Sponge perforating lace coral with anticancer activity

Abstract

This short note reports results from a pilot study to investigate new anticancer agents from deepsea corals in which colonizing sponges were encountered. The pure white stylasterid coral fans of Errina dabneyi (Pourtalès, 1871) are a conspicuous feature on the upper bathyal slopes in Azorean waters and can be found in depths from 215 to more than 500 m (Wisshak et al. 2009; Braga-Henriques et al. 2013). From the 26 species of Errina known worldwide (most from deeper waters) (Cairns 1983), E. dabneyi seems to be endemic to the Azores Archipelago and the adjacent Mid-Atlantic Ridge region (Zibrowius & Cairns 1992; Braga-Henriques et al. 2013). […].