Comparative analysis of stalked and acorn barnacle adhesive proteomes

Barnacles interest the scientific community for multiple reasons: their unique evolutionary trajectory, vast diversity and economic impact—as a harvested food source and also as one of the most prolific macroscopic hard biofouling organisms. A common, yet novel, trait among barnacles is adhesion, which has enabled a sessile adult existence and global colonization of the oceans. Barnacle adhesive is primarily composed of proteins, but knowledge of how the adhesive proteome varies across the tree of life is unknown due to a lack of genomic information. Here, we supplement previous mass spectrometry analyses of barnacle adhesive with recently sequenced genomes to compare the adhesive proteomes of Pollicipes pollicipes (Pedunculata) and Amphibalanus amphitrite (Sessilia). Although both species contain the same broad protein categories, we detail differences that exist between these species. The barnacle-unique cement proteins show the greatest difference between species, although these differences are diminished when amino acid composition and glycosylation potential are considered. By performing an in-depth comparison of the adhesive proteomes of these distantly related barnacle species, we show their similarities and provide a roadmap for future studies examining sequence-specific differences to identify the proteins responsible for functional differences across the barnacle tree of life.

An example for transatlantic hitchhiking by macrozoobenthic organisms with a research vessel

In 2019 the RV Meteor cruised from Guadalupe in April/May to Cape Verde in June/July and to Namibia in August/September. The distance is about 10,000 km. The ship has a moon pool for installation of instruments. In Cape Verde we had a first glimpse of the already sparsely populated moon pool. We reached Namibian waters in mid-August. In mid-September, 47 days later and 6000 km south, the ship's moon pool was sampled in the port of Walvis Bay. 13 different taxa could be identified belonging to two phyla, four classes, six orders and 10 families. Most of these species have not yet been observed in the port or in the adjacent areas and are new records for the entire Namibian coast. The goose barnacles Conchoderma auritum (Linnaeus, 1767), Conchoderma virgatum Spengler, 1789 and Lepas anatifera Linnaeus, 1758 were particularly noticeable. They were only surpassed by the large number of amphipods. The species Ericthonius brasiliensis (Dana, 1853), Jassa marmorata Holmes, 1905, Stenothoe senegalensis Krapp-Schickel, 2015 and Paracaprella pusilla Mayer, 1890 are particularly noteworthy here. In addition, the pycnogonid species Endeis straughani Clark, 1970 and the titan acorn barnacle Megabalanus coccopoma (Darwin, 1854) should be mentioned, which occurred very frequently as well. The present study shows, on the one hand, an example of the transatlantic spread of bioinvasive species by ships as vectors and, on the other hand, a convenient method for sampling ship hulls.

Abundance, placement and sexual identity of the epizoic barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria relative to the size and species of host turtles in Mabul Island, Malaysia

Sea turtles are partners in commensal relationships with a variety of epibionts, including barnacles. The acorn barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria is one species commonly found associated with sea turtles and other marine fauna throughout temperate to tropical waters including the Indo-Pacific. We conducted a study to assess the occurrence of this barnacle, relative to host life stage and species in a mixed foraging population of green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles (juvenile, sub-adult, adults (female and male)) in Mabul Island, Sabah, Malaysia (Celebes Sea). Expecting similar relative abundance by life stage, we found instead a significant effect between the combined dependent variables (abundance and size of barnacles) and the life stages of sea turtles in Mabul after controlling for the covariates of size and species of sea turtles (F(8, 428) = 5.77, P < 0.001, Pillai = 0.19). Among green turtles with barnacles, though adult males had larger barnacles compared with the female turtles, the mean barnacle abundance on adult females (43.4 individuals ± 5.19 SD) was higher than all other life stages. Most of the barnacles (85.6%; N = 1931) were found on the plastron of the sea turtles. The highest number of barnacle reacquisition was found among the juvenile turtles. In assessing the complemental males of the barnacles, we found they were consistently attached to the shells of the larger of the hermaphrodites from each region of the host's body despite average shell-size differences with each region.

Anatomy and Ultrastructure of the Cyprid Temporary Adhesive System in Two Species of Acorn Barnacle

Acorn barnacles are sessile as adults and select their settlement site as a cypris larva. Cyprids are well adapted to exploring surfaces in dynamic environments, using a temporary adhesive secreted from the antennules to adhere during this process. The temporary adhesive and the secretory structures are poorly characterized. This study used serial block-face scanning electron microscopy and three-dimensional modelling to elucidate the anatomy related to temporary adhesion. The temporary adhesive glands of two acorn barnacle species, Balanus amphitrite and Megabalanus coccopoma, were located in the proximal region of the first antennular segment, contrary to previous descriptions that placed them in the more distal second segment. The temporary adhesive systems of these acorn barnacles are therefore similar to that described for the stalked barnacle, Octolasmis angulata, although not identical. Knowledge of the true location of the temporary adhesive glands will underpin future studies of the production, composition and secretion of the adhesive.

D-lactate production in the acorn barnacle Balanus glandula (Darwin, 1854) (Cirripedia: Balanidae) under emersion stress

Anaerobic metabolism is an important response to stress in many organisms. Intertidal species often face heat stress during low tide. Balanus glandula (Darwin, 1854) is a high-shore intertidal barnacle common to the Pacific that experiences prolonged low-tide air exposure. It is not known whether B. glandula uses anaerobic metabolism during emersion, or if its use varies by latitude. We measured low tide D-lactate production in two US west coast populations of B. glandula separated by 14 degrees of latitude. We exposed barnacles to seven low-tide air temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 38 °C) for which aerobic respiration has been previously measured. Our northern population of B. glandula increased D-lactate production at high air temperatures where aerobic metabolic depression is known to occur, indicating sublethal stress. In contrast, our southern population showed little increase in D-lactate over the same temperature range, coincident with high aerobic respiration across those temperatures. In a second experiment, we quantified D-lactate at 1, 2, and 6 hours post-emersion for northern B. glandula exposed to either a 10 or 38 °C low tide, to measure their potential lactate usage. While D-lactate was elevated at 38 °C compared to the 10 °C control immediately following low tide exposure, it dropped to control levels, and was likely excreted, within 1 hour of re-immersion. Our results suggest that the low latitude population of B. glandula may be more resilient to climate change than its high latitude counterpart in the absence of adaptation, which has strong implications for species distribution.