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Marine Drugs Jun 2021In this review, we discuss structural diversity, taxonomic distribution, biological activities, biogenesis, and synthesis of a rare group of terpenoids, the so-called... (Review)
Review
In this review, we discuss structural diversity, taxonomic distribution, biological activities, biogenesis, and synthesis of a rare group of terpenoids, the so-called malabaricane and isomalabaricane triterpenoids, as well as some compounds derived from them. Representatives of these groups were found in some higher and lower terrestrial plants, as well as in some fungi, and in a relatively small group of marine sponges. The skeletal systems of malabaricanes and isomalabaricanes are similar to each other, but differ principally in the stereochemistry of their tricyclic core fragments, consisting of two six-membered and one five-membered rings. Evolution of these triterpenoids provides variety of rearranged, oxidized, and glycoconjugated products. These natural compounds have attracted a lot of attention for their biosynthetic origin and biological activity, especially for their extremely high cytotoxicity against tumor cells as well as promising neuroprotective properties in nanomolar concentrations.
Topics: Animals; Biosynthetic Pathways; Fungi; Glycoconjugates; Plants; Porifera; Triterpenes
PubMed: 34198756
DOI: 10.3390/md19060327 -
The Journal of Experimental Biology Feb 2015Genomic and transcriptomic analyses show that sponges possess a large repertoire of genes associated with neuronal processes in other animals, but what is the evidence... (Review)
Review
Genomic and transcriptomic analyses show that sponges possess a large repertoire of genes associated with neuronal processes in other animals, but what is the evidence these are used in a coordination or sensory context in sponges? The very different phylogenetic hypotheses under discussion today suggest very different scenarios for the evolution of tissues and coordination systems in early animals. The sponge genomic 'toolkit' either reflects a simple, pre-neural system used to protect the sponge filter or represents the remnants of a more complex signalling system and sponges have lost cell types, tissues and regionalization to suit their current suspension-feeding habit. Comparative transcriptome data can be informative but need to be assessed in the context of knowledge of sponge tissue structure and physiology. Here, I examine the elements of the sponge neural toolkit including sensory cells, conduction pathways, signalling molecules and the ionic basis of signalling. The elements described do not fit the scheme of a loss of sophistication, but seem rather to reflect an early specialization for suspension feeding, which fits with the presumed ecological framework in which the first animals evolved.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Genome; Nervous System; Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; Porifera; Signal Transduction; Transcriptome
PubMed: 25696821
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.110817 -
RNA Biology 2018How animals evolved from a single-celled ancestor over 700 million years ago is poorly understood. Recent transcriptomic and chromatin analyses in the sponge Amphimedon... (Review)
Review
How animals evolved from a single-celled ancestor over 700 million years ago is poorly understood. Recent transcriptomic and chromatin analyses in the sponge Amphimedon queenslandica, a morphologically-simple representative of one of the oldest animal phyletic lineages, have shed light on what innovations in the genome and its regulation underlie the emergence of animal multicellularity. Comparisons of the regulatory genome of this sponge with those of more complex bilaterian model species and even simpler unicellular relatives have revealed that fundamental changes in genome regulatory complexity accompanied the evolution of animal multicellularity. Here, we review and discuss the results of these recent investigations by specifically focusing on the contribution of long non-coding RNAs to the evolution of the animal regulatory genome.
Topics: Animals; Evolution, Molecular; Genome; Porifera; RNA, Long Noncoding
PubMed: 29616867
DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2018.1460166 -
Essays in Biochemistry Sep 2019Animals (metazoans) include some of the most complex living organisms on Earth, with regard to their multicellularity, numbers of differentiated cell types, and... (Review)
Review
Animals (metazoans) include some of the most complex living organisms on Earth, with regard to their multicellularity, numbers of differentiated cell types, and lifecycles. The metazoan extracellular matrix (ECM) is well-known to have major roles in the development of tissues during embryogenesis and in maintaining homoeostasis throughout life, yet insight into the ECM proteins which may have contributed to the transition from unicellular eukaryotes to multicellular animals remains sparse. Recent phylogenetic studies place either ctenophores or poriferans as the closest modern relatives of the earliest emerging metazoans. Here, we review the literature and representative genomic and transcriptomic databases for evidence of ECM and ECM-affiliated components known to be conserved in bilaterians, that are also present in ctenophores and/or poriferans. Whereas an extensive set of related proteins are identifiable in poriferans, there is a strikingly lack of conservation in ctenophores. From this perspective, much remains to be learnt about the composition of ctenophore mesoglea. The principal ECM-related proteins conserved between ctenophores, poriferans, and bilaterians include collagen IV, laminin-like proteins, thrombospondin superfamily members, integrins, membrane-associated proteoglycans, and tissue transglutaminase. These are candidates for a putative ancestral ECM that may have contributed to the emergence of the metazoans.
Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Biological Evolution; Ctenophora; Extracellular Matrix; Extracellular Matrix Proteins; Genomics; Porifera; Protein Domains; Proteome; Transcriptome
PubMed: 31444229
DOI: 10.1042/EBC20180048 -
Nature Jun 2019A widely held-but rarely tested-hypothesis for the origin of animals is that they evolved from a unicellular ancestor, with an apical cilium surrounded by a microvillar...
A widely held-but rarely tested-hypothesis for the origin of animals is that they evolved from a unicellular ancestor, with an apical cilium surrounded by a microvillar collar, that structurally resembled modern sponge choanocytes and choanoflagellates. Here we test this view of animal origins by comparing the transcriptomes, fates and behaviours of the three primary sponge cell types-choanocytes, pluripotent mesenchymal archaeocytes and epithelial pinacocytes-with choanoflagellates and other unicellular holozoans. Unexpectedly, we find that the transcriptome of sponge choanocytes is the least similar to the transcriptomes of choanoflagellates and is significantly enriched in genes unique to either animals or sponges alone. By contrast, pluripotent archaeocytes upregulate genes that control cell proliferation and gene expression, as in other metazoan stem cells and in the proliferating stages of two unicellular holozoans, including a colonial choanoflagellate. Choanocytes in the sponge Amphimedon queenslandica exist in a transient metastable state and readily transdifferentiate into archaeocytes, which can differentiate into a range of other cell types. These sponge cell-type conversions are similar to the temporal cell-state changes that occur in unicellular holozoans. Together, these analyses argue against homology of sponge choanocytes and choanoflagellates, and the view that the first multicellular animals were simple balls of cells with limited capacity to differentiate. Instead, our results are consistent with the first animal cell being able to transition between multiple states in a manner similar to modern transdifferentiating and stem cells.
Topics: Animals; Cell Proliferation; Cell Transdifferentiation; Epithelial Cells; Evolution, Molecular; Models, Biological; Phylogeny; Pluripotent Stem Cells; Porifera; Reproducibility of Results; Transcriptome
PubMed: 31189954
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1290-4 -
Integrative and Comparative Biology Dec 2015Despite an explosion in the amount of sequence data, phylogenomics has failed to settle controversy regarding some critical nodes on the animal tree of life.... (Review)
Review
Despite an explosion in the amount of sequence data, phylogenomics has failed to settle controversy regarding some critical nodes on the animal tree of life. Understanding relationships among Bilateria, Ctenophora, Cnidaria, Placozoa, and Porifera is essential for studying how complex traits such as neurons, muscles, and gastrulation have evolved. Recent studies have cast doubt on the historical viewpoint that sponges are sister to all other animal lineages with recent studies recovering ctenophores as sister. However, the ctenophore-sister hypothesis has been criticized as unrealistic and caused by systematic error. We review past phylogenomic studies and potential causes of systematic error in an effort to identify areas that can be improved in future studies. Increased sampling of taxa, less missing data, and a priori removal of sequences and taxa that may cause systematic error in phylogenomic inference will likely be the most fruitful areas of focus when assembling future datasets. Ultimately, we foresee metazoan relationships being resolved with higher support in the near future, and we caution against dismissing novel hypotheses merely because they conflict with historical viewpoints of animal evolution.
