Chang-Feng Dai

Mitochondrial and Nuclear Genes Suggest that Stony Corals Are Monophyletic but Most Families of Stony Corals Are Not (Order Scleractinia, Class Anthozoa, Phylum Cnidaria)

Modern hard corals (Class Hexacorallia; Order Scleractinia) are widely studied because of their fundamental role in reef building and their superb fossil record extending back to the Triassic. Nevertheless, interpretations of their evolutionary relationships have been in flux for over a decade. Recent analyses undermine the legitimacy of traditional suborders, families and genera, and suggest that a non-skeletal sister clade (Order Corallimorpharia) might be imbedded within the stony corals. However, these studies either sampled a relatively limited array of taxa or assembled trees from heterogeneous data sets. Here we provide a more comprehensive analysis of Scleractinia (127 species, 75 genera, 17 families) and various outgroups, based on two mitochondrial genes (cytochrome oxidase I, cytochrome b), with analyses of nuclear genes (ß-tubulin, ribosomal DNA) of a subset of taxa to test unexpected relationships. Eleven of 16 families were found to be polyphyletic. Strikingly, over one third of all families as conventionally defined contain representatives from the highly divergent “robust” and “complex” clades. However, the recent suggestion that corallimorpharians are true corals that have lost their skeletons was not upheld. Relationships were supported not only by mitochondrial and nuclear genes, but also often by morphological characters which had been ignored or never noted previously. The concordance of molecular characters and more carefully examined morphological characters suggests a future of greater taxonomic stability, as well as the potential to trace the evolutionary history of this ecologically important group using fossils.

The calibration of D[Sr/Ca]versus sea surface temperature relationship for Porites corals

A press for making parts from material comprising a die plate having first and second passages extending completely therethrough. One end of each of the passages defines a die. The die plate has first and second passage sections which intersect the first and second passages, respectively. The passage sections open at different locations on the periphery of the die plate. Appropriate tooling including the above-mentioned dies are provided for forming first and second parts from the material. The first and second parts are separately removed from the die plate by moving them through the first and second passage sections, respectively.

Five novel norcembranoids from Sinularia leptoclados and S. parva

Abstract Three new norcembrane-based diterpenoids, leptocladolides A ( 1 ), B ( 4 ) and C ( 5 ), along with five known metabolites 6 – 10 , have been isolated from the dichloromethane extract of a Taiwanese soft coral Sinularia leptoclados . Furthermore, a chemical investigation on the dichloromethane extract of S. parva has resulted in the isolation of two new related isomers, 1- epi -leptocladolide A ( 2 ) and 7 E -leptocladolide A ( 3 ), in addition to 1 and 7 . The structures of new metabolites 1 – 5 were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses and their relative stereochemistries were determined by NOESY experiments. The new metabolites 1 and 3 have been shown to exhibit significant cytotoxic activity against KB and Hepa59T/VGH cancer cell lines.

Bioactive norditerpenoids from the soft coral Sinularia gyrosa.

Chemical investigations of the soft coral Sinularia gyrosa resulted in the isolation of six new norcembranolides, gyrosanolides A-F (1-6), a new norcembrane, gyrosanin A (7), and 11 known norditerpenoids 8-18. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic data and by comparison with reported data in the literature. Compounds 1-3, 7-9, 12, and 13 at concentration of 10microM did not inhibit the COX-2 protein expression, but significantly reduced the levels of the iNOS protein (55.2+/-14.6%, 18.6+/-6.7%, 10.6+/-4.6%, 66.9+/-5.2%, 10.2+/-5.1%, 17.4+/-7.2%, 47.2+/-11.9%, and 56.3+/-5.1%, respectively) by LPS stimulation. Compound 8 showed significant antiviral activity against HCMV (human cytomegalovirus) cells with an IC(50) of 1.9microg/mL.

Simplexins A-I, eunicellin-based diterpenoids from the soft coral Klyxum simplex.

Nine new eunicellin-based diterpenoids, simplexins A-I (1-9), were isolated from a Dongsha Atoll soft coral, Klyxum simplex. The structures of these compounds were established by detailed spectroscopic analysis (IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR) and by comparison with the physical and spectral data of related known compounds. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined by a modified Moshers method. Compounds 1, 4, and 5 were found to be cytotoxic toward a limited panel of cancer cell lines. Compound 5 was shown to significantly inhibit the accumulation of the pro-inflammatory iNOS and COX-2 proteins in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells.

