Activated chemical defense in marine sponges - a case study on Aplysinella rhax

Activated chemical defense, i.e., the rapid conversion of precursor molecules to defensive compounds following tissue damage, has been well documented for terrestrial and marine plants; but evidence for its presence in sessile marine invertebrates remains scarce. We observed a wound-activated conversion of psammaplin A sulfate to psammaplin A in tissue of the tropical sponge Aplysinella rhax. The conversion is rapid (requiring only seconds), the turnover rate increases with increasing wounding activity (e.g., similar to 20% after tissue stabbing vs. similar to 85% after tissue grinding), and is likely enzyme-catalyzed (no reaction in the absence of water and inhibition of the conversion by heat). Fish feeding assays with the pufferfish Canthigaster solandri, an omnivorous sponge predator, revealed an increased anti-feeding activity by the conversion product psammaplin A compared to the precursor psammaplin A sulfate. We propose that the wound-activated formation of psammaplin A in A. rhax is an activated defense targeted against predator species that are not efficiently repelled by the sponge's constitutive chemical defense. Recent observations of conversion reactions also in other sponge species indicate that more activated defenses may exist in this phylum. Based on the findings of this study, we address the question whether activated defenses may be more common in sponges-and perhaps also in other sessile marine invertebrates-than hitherto believed.