The Sea Squirt

[Sabrina]

I have been researching this fasinating creature and discovered that it has the ability to produce cellulose.

Did anyone already know that an animal can do this or am I living under a rock somewhere.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rs/index.php

Can any other animals do this too?

Peace,
Sabrina

[David George]

Urochordates are the only animals that produce cellulose, a polysaccharide existing primarily in the extracellular matrices of plant, algal, and bacterial cells.Lateral transfer of a bacterial cellulose synthase gene into the urochordate lineage is the reason told why they can produce cellulose . According to fossil records, this likely lateral acquisition of the cellulose synthase gene may have occurred in the last common ancestor of extant urochordates more than 530 million years ago.Urochordates may use a laterally acquired "homologous" gene for an analogous process of cellulose synthesis.
You can be happy that urochordates are the only animals to produce cellulose.

[MrMistery]

extrecellular matrix? Isn't cell wall better word?

[Sabrina]

Thanks so much for your response David.

Sounds like you have known about this animal for a while now. I still need some convincing about this being the ONLY animal with these unique abilities. How can you be sure?

Can you comment on the cellulose fibers that Dr Shimek speaks about in his article?

A quote I found in this article about Tunicates says, “Curiously, one of the few other places where cellulose is found in animals is as fibers deposited within the skin.”

Then the author just stops short right there. What could he be talking about?

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rs/index.php

Here are a few more interesting facts about this animal I found and relates to exactly what you said.

The team found genes involved in producing the tough sheath—made of cellulose—that encompasses the sea squirt. This was unexpected because only plant and bacteria are known to produce cellulose.

The ascidian genome has also acquired a number of lineage-specific innovations, including a group of genes engaged in cellulose metabolism that are related to those in bacteria and fungi.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... t=Abstract


So, I kinda got to thinking…..

6.“Fibers” are reported in and on skin lesions. They are generally described by patients as white, but clinicians also report seeing blue, green, red, and black fibers, that fluoresce when viewed under ultraviolet light (Wood's lamp). Objects described as “granules”, similar in size and shape to sand grains, can occasionally be removed from either broken or intact skin by physicians, but are commonly reported by patients. Patients report seeing black “specks” or “dots” on or in their skin, as well as unusual 1-3 mm “fuzzballs” both in their lesions and on (or falling from) intact skin.

http://morgellons.org/casedef.html

The make up of the Morgellons fibers is cellulose. What creature could do this to humans or, "animals" as stated in Dr. Shimek's work?

Peace,
Sabrina

[damien james]

I had feeling this was related to morgellons. From what I have read, it seems Moregellons is not relatred to common pathogen, but that people with variety of symptoms and causes are lumped into Morgellons. I think cellulose fibers found in skin are either from outside source or due to bacteria, not due to organism from kingdom animalia.

[Sabrina]

Dear Damien,

Your interest in this disease is flattering but unfortunately, you have a ways to go.

The fibers can be pulled out of my skin and I have this on video. There is no doubt; you can see the cottony fibers being pulled out of the skin. It had to get there somehow and if it came from the outside then how did it get on the inside?

We as a group do display different symptoms but all of us have the fibers. This is our common link.

When I found the sea squirt, I found an animal that produces cellulose and genes that relate to bacteria and fungus.

I’m not inclined to blindly follow tam tam’s theory so if these animals already exists then why not the pathogen, YES I said PATHOGEN, which causes our fibers. I don’t think it is made in a lab.

And yes, it has insect like behavior so an animal kingdom is somehow involved.

Now please tell me what you think Dr. Shimek means about cellulose fibers deposited in the skin?

Peace,
Sabrina

[David George]

Sabrina I am not that good in prochordates and donot know about the skin lesions as they donot interest me.

