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Progress in Molecular and Subcellular... 2017The rapid emergence of resistant bacteria during the last 20 years has stimulated research efforts in order to overcome this thorny problem. Marine sponges and their... (Review)
Review
The rapid emergence of resistant bacteria during the last 20 years has stimulated research efforts in order to overcome this thorny problem. Marine sponges and their associated bacteria, which have been proven to be a source of bioactive natural products, have appeared as a promising opportunity to identify new antibiotic compounds. An overview of the major antibacterial compounds isolated from marine sponges and/or their associated bacteria is presented in this chapter, highlighting new potential antibiotics.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacteria; Biological Products; Industrial Microbiology; Marine Biology; Oceans and Seas; Porifera; Sweden; Technology, Pharmaceutical
PubMed: 28238035
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-51284-6_2 -
Current Opinion in Biotechnology Apr 2022
Review
Topics: Animals; Biotechnology; Petrosia; Phylogeny; Porifera; Symbiosis
PubMed: 34800848
DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2021.10.022 -
Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part... Jan 2020Origin and early evolution of regeneration mechanisms remain among the most pressing questions in animal regeneration biology. Porifera have exceptional regenerative...
Origin and early evolution of regeneration mechanisms remain among the most pressing questions in animal regeneration biology. Porifera have exceptional regenerative capacities and, as early Metazoan lineage, are a promising model for studying evolutionary aspects of regeneration. Here, we focus on reparative regeneration of the body wall in the Mediterranean demosponge Aplysina cavernicola. The epithelialization of the wound surface is completed within 2 days, and the wound is completely healed within 2 weeks. The regeneration is accompanied with the formation of a mass of undifferentiated cells (blastema), which consists of archaeocytes, dedifferentiated choanocytes, anucleated amoebocytes, and differentiated spherulous cells. The main mechanisms of A. cavernicola regeneration are cell dedifferentiation with active migration and subsequent redifferentiation or transdifferentiation of polypotent cells through the mesenchymal-to-epithelial transformation. The main cell sources of the regeneration are archaeocytes and choanocytes. At early stages of the regeneration, the blastema almost devoid of cell proliferation, but after 24 hr postoperation (hpo) and up to 72 hpo numerous DNA-synthesizing cells appear there. In contrast to intact tissues, where vast majority of DNA-synthesizing cells are choanocytes, all 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine-labeled cells in the blastema are mesohyl cells. Intact tissues, distant from the wound, retains intact level of cell proliferation during whole regeneration process. For the first time, the apoptosis was studied during the regeneration of sponges. Two waves of apoptosis were detected during A. cavernicola regeneration: The first wave at 6-12 hpo and the second wave at 48-72 hpo.
Topics: Animals; Cell Differentiation; Cell Transdifferentiation; Porifera; Regeneration
PubMed: 31725194
DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22919 -
BMC Evolutionary Biology Apr 2016The Planar Cell Polarity pathway (PCP) has been described as the main feature involved in patterning cell orientation in bilaterian tissues. Recently, a similar...
BACKGROUND
The Planar Cell Polarity pathway (PCP) has been described as the main feature involved in patterning cell orientation in bilaterian tissues. Recently, a similar phenomenon was revealed in cnidarians, in which the inhibition of this pathway results in the absence of cilia orientation in larvae, consequently proving the functional conservation of PCP signaling between Cnidaria and Bilateria. Nevertheless, despite the growing accumulation of databases concerning basal lineages of metazoans, very few information concerning the existence of PCP components have been gathered outside of Bilateria and Cnidaria. Thus, the origin of this module or its prevalence in early emerging metazoans has yet to be elucidated.
RESULTS
The present study addresses this question by investigating the genomes and transcriptomes from all poriferan lineages in addition to Trichoplax (Placozoa) and Mnemiopsis (Ctenophora) genomes for the presence of the core components of this pathway. Our results confirm that several PCP components are metazoan innovations. In addition, we show that all members of the PCP pathway, including a bona fide Strabismus ortholog (Van gogh), are retrieved only in one sponge lineage (Homoscleromorpha) out of four. This highly suggests that the full PCP pathway dates back at least to the emergence of homoscleromorph sponges. Consequently, several secondary gene losses would have occurred in the three other poriferan lineages including Amphimedon queenslandica (Demospongiae). Several proteins were not retrieved either in placozoans or ctenophores leading us to discuss the difficulties to predict orthologous proteins in basally branching animals. Finally, we reveal how the study of multigene families may be helpful to unravel the relationships at the base of the metazoan tree.