Cembranoids from the octocoral Sarcophyton ehrenbergi.

Chemical investigation of the octocoral Sarcophyton ehrenbergi led to the isolation of six new cembranoids, (+)-12-carboxy-11Z-sarcophytoxide (1), (+)-12-methoxycarbonyl-11Z-sarcophine (3), ehrenberoxides A-C (4-6), and lobophynin C (2), along with two known compounds, (+)-sarcophytoxide (7) and (+)-sarcophine (8). The structures of these isolated metabolites were elucidated through extensive spectroscopic analyses, while the relative configuration of 1 was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analyses. The chemical evidence combined with spectroscopic and physical data suggested that the locations of the epoxide and the methyl carboxylate for lobophynin C should be exchanged. Moreover, metabolites 1-6 were evaluated in vitro for their cytotoxicity against selected cancer and normal cells lines, antiviral activity against human cytomegalovirus, and antibacterial activity against Salmonella enteritidis.

Hirsutalins A−H, Eunicellin-Based Diterpenoids from the Soft Coral Cladiella hirsuta

Eight new eunicellin-base diterpenoids, hirsutalins A-H (1-8), were isolated from the soft coral Cladiella hirsuta. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, particularly in 1D and 2D NMR experiments. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined by Moshers method. Compounds 1, 5, and 6 have been shown to exhibit cytotoxicity toward several cancer cell lines. Compounds 2-4 and 8 were found to display significant in vitro anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells by inhibiting the expression of the iNOS protein, with compound 2 also effectively reducing the level of COX-2 protein.

Cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory cembranoids from the Dongsha Atoll soft coral Sarcophyton crassocaule.

Five new cembranoids, sarcocrassocolides A-E (1-5), along with three known cembranoids 6-8, have been isolated from a Formosan soft coral Sarcophyton crassocaule. The structures of the new metabolites were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis and the absolute configuration of 1 was determined by a modified Moshers method. Compounds 1-4 exhibited significantly cytotoxic activity against a limited panel of cancer cell lines. Compounds 1-4, 6 and 8 were shown to exert significant in vitro anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Compound 6 also significantly inhibited the accumulation of pro-inflammatory COX-2 protein.

Reproductive ecology of the scleractinian coral Echinopora lamellosa in northern and southern Taiwan

Sexual reproduction of the scleractinian coral Echinopora lamellosa in Yenliao Bay, northern Taiwan, and in Nanwan Bay, southern Taiwan, was studied from 1990 to 1993. E. lamellosa is a hermaphroditic broadcast spawner. Gametogenesis takes about 4 to 6 mo and spawning occurs in the summer and fall (July to October). Gametogenesis of the Yenliao Bay population began in April, one month earlier than that of the Nanwan Bay population. Spawning of the Yenliao Bay population occurred in July and August 1991 and August 1992, two months earlier than that at Nanwan Bay in 1991 and in the same month at both sites in 1992. The delayed reproduction of E. lamellosa at the lower latitude (Nanwan Bay) suggests that sea temperature does not operate as a proximate cue for the timing of reproductive activity. The spawning season of the Nanwan Bay population may reflect the environmental conditions favoring the survival of planktonic larvae. The mature egg size (265 μm in 1991 and 251 μm in 1992, n=112) and colony size at sexual maturity (10.1 to 20.0 cm in diameter) of the Yenliao Bay population were significantly larger than those of the Nanwan Bay population (214 μm in 1991 and 216 μm in 1992 for egg size, n=112, and 2.6 to 5.0 cm for colony size at sexual maturity). The larger egg and colony size at sexual maturity may be related to the unfavorable environment in Yenliao Bay.

Ten polymorphic STR loci in the cosmopolitan reef coral, Pocillopora damicornis

We report the development of 10 polymorphic molecular markers containing short tandem repeats in the cosmopolitan reef‐building coral, Pocillopora damicornis, an important model species for coral health, physiology, ecology, and genetics. The availability of polymorphic DNA markers in P. damicornis can act as impetus for investigations into inheritance and population genetics, as well as novel investigations into host‐symbiont ecology and evolution. Coral bleaching and gene flow studies performed with these markers can have direct conservation implications.