Among animals, urochordates (e.g., ascidians) are unique in their ability to biosynthesize cellulose. In ascidians cellulose is synthesized in the epidermis and incorporated into a protective coat know as the tunic. A putative cellulose synthase-like gene was first identified in the genome sequences of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. We describe here a cellulose synthase gene from the ascidian Ciona savignyi that is expressed in the epidermis. The predicted C. savignyi cellulose synthase amino acid sequence showed conserved features found in all cellulose synthases, including plants, but was most similar to cellulose synthases from bacteria, fungi, and Dictyostelium discoidium. However, unlike other known cellulose synthases, the predicted C. savignyi polypeptide has a degenerate cellulase-like region near the carboxyl-terminal end. An expression construct carrying the C. savignyi cDNA was found to restore cellulose biosynthesis to a cellulose synthase (CelA) minus mutant of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, showing that the predicted protein has cellulose synthase activity. The lack of cellulose biosynthesis in all other groups of metazoans and the similarity of the C. savignyi cellulose synthase to enzymes from cellulose-producing organisms support the hypothesis that the urochordates acquired the cellulose biosynthetic pathway by horizontal transfer.

This is an extract taken from the pubmed website I will answer the other questions tommorow.

[Biosoldier16]

Dear Sabrina
thank you so much this article has helped me in a project that could make or break my grade.

[AstusAleator]

Urochordates are the only animals that produce cellulose, a polysaccharide existing primarily in the extracellular matrices of plant, algal, and bacterial cells.Lateral transfer of a bacterial cellulose synthase gene into the urochordate lineage is the reason told why they can produce cellulose . According to fossil records, this likely lateral acquisition of the cellulose synthase gene may have occurred in the last common ancestor of extant urochordates more than 530 million years ago.Urochordates may use a laterally acquired "homologous" gene for an analogous process of cellulose synthesis.
You can be happy that urochordates are the only animals to produce cellulose.

David, you forgot to cite your source. Here, I've taken the liberty of posting it for you.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... t=Abstract

nuf said about that.


Ahem, anyway: urochordata and cephalochordata are thought to be the closest representatives of the ancestors of modern chordates. Perhaps it is possible that we have conserved a gene for producing cellulose. Of course, if it was simply just a recessive gene, it would be expressed a lot more. Perhaps it's a "dead" sequence that can be activated by the presence of a bacteria or virus (more likely a virus).

[carriescamp]

Thanks so much for your response David.

Sounds like you have known about this animal for a while now. I still need some convincing about this being the ONLY animal with these unique abilities. How can you be sure?

Can you comment on the cellulose fibers that Dr Shimek speaks about in his article?

A quote I found in this article about Tunicates says, “Curiously, one of the few other places where cellulose is found in animals is as fibers deposited within the skin.”

Then the author just stops short right there. What could he be talking about?

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rs/index.php

Here are a few more interesting facts about this animal I found and relates to exactly what you said.

The team found genes involved in producing the tough sheath—made of cellulose—that encompasses the sea squirt. This was unexpected because only plant and bacteria are known to produce cellulose.

The ascidian genome has also acquired a number of lineage-specific innovations, including a group of genes engaged in cellulose metabolism that are related to those in bacteria and fungi.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... t=Abstract


So, I kinda got to thinking…..

6.“Fibers” are reported in and on skin lesions. They are generally described by patients as white, but clinicians also report seeing blue, green, red, and black fibers, that fluoresce when viewed under ultraviolet light (Wood's lamp). Objects described as “granules”, similar in size and shape to sand grains, can occasionally be removed from either broken or intact skin by physicians, but are commonly reported by patients. Patients report seeing black “specks” or “dots” on or in their skin, as well as unusual 1-3 mm “fuzzballs” both in their lesions and on (or falling from) intact skin.

http://morgellons.org/casedef.html

The make up of the Morgellons fibers is cellulose. What creature could do this to humans or, "animals" as stated in Dr. Shimek's work?

Peace,
Sabrina

Sabrina...is that Hope?

Hum...I just started digging into this. I did a search on the "Sea Squirt" and found you...yep...found this post here. I'm finding that flukes may have a chitin and cellulose resources!!! Talk to me. You know it's hard for me to bounce around. Email me at home would ya? campcurry@msn.com

http://lymebusters.proboards39.com/inde ... 440&page=6

Please read reply #100 and #105...let me know what you think. I don't know much about this aspect of "life." This will all be a new learning experience. But that is not true...that only plant and bacteria are known to produce cellulose. I'm finding that is not the case.