CONCLUSION
The PCP pathway antedates the radiation of Porifera and may have arisen in the last common ancestor of animals. Oscarella species now appear as key organisms to understand the ancestral function of PCP signaling and its potential links with Wnt pathways.
Topics: Animals; Cell Polarity; Cnidaria; Ctenophora; Drosophila; Evolution, Molecular; Genome; Phylogeny; Porifera; Signal Transduction; Transcriptome
PubMed: 27039172
DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0641-0 -
Scientific Reports Nov 2017Acquisition of multicellularity is a central event in the evolution of Eukaryota. Strikingly, animal multicellularity coincides with the emergence of three intercellular...
Acquisition of multicellularity is a central event in the evolution of Eukaryota. Strikingly, animal multicellularity coincides with the emergence of three intercellular communication pathways - Notch, TGF-β and Wnt - all considered as hallmarks of metazoan development. By investigating Oopsacas minuta and Aphrocallistes vastus, we show here that the emergence of a syncytium and plugged junctions in glass sponges coincides with the loss of essential components of the Wnt signaling (i.e. Wntless, Wnt ligands and Disheveled), whereas core components of the TGF-β and Notch modules appear unaffected. This suggests that Wnt signaling is not essential for cell differentiation, polarity and morphogenesis in glass sponges. Beyond providing a comparative study of key developmental toolkits, we define here the first case of a metazoan phylum that maintained a level of complexity similar to its relatives despite molecular degeneration of Wnt pathways.
Topics: Animals; Models, Biological; Morphogenesis; Porifera; Transforming Growth Factor beta; Wnt Proteins; Wnt Signaling Pathway
PubMed: 29133828
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-15557-5 -
The International Journal of... 2018The evolution of multicellular organisms is generally thought (and seems likely) to have been accompanied by the evolution of a stem cell system. Sponges, some of the... (Review)
Review
The evolution of multicellular organisms is generally thought (and seems likely) to have been accompanied by the evolution of a stem cell system. Sponges, some of the early-evolved metazoans, have totipotent/pluripotent stem cells. Thus, uncovering the cellular and molecular bases of the sponge stem cells will not only be crucial for understanding the ancestral gene repertoire of animal stem cells, but will also give us clues to understanding the evolution of molecular mechanisms for maintaining multipotency (pluripotency) and differentiation ability during animal evolution. Sponges (Porifera) are a large phylum that includes an enormous number of species, whose cellular compositions and life cycles show striking variations. In the last decade, methodologies for molecular studies and sequencing resources have dramatically advanced and made it possible to clearly define stem cells in sponges in cellular and molecular terms. In this review, together with recent studies of sponges in various classes, the following issues will be discussed: i) recent findings that revealed that the previously proposed model that "archeocytes and choanocytes are the two types of stem cells" originally based on work in demosponges can be applied as a unified view of the stem cell system in sponges that have various cellular organizations, ii) the fact that sponge cells are more plastic than previously thought, as shown by recent studies of sponge regeneration both from dissociated cells and upon injury, and iii) the importance of transdifferentiation in sponge stem cell systems and regeneration.
Topics: Animals; Cell Differentiation; Cell Plasticity; Cell Transdifferentiation; Gene Expression Profiling; Homeostasis; Porifera; Regeneration; Reproduction; Stem Cells
PubMed: 29938763
DOI: 10.1387/ijdb.180016nf -
Scientific Reports Mar 2017From an evolutionary point of view, sponges are ideal targets to study marine symbioses as they are the most ancient living metazoans and harbour highly diverse...
From an evolutionary point of view, sponges are ideal targets to study marine symbioses as they are the most ancient living metazoans and harbour highly diverse microbial communities. A recently discovered association between the sponge Hemimycale columella and an intracellular bacterium that generates large amounts of calcite spherules has prompted speculation on the possible role of intracellular bacteria in the evolution of the skeleton in early animals. To gain insight into this purportedly ancestral symbiosis, we investigated the presence of symbiotic bacteria in Mediterranean and Caribbean sponges. We found four new calcibacteria OTUs belonging to the SAR116 in two orders (Poecilosclerida and Clionaida) and three families of Demospongiae, two additional OTUs in cnidarians and one more in seawater (at 98.5% similarity). Using a calcibacteria targeted probe and CARD-FISH, we also found calcibacteria in Spirophorida and Suberitida and proved that the calcifying bacteria accumulated at the sponge periphery, forming a skeletal cortex, analogous to that of siliceous microscleres in other demosponges. Bacteria-mediated skeletonization is spread in a range of phylogenetically distant species and thus the purported implication of bacteria in skeleton formation and evolution of early animals gains relevance.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Biodiversity; Calcification, Physiologic; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Oceans and Seas; Phylogeny; Porifera; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Seawater; Symbiosis
PubMed: 28262822
DOI: 10.1038/srep43674 -
Marine Pollution Bulletin Feb 2022Plastic waste is a ubiquitous form of marine pollution and recent studies have identified threats of plastic debris and the associated chemical compounds to wildlife....
