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Harsh Patel
Mrs. Rossman
AP Biology
27 May 2014
The Golden Lady A Precise Report on the European Moon Jellyfish
Did you know that there are multi-cellular organisms that do not have brains? Surprising,
but true, jellyfishes are one type of multi-cellular organism that does not have a brain, but is still
functional. One species of jellyfishes are the European moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) or more
commonly known are the common jellyfish. The scientific name of the moon jellyfish is
representative of it beauty in the ocean since Aurelia aurita in Latin means the Golden Lady.
Jellyfishes are magnificent specimen that question all many ideas of evolution, ecology,
biochemistry, cells, photosynthesis and respiration, genetics, and anatomy and physiology,
especially the European moon jellyfish.
The origin of all organisms on Earth, past or present, is most probable to have diverged
from one anaerobic prokaryote. Due to the lack of complex parts in the jellyfish (e.g. digestive
system, gills, circulatory system) it is most likely that jellyfishes arose in the Precambrian Eon of
earth. First, when multiple prokaryotes conjoined into multi-celled this evolutionary leap
changed the world. Some of those multi-cellular organisms could not produce their own food or
consume the primordial soup that supplied them with energy, so they started to consume any
organism it came across. They organism later evolved to have tentacles to provide locomotion
and the ability to trap prey for digestion. Due to the excellence of their method for surviving,
they have diverged into over 1,500 species now. Jellyfishes, now, colonized most of the worlds
ocean and freshwater. Since jellyfishes are not mostly bony structure and are rarely near
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sedimentary rock it is hard to get an exact evolution
time line of the European moon jellyfish. Whilst it is
hard to get definite answers, the evolution pattern must
include where the jellyfish: diverge from its ancestor,
grow larger due to natural selection, develop toxins in it
bodies to deter predators, develop light emitting protein
molecules, and grow a mouth. Also, it is highly
speculated that these jellyfishes are effective organisms
due to their species surviving over 580 years and the five mass extinctions. While most of the
evolutionary history of the European moon jellyfish is still speculations (mainly due to the lack
of fossils), their ecology is undisputable the most fascinating.
The ecology aspect of the European moon jellyfish is magnificent. While most aquatic
species are going extinct due to climate change and overexploitation, the European moon
jellyfishes are rising in population size in the Atlantic Ocean. This is due to the decline in
predators by human fishing, that the density-dependent limitation, in place for the jellyfishes,
was removed. The loss of the limitation increased the carrying capacity of the jellyfish in the
ocean. Also, since the jellyfishes survive on consuming planktons and small fishes, and their
larger competitors that also consume them are declining, the jellyfishes prey population is
increasing. The increase of prey population also removes another limitation on carrying capacity
in place by the natural selection. Due to the two limitations removed, due to climate change and
human exploitation, the carrying capacity of European moon jellyfishes has increased over years
and is exponentially growing. The biome of the European moon jellyfishes is the aquatic biome.
This biome covers about three-fourth of Earth and the ocean has an enormous depth, making
Common ancestor to jellyfish
(Eumetazoa)
Image by Hans Hillewaert
1

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density of the organism relatively
minimal. Also, the jellyfishes have a
random dispersion due to the lack of
interaction with other jellyfishes and their
surrounding. These jellyfishes have a type
II survivorship curve meaning they have a
death rate that is constant over the life
span. In the end, human effect on the
world has only benefited jellyfishes to exponentially grow and will even pass through the sixth
mass extinction.
The biochemistry of the moon jellyfish is marvelous. The biochemistry of all life has
carbon, the essential building atom of all organic molecules. In biochemistry, there are
monomers and polymers that build all life on Earth. The jellyfish utilizes all four of the organic
compounds. The jellyfishes use nucleic acid like every single organism on Earth, which is DNA.
The DNA, like any other organism, has a phosphate group attached to a sugar component
attached to a nitrogen base. Although some organisms can exploit nucleic acid as an energy
source, moon jellyfish cannot process nucleic acid into energy. The jellyfishes may not be able to
utilizes nucleic acids for energy, but they exploit lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates for all the
energy expenditure require to survive and reproduce. The lipid used by jellyfishes is the
phosolipid bilayer. This lipid makes sure the water on the inside of the jellyfish is kept on the
inside and the outside water is on the outside. Due to the lack of evolutionary advancements
jellyfishes do not use any form of steroids (mainly due to lack of receptors). The lipid source of
energy is a numerous advantage because lipids have a lot of energy in a single gram and are
Random dispersion of moon jellyfish
Image by Bioexpedition
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easily available in nature in the form of fats and oils. The jellyfishes require proteins to survive
on a daily basis. Jellyfishes were the first to utilize certain fluorescent proteins to empower them
to go into the depth of the dark ocean were no light ever reaches. The fluorescent light proteins
helps because jellyfishes are mostly in the darker parts of the ocean and occasionally venture up
into the light-reaching parts of the ocean. The fluorescent light helps jellyfishes see (yes, some of
them have eyes) in the ocean, it also attracts many preys that are lurking in the deep ocean.
