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Taurine-related compounds and other free amino acids in deep-sea hydrothermal vent and non-vent invertebrates

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Abstract

Several hydrothermal vent-endemic invertebrates detoxify sulfide by reacting toxic H2S with the taurine derivative, hypotaurine to produce non-toxic thiotaurine, but dependence on this system appears to vary among species. In this study, free amino acids and taurine and its related compounds, hypotaurine and thiotaurine, were quantified in vent-specific invertebrates with different lifestyles, including two polychaetes (the tube-dwelling Paralvinella hessleri and an unidentified, motile scale worm, Polynoidae. gen. sp.) and two sessile cirripedes (Neoverruca sp. and Ashinkailepas seepiophila). The two polychaetes and Neoverruca sp. were collected from the same “active” chimney on the Myojin Knoll (32°06.278′N, 139°52.081′E, June 2011) where they were directly exposed to the vent fluid and relatively close to the vents. By contrast, A. seepiophila was collected on a “dead” chimney in the same area (32°06.254′N, 139°52.086′E, June 2011). The two polychaetes contained completely different amounts of taurine-related compounds, despite being sympatric whereas the two cirripedes had similar amounts of taurine-related compounds although they were allopatric, suggesting that the amounts of taurine-related compounds were not influenced by habitat alone. The proportions of the other free amino acids were generally similar among the four species, with glycine being the highest, but they were more similar between the two polychaetes and between the two cirripedes despite the different lifestyles and habitats. This suggests a taxonomic similarity in the metabolic pathways.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the crew and staff of R/V Natsushima and ROV Hyper-Dolphin for their help during the cruise NT11-09.

Funding

This study was supported in part by the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society (to S.S. [26-750]), Research Grants for 2014 from the Nihon University College of Bioresource Science (to T.K.), and the Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists B (to T.K. [15K18616]).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, 252-0880, Japan

    Tomoko Koito & Syuku Saitou

  2. Department of Marine Bioscience, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, 277-8564, Japan

    Toshihiro Nagasaki & Koji Inoue

  3. Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan

    Syosei Yamagami

  4. Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Toshiro Yamanaka

  5. Center for Advanced Marine Core Research, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi, 783-8502, Japan

    Kei Okamura

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  1. Tomoko Koito
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  2. Syuku Saitou
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  3. Toshihiro Nagasaki
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  4. Syosei Yamagami
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  5. Toshiro Yamanaka
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  7. Koji Inoue
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Correspondence to Tomoko Koito.

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Research involving human participants and/or animals

All applicable international, national, institutional and Japan Agency for Marine-Earth and Technology (JAMSTEC) guidelines for the care and experimental use of animals were followed.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Responsible Editor: J. Grassle.

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Koito, T., Saitou, S., Nagasaki, T. et al. Taurine-related compounds and other free amino acids in deep-sea hydrothermal vent and non-vent invertebrates. Mar Biol 165, 183 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-018-3442-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-018-3442-8

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