually (

budding Budding or blastogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which a new organism develops from an outgrowth or bud due to cell division at one particular site. For example, the small bulb-like projection coming out from the yeast cell is know ...

Ecology

''Tectitethya crypta'' can be found in shallow water, only about 1 to 20 meters in depth within the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. It dwells on a soft substrate, typically substances such as muds, sands, or clays. It can geographically be located in a reef near the Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas, and north-west shores of Cuba, as well as the Florida west coast. The larger of the sponges, sizing around 1.5-10 liters in volume are typically found attached to their substrate while the smaller sponges of this species, sizing around 0.5-1.5 liters in volume are typically found to be unattached and resting freely on their bottom.

Human Relations

Medicine

The discovery of T. crypta allowed for the discovery of the first sponge-derived pharmaceutical drugs. The two nucleosides, spongothymidine and spongouridine, are documented as the two nucleoside analogues used in the synthesis of life-saving drugs today. These are natural products - not artificially synthesized. Marine natural products (MNP's) have been shown to have stronger bioactive properties than those from terrestrial organisms, possessing cytotoxic and antiproliferative agents. Understanding this has allowed scientists to recognize the role that these potent chemicals may play in chemical defense mechanisms and protection from prey. This may be the case for ''T. crypta'', as it's a sessile organism not possessing an immune system. The treatment of leukemia through the use of Ara-C (

) is the first documented anticancer agent that has come about from the sponge. In fact, it was approved by the FDA in 1969 in treating non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and myeloid and myelocytic leukemia. As of today, cytarabine is one of the greatest contributors towards anti-cancer therapies. The drug disables Deoxyribonucleic Acid Polymerase, inhibiting DNA synthesis during the S phase of the cell cycle. This discovery allowed for scientists to manipulate the replication of viral DNA within its host and put a complete halt in its division. This hallmark discovery led to the development of azidothymidine (AZT) through the use of Ara-A. Azidothymidine is utilized in the treatment of HIV-infected individuals. Vidarabine (Ara-A) alone is used in ophthalmologic applications today. A fluorinated derivative of Ara-C has contributed towards the advancement of treatment for lung, pancreatic, breast, and bladder cancer. This drug is known as

- proven useful in its effectiveness against more "solid" tumors such as these. Manipulation of these two original nucleoside analogues provided by T. crypta has provided scientists and medical professionals the capability to offer humans potential cures to devastating diseases - and has inspired the future of medicine to search for "natural" cures in the sea.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3457965 Hadromerida Animals described in 1949 Fauna of the Caribbean Fauna of the Dominican Republic