Discodermia

Discodermia is a genus of deep-water sea sponge.^[1][2]

Discodermia
Discodermia ramifera
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Porifera
Class:	Demospongiae
Order:	Tetractinellida
Family:	Theonellidae
Genus:	Discodermia du Bocage, 1869[1]
Synonyms
Collinella Schmidt, 1879 Desmahabana Alcolado & Gotera, 1986

Species

The following species are accepted within Discodermia:^[1]

• Discodermia adhaerens Van Soest, Meesters & Becking, 2014
• Discodermia arbor Carvalho & Xavier, 2020
• Discodermia aspera Carter, 1880
• Discodermia calyx Döderlein, 1884
• Discodermia claviformis Kieschnick, 1896
• Discodermia discifera (Lendenfeld, 1907)
• Discodermia discifurca Sollas, 1888
• Discodermia dissoluta Schmidt, 1880
• Discodermia dubia Vacelet & Vasseur, 1971
• Discodermia emarginata Dendy, 1905
• Discodermia gorgonoides Burton, 1928
• Discodermia inscripta (Schmidt, 1879)
• Discodermia interspersa Kumar, 1925
• Discodermia irregularis Hoshino, 1976
• Discodermia japonica Döderlein, 1884
• Discodermia jogashima Tanita & Hoshino, 1989
• Discodermia kellyae Carvalho & Xavier, 2020
• Discodermia kiiensis Hoshino, 1977
• Discodermia koreana Sim, 1982
• Discodermia laevidiscus Carter, 1880
• Discodermia natalensis Kirkpatrick, 1903
• Discodermia ornata Sollas, 1888
• Discodermia panoplia Sollas, 1888
• Discodermia papillata Carter, 1880
• Discodermia polydiscus (Bowerbank, 1869)
• Discodermia polymorpha Pisera & Vacelet, 2011
• Discodermia proliferans Lévi & Lévi, 1983
• Discodermia ramifera Topsent, 1892
• Discodermia sinuosa Carter, 1881
• Discodermia stylifera Keller, 1891
• Discodermia tuberosa Dendy, 1922
• Discodermia vermicularis Döderlein, 1884
• Discodermia verrucosa Topsent, 1928

Pharmacology

Discodermins B-D

D. dissoluta is of interest to bio and organic chemists because it produces (+)-discodermolide, a polyketide natural product with immunosuppressive and cancer killing properties.^[3]

Antimicrobial/anticancer peptides called discodermins have been isolated from D. kiiensis.^[4]