Proteins are essentially from amino acids, the monomer of proteins. These monomers go through
a four-step method to make certain proteins. The first step is, the primary structure, attaching
these amino acids attach. In the secondary structure the attached amino acids coil into two
distinct shapes: an alpha helix or a beta pleated sheet, due to the hydrogen bonding of the
polypeptide molecule. In the tertiary structure the
fibrous protein converts into an intricate three-
dimensional shape through many weak bonds and
water interaction with the R-group. Finally, the
quaternary structure refers to when more than one
polypeptide chain join together forming the final
protein. The jellyfishes use carbohydrate as fuel and
building material for what they need. The
carbohydrate always has a monosaccharide form of
C
6
H
12
O
6
. The formation may be different which causes the monosaccharide to change from
glucose to galactose to fructose and many more. The carbohydrates provide the jellyfishes with
immediate energy. All these organic compounds are converted to energy with the use of oxygen.
Glowing jellyfish using fluorescent proteins
Image by Anne Helmenstine
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The use of oxygen helps the jellyfish respire to produce energy for the jellyfish to
survive. Since the jellyfish does not require an enormous amount of energy to move it thrives in
a limited-oxygen area due to the competition having trouble keeping up with the jellyfishes. The
jellyfishes intake oxygen through their aboral surfaces by separating the oxygen from the water,
this allows them to keep unwanted water on the outside. They then have plankton or dead
organic matter that they turn into individual
glucose or other organic compound. These
glucose molecules are then converted into
pyruvates through a process called
glycolysis. This process occurs outside the
mitochondria and has a net gain of 2 ATP.
Then the pyruvates enter the matrix of the
mitochondria into the Krebs cycle. The
pyruvates are converted into Acetyl CoA by the removal of a hydrogen atom into NADH and a
CO
2
molecule while adding a Coenzyme A to it. The Acetyl CoA is added to the Krebs cycle and
combines with oxaloacetic acid (4C) to produce citric acid (6C). Then each turn of the Krebs
cycle will produce 3 NADH, 1 ATP, 1 FADH, and the waste product of 2 CO
2
molecules. Here
the NADH pumps the H proton through protein complexes of electron carriers. After passing
through the process of diffusion takes over and makes the H proton go though the ATP synthase
converting ADP + P
i
into ATP. The NADH produces 3 ATP because it sends 3 H proton through
the protein complex while FADH produces 2 ATP. Also, the highly electronegative oxygen accts
acts to pull electrons through the electron transport chain. In the end, the process looks like this
C
6
H
12
O
6
+ 6O
2
into 6CO
2
+ 6H
2
O + 38 ATP. The production of ATP for involuntary and
Jellyfish eating preys
Image by Kevin Lee
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voluntary actions is rarely used because jellyfishes rarely move and let the ocean currents take
them wherever they go and they thrive there. This is why it is beneficial for the jellyfishes if the
ocean was less oxygen-rich, so its competitors would not be able to move as much and regulate
involuntary motions.
There is not a lot of anatomy and
physiology about the European moon
jellyfishes. Interestingly most jellyfishes do not
have mainly specialized system (e.g. digestive,
central nervous or circulatory systems). The
lack of specialized systems does make it an
easier target, but natural selection evolved the
jellyfishes into a fighter. The picture on the right
shows some important features of the jellyfishes. The European moon jellyfish is 96% water
leaving barely any remaining mass for hard structures to support the organism. Jellyfishes,
surprisingly, do use a network of nerves that are completely different than the human nervous
system. First, the nervous system, employed by the jellyfishes, is loosely bound to a central
nervous system placed in the epidermis. This place in the epidermis where the nerves conjoin is
called the nerve net. The importance of this loose nerve system is so if there was a prey
touching many of its tentacles then it is important that the message of paralyzing the organism is
sent quickly and efficiently. This allows the jellyfish to either give it time to consume the prey or
get away from a predator. Also, the jellyfishes are between 25 to 40 centimeters wide even when
fully grown. The jellyfishes have a life expectancy of two to six months, making it truly an r-
strategist. This expectancy is because between two and six months the jellyfishes disperse
Anatomy of the jellyfish
Image by Nordelch
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millions and millions of sperms and eggs to conceive a baby. This process leaves the European
moon jellyfishes tired and vulnerable to many forms of bacteria and viruses.
