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Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea. They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of known holothurian species worldwide is about 1,717, with the greatest number being in the Asia-Pacific region. Many of these are gathered for human consumption and some species are cultivated in aquaculture systems. The harvested product is variously referred to as trepang, namako, bêche-de-mer, or balate. Sea cucumbers serve a useful role in the marine ecosystem as they help recycle nutrients, breaking down detritus and other organic matter, after which bacteria can continue the decomposition process.
The holothurins are a group of toxins originally isolated from the sea cucumber Actinopyga agassizii. They are contained within clusters of sticky threads called Cuvierian tubules which are expelled from the sea cucumber as a mode of self-defence. The holothurins belong to the class of compounds known as saponins and are anionic surfactants which can cause red blood cells to rupture. The holothurins can be toxic to humans if ingested in high amounts.
Trepanging is the act of collection or harvesting of sea cucumbers, known in Indonesian as trepang, Malay těripang, and used as food. The collector, or fisher, of trepang is a trepanger.
Australostichopus is a genus of sea cucumbers in the family Stichopodidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Australostichopus mollis, commonly known as the brown sea cucumber or Australasian sea cucumber. This species has stimulated interest for its fishery potential in the Southern Hemisphere, and for its capability to reduce waste produced by aquaculture. Despite its ecological role and abundance in New Zealand coastal waters, the scarcity of knowledge regarding A. mollis biology and ecology has hindered the development of a stable fishery industry. Importantly, A. mollis represents promising business potential within an important Asian market. Recently its potential as a functional food has been evaluated, highlighting the nutritious components
Stichopus chloronotus is a species of sea cucumber. Common names include the greenfish sea cucumber, the spiky sea cucumber and the black knobby sea cucumber. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region. It has a wide range and is abundant and the IUCN lists it as being of "Least Concern".
Dactylosporangium is a genus of bacteria in the phylum Actinomycetota.
Sea cucumber stocks have been overexploited in the wild, resulting in incentives to grow them by aquaculture. Aquaculture means the sea cucumbers are farmed in contained areas where they can be cultured in a controlled manner. In China, sea cucumbers are cultured, along with prawns and some fish species, in integrated multi-trophic systems. In these systems, the sea cucumbers feed on the waste and feces from the other species. In this manner, what would otherwise be polluting byproducts from the culture of the other species become a valuable resource that is turned into a marketable product.
The star pearlfish, Carapus mourlani, is a species of slender, ray-finned fish in the family Carapidae. It normally lives inside a starfish or a sea cucumber.
Apostichopus japonicus is a species of sea cucumber in the family Stichopodidae. It is found in shallow temperate waters along the coasts of south east Asia and is commonly known as the Japanese spiky sea cucumber or the Japanese sea cucumber.
Holothuria leucospilota, commonly known as the black sea cucumber or black tarzan, is a species of marine invertebrate in the family Holothuriidae. It is placed in the subgenus Mertensiothuria making its full scientific name Holothuria (Mertensiothuria) leucospilota. It is the type species of the subgenus and is found on the seabed in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific.
Stichopus is a genus of sea cucumbers from the family Stichopodidae.
The silver pearlfish, Encheliophis homei, is a species of eel-like fish in the family Carapidae. This pearlfish lives inside the coelom of sea cucumbers such as Bohadschia argus, Thelenota ananas , and Stichopus chloronotus. It is native to tropical and subtropical parts of the Indo-Pacific Ocean.
Arthrobacter echini is a Gram-positive, strictly aerobic and non-motile bacterium species from the genus Arthrobacter which has been isolated from the gut of the sea urchin Heliocidaris crassispina from Dokdo island, Korea.
Stichopus herrmanni, or Herrmann's sea cucumber, is a species of holothuroidean echinoderm in the family Stichopodidae. It is found in the tropical, western Indo-Pacific Ocean, at depths down to 20 m (66 ft). This and several other species are known as curryfish and are harvested commercially; it is called gama in Indonesia.
Tenacibaculum holothuriorum is a Gram-negative and aerobic bacterium from the genus of Tenacibaculum which has been isolated from the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus from Xiapu in China.
Salegentibacter holothuriorum is a Gram-negative, strictly aerobic and non-motile bacterium from the genus of Salegentibacter which has been isolated from the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus from the Sea of Japan.
Stichopus naso is a species of sea cucumber from the family Stichopodidae
Antarcticimicrobium luteum is a Gram-negative, short-rod-shaped, mesophilic, aerobic and non-motile bacterium from the genus of Antarcticimicrobium which has been isolated from marine sediments from the Masan Bay in South Korea.
Fucophilus is a fucoidan-utilizing genus of bacteria from the phylum Verrucomicrobiota with one known species. Fucophilus fucoidanolyticus has been isolated from the gut contend of a sea cucumber.
References
- 1 2 3 "Citrimicrobium". www.uniprot.org.
- 1 2 Jung, HJ; Cha, IT; Yim, KJ; Song, HS; Cho, K; Kim, D; Lee, HW; Lee, JK; Seo, MJ; Roh, SW; Lee, SJ (October 2014). "Citrimicrobium luteum gen. nov., sp. nov., aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium isolated from the gut of a sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus". Journal of Microbiology (Seoul, Korea). 52 (10): 819–24. doi:10.1007/s12275-014-4136-7. PMID 25163838. S2CID 15341127.