Institute of Zoology, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Center of Molecular Bioscience Innsbruck, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Nov 12;22(22):12228. doi: 10.3390/ijms222212228.
Many free-living flatworms have evolved a temporary adhesion system, which allows them to quickly attach to and release from diverse substrates. In the marine , the morphology of the adhesive system and the adhesion-related proteins have been characterised. However, little is known about how temporary adhesion is performed in other aquatic environments. Here, we performed a 3D reconstruction of the adhesive organ and compared it to the morphology of five selected , representing two marine, one brackish, and two freshwater species. We compared the protein domains of the two adhesive proteins, as well as an anchor cell-specific intermediate filament. We analysed the gene expression of these proteins by in situ hybridisation and performed functional knockdowns with RNA interference. Remarkably, there are almost no differences in terms of morphology, protein regions, and gene expression based on marine, brackish, and freshwater habitats. This implies that glue components produced by macrostomids are conserved among species, and this set of two-component glue functions from low to high salinity. These findings could contribute to the development of novel reversible biomimetic glues that work in all wet environments and could have applications in drug delivery systems, tissue adhesives, or wound dressings.
许多自由生活的扁形动物已经进化出一种临时的粘附系统，使它们能够快速附着和释放到各种基质上。在海洋中，已经对粘附系统的形态和粘附相关的蛋白质进行了描述。然而，对于其他水生环境中如何进行临时粘附知之甚少。在这里，我们对粘附器官进行了 3D 重建，并将其与五个选定的物种的形态进行了比较，代表了两种海洋、一种半咸水和两种淡水物种。我们比较了两种粘附蛋白的蛋白结构域，以及一种锚定细胞特异性中间丝。我们通过原位杂交分析了这些蛋白质的基因表达，并进行了 RNA 干扰的功能敲低。值得注意的是，基于海洋、半咸水和淡水生境，在形态、蛋白区域和基因表达方面几乎没有差异。这意味着多肠目动物产生的胶成分在物种之间是保守的，并且这一套由两种成分组成的胶在低盐度到高盐度下都能发挥作用。这些发现可能有助于开发新型的可重复使用的仿生胶，这种胶在所有湿润环境中都能发挥作用，并可能在药物输送系统、组织粘合剂或伤口敷料中有应用。