Jellyfishes have similar cell structure to every eukaryotic organism. Each cell of the
jellyfish has a nucleus, mitochondria, rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, cell membrane,
vacuoles, cytosol, ribosomes, and centrioles. The nucleus contain the DNA of the cell, has
surrounded by a selectively permeable nuclear envelope. This envelope separates the contents of
the nucleus from the cytosol. The rough endoplasmic reticulum produces proteins, while the
smooth endoplasmic reticulum produces lipids necessary to survive and helps detoxify drugs and
poisons from the body. The cell membrane helps keep all the functioning component of a cell
inside the cell and not with its environment. The vacuoles are structures used for storage,
primarily for jellyfishes, they store large particles, due to the lack of food availability because the
jellyfishes rely on the currents to move. The mitochondria is a major component in all organisms
for it helps convert glucose produced by the autotrophs into energy for the heterotrophs like the
jellyfishes. The ribosomes are used to convert mRNA into amino acids to produce proteins.
Jellyfishes are some magnificent creatures
because they have a solute potential a little less
then zero, while the ocean has a more negative
solute potential then the jellyfish. Due to osmosis
water want to naturally flow into the jellyfishes,
but the organism could osmolysis. Since the
organism might osmolysis, they start pumping out
water at a steady rate since the solute potential of
a giant ocean will change, but minutely. Also,
Moon jellyfish releasing millions of
nematocysts into its surrounding
Image by JellyBiologist
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jellyfishes have no hormone receptors on them that may cause an action to occur; it relies solely
on its nerve net to make actions occur when necessary. To include, the nerves release the toxic
produced by the European moon jellyfish to paralyze a prey or predator. Using nematocysts
located inside of a specialized cell called cnidocytes. When an organism touches a tentacle
millions of nematocysts pierce the skin and inject the venom. When contact occurs, the pressure
builds up rapidly to about 14,000 kPa until it is released. The pressure pierces the victim and
injects them with the venom automatically. The production of venom was an evolutionary
benefit seen in the jellyfishes genetics.
The DNA to RNA to protein is central dogma of biology. DNA is first transcribed into a
codon sequence in a messenger-RNA inside the nucleus. Next, this m-RNA, known as pre-RNA,
is processed into a mature m-RNA. Then, the m-RNA sequence leaves the nucleus and is
translated into an amino acid sequence in the cytoplasm or the rough ER. Transcription begins
with initiation when the enzyme RNA polymerase binds to DNA at the promoter region. A
collection of proteins called transcription factors recognizes a key area within the promoter, the
TATA box. Elongation of the strand continues as RNA polymerase adds nucleotides to the 3
end of a growing chain. Termination is the final stage in transcription, occurs after RNA
polymerase transcribes the termination sequence (AAUAAA). Then the premature m-RNA gets
a 5 cap added to the 5 end, a poly (A) tail added to the 3 end, and introns are removed by
snRNPs and splicesomes. After these parts are added and removed the final product leaves the
nucleus as a mature m-RNA. When the m-RNA enters the cytosol, the m-RNA binds to a
ribosome quickly before hydrolytic enzymes degrade the sequences. When the m-RNA binds it
is coded by anticodons (tRNA). It starts with AUG codon and ends with either UAA, UGA, and
UAG codons. After the polypeptide it produced then through the four steps of protein formation
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it comes out as a final product protein. In
jellyfishes this important protein is the
Blue Fluorescent Protein. This protein
allows it to gain prey and see in the dark
for prey, which is advantageous for the
organism. Ultimately, it is irrefutable
that the European moon jellyfishes are a
magnificent specimen for evolution,
ecology, biochemistry, cells,
photosynthesis and respiration, genetics,
and anatomy and physiology.

The proteins in moon jellyfishes illuminate the blue
color
Image by BioExpedition
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Work Cited
Pictures
1 = http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Branchiostoma_lanceolatum.jpg
2 = http://bioexpedition.com/moon-jellyfish/
3 = http://chemistry.about.com/od/glowinthedarkprojects/ig/Black-Light-Photo-
Gallery/Glowing-Jellyfish.htm
4 = http://www.asnailsodyssey.com/LEARNABOUT/JELLYFISH/jellyFeed.php
5 = http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Radiate_Oral-aboral_Axes.JPG
6 = http://jellybiologist.com/2013/03/18/youre-gonna-have-to-pee-on-it-myths-and-facts-about-
jellyfish-stings/
7 = http://bioexpedition.com/moon-jellyfish/

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