Plastic waste is a ubiquitous form of marine pollution and recent studies have identified threats of plastic debris and the associated chemical compounds to wildlife. Sponges pump substantial quantities of water and are important in benthic-pelagic coupling, making them susceptible to interacting with such pollutants in the water column. Here, a method to detect common plastic-associated compounds including phthalates, a phthalate metabolite, bisphenol-A, and a brominated flame retardant in sponge tissue was developed. The method was applied to samples of Xestospongia muta and Niphates digitalis from a reef in the Florida Keys. All sponge samples had quantifiable levels of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, with trace levels of the associated metabolite detected in some N. digitalis samples. There was no quantifiable detection of bisphenol-A, or the brominated flame retardant. This work is a preliminary assessment of the relationship between plastic marine debris and marine sponges.
Topics: Animals; Flame Retardants; Phthalic Acids; Plastics; Porifera; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 34836639
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113141 -
Nature Jul 2021Since its discovery, the deep-sea glass sponge Euplectella aspergillum has attracted interest in its mechanical properties and beauty. Its skeletal system is composed of...
Since its discovery, the deep-sea glass sponge Euplectella aspergillum has attracted interest in its mechanical properties and beauty. Its skeletal system is composed of amorphous hydrated silica and is arranged in a highly regular and hierarchical cylindrical lattice that begets exceptional flexibility and resilience to damage. Structural analyses dominate the literature, but hydrodynamic fields that surround and penetrate the sponge have remained largely unexplored. Here we address an unanswered question: whether, besides improving its mechanical properties, the skeletal motifs of E. aspergillum underlie the optimization of the flow physics within and beyond its body cavity. We use extreme flow simulations based on the 'lattice Boltzmann' method, featuring over fifty billion grid points and spanning four spatial decades. These in silico experiments reproduce the hydrodynamic conditions on the deep-sea floor where E. aspergillum lives. Our results indicate that the skeletal motifs reduce the overall hydrodynamic stress and support coherent internal recirculation patterns at low flow velocity. These patterns are arguably beneficial to the organism for selective filter feeding and sexual reproduction. The present study reveals mechanisms of extraordinary adaptation to live in the abyss, paving the way towards further studies of this type at the intersection between fluid mechanics, organism biology and functional ecology.
Topics: Animals; Feeding Behavior; Hydrodynamics; Porifera; Reproduction; Rheology; Seawater
PubMed: 34290424
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03658-1 -
Briefings in Functional Genomics Sep 2016A key aim in evolutionary biology is to deduce ancestral states to better understand the evolutionary origins of clades of interest and the diversification process(es)... (Review)
Review
A key aim in evolutionary biology is to deduce ancestral states to better understand the evolutionary origins of clades of interest and the diversification process(es) that has/have elaborated them. These ancestral deductions can hit difficulties when undetected loss events are misinterpreted as ancestral absences. With the ever-increasing amounts of animal genomic sequence data, we are gaining a much clearer view of the preponderance of differential gene losses across animal lineages. This has become particularly clear with recent progress in our understanding of the origins of the Hox/ParaHox developmental control genes relative to the earliest branching lineages of the animal kingdom: the sponges (Porifera), comb jellies (Ctenophora) and placozoans (Placozoa). These reassessments of the diversity and complexity of developmental control genes in the earliest animal ancestors need to go hand-in-hand with complementary advances in comparative morphology, phylogenetics and palaeontology to clarify our understanding of the complexity of the last common ancestor of all animals. The field is currently undergoing a shift from the traditional consensus of a sponge-like animal ancestor from which morphological and molecular elaboration subsequently evolved, to a scenario of a more complex animal ancestor, with subsequent losses and simplifications in various lineages.
Topics: Animals; Evolution, Molecular; Gene Expression Regulation; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Genes, Homeobox; Genome; Porifera
PubMed: 26637506
DOI: 10.1093/bfgp/elv056