Coelomic fluid of asteroid echinoderms: Current knowledge and future perspectives on its utility for disease and mortality investigations

Abstract

Coelomic fluid surrounds the internal organs of asteroid echinoderms (asteroids, otherwise known as sea stars or starfish) and plays an essential role in the immune system, as well as in the transport of respiratory gases, nutrients, waste products, and reproductive mediators. Due to its importance in physiology and accessibility for nonlethal diagnostic sampling, coelomic fluid of asteroids provides an excellent sample matrix for health evaluations and can be particularly useful in disease and mortality investigations. This is especially important in light of recent increases in the number of affected individuals and species, larger geographic scope, and increased observed frequency of sea star wasting events compared with historic accounts of wasting. This review summarizes the current knowledge about coelomocytes, the effector cell of the asteroid immune system; coelomic fluid electrolytes, osmolality, acid–base status and respiratory gases, and microbiota; and genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic investigations of coelomic fluid. The utility of coelomic fluid analysis for assessing stressor responses, diseases, and mortality investigations is considered with knowledge gaps and future directions identified. This complex body fluid provides an exciting opportunity to increase our understanding of this unique and ecologically important group of animals.