Topics: Animals; Cnidaria; Ctenophora; Invertebrates; Phylogeny; Placozoa; Porifera
PubMed: 25972566
DOI: 10.1093/icb/icv037 -
Results and Problems in Cell... 2018Over 100 years of sponge biology research has demonstrated spectacular diversity of cell behaviors during embryonic development, metamorphosis and regeneration. The past...
Over 100 years of sponge biology research has demonstrated spectacular diversity of cell behaviors during embryonic development, metamorphosis and regeneration. The past two decades have allowed the first glimpses into molecular and cellular mechanisms of these processes. We have learned that while embryonic development of sponges utilizes a conserved set of developmental regulatory genes known from other animals, sponge cell differentiation appears unusually labile. During normal development, and especially as a response to injury, sponge cells appear to have an uncanny ability to transdifferentiate. Here, I argue that sponge cell differentiation plasticity does not preclude homology of cell types and processes between sponges and other animals. Instead, it does provide a wonderful opportunity to better understand transdifferentiation processes in all animals.
Topics: Animals; Cell Differentiation; Cell Transdifferentiation; Porifera
PubMed: 30083923
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-92486-1_12 -
FEMS Microbiology Ecology Nov 2019Efficient nutrient cycles mediated by symbiotic microorganisms with their hosts are vital to support the high productivity of coral reef ecosystems. In these ecosystems,... (Review)
Review
Efficient nutrient cycles mediated by symbiotic microorganisms with their hosts are vital to support the high productivity of coral reef ecosystems. In these ecosystems, marine sponges are important habitat-forming organisms in the benthic community and harbor abundant microbial symbionts. However, few studies have reviewed the critical microbially mediated nutrient cycling processes in marine sponges. To bridge this gap, in this review article, we summarize existing knowledge and recent advances in understanding microbially mediated carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S) cycles in sponges, propose a conceptual model that describes potential interactions and constraints in the major nutrient cycles, and suggest that shifting redox state induced by animal behavior like sponge pumping can exert great influence on the activities of symbiotic microbial communities. Constraints include the lack of knowledge on spatial and temporal variations and host behavior; more studies are needed in these areas. Sponge microbiomes may have a significant impact on the nutrient cycles in the world's coral reef ecosystems.
Topics: Animals; Carbon; Coral Reefs; Microbiota; Nitrogen; Nutrients; Phosphorus; Porifera; Sulfur; Symbiosis; Water Microbiology
PubMed: 31589314
DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiz155 -
Lab Animal Sep 2018
Topics: Animals; Animals, Laboratory; Ctenophora; Laboratory Animal Science; Life History Traits; Models, Animal; Placozoa; Porifera
PubMed: 30143777
DOI: 10.1038/s41684-018-0135-3 -
Marine Drugs Aug 2021Marine sponges are the most prolific marine sources for discovery of novel bioactive compounds. Sponge secondary metabolites are sought-after for their potential in... (Review)
Review
Marine sponges are the most prolific marine sources for discovery of novel bioactive compounds. Sponge secondary metabolites are sought-after for their potential in pharmaceutical applications, and in the past, they were also used as taxonomic markers alongside the difficult and homoplasy-prone sponge morphology for species delineation (chemotaxonomy). The understanding of phylogenetic distribution and distinctiveness of metabolites to sponge lineages is pivotal to reveal pathways and evolution of compound production in sponges. This benefits the discovery rate and yield of bioprospecting for novel marine natural products by identifying lineages with high potential of being new sources of valuable sponge compounds. In this review, we summarize the current biochemical data on sponges and compare the metabolite distribution against a sponge phylogeny. We assess compound specificity to lineages, potential convergences, and suitability as diagnostic phylogenetic markers. Our study finds compound distribution corroborating current (molecular) phylogenetic hypotheses, which include yet unaccepted polyphyly of several demosponge orders and families. Likewise, several compounds and compound groups display a high degree of lineage specificity, which suggests homologous biosynthetic pathways among their taxa, which identifies yet unstudied species of this lineage as promising bioprospecting targets.
Topics: Animals; Aquatic Organisms; Humans; Phylogeny; Phytotherapy; Porifera
PubMed: 34436287
DOI: 10.3390/md19080448