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Science (New York, N.Y.) Nov 2021The evolutionary origin of metazoan cell types such as neurons and muscles is not known. Using whole-body single-cell RNA sequencing in a sponge, an animal without...
The evolutionary origin of metazoan cell types such as neurons and muscles is not known. Using whole-body single-cell RNA sequencing in a sponge, an animal without nervous system and musculature, we identified 18 distinct cell types. These include nitric oxide–sensitive contractile pinacocytes, amoeboid phagocytes, and secretory neuroid cells that reside in close contact with digestive choanocytes that express scaffolding and receptor proteins. Visualizing neuroid cells by correlative x-ray and electron microscopy revealed secretory vesicles and cellular projections enwrapping choanocyte microvilli and cilia. Our data show a communication system that is organized around sponge digestive chambers, using conserved modules that became incorporated into the pre- and postsynapse in the nervous systems of other animals.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Cell Communication; Cell Surface Extensions; Cilia; Digestive System; Mesoderm; Nervous System; Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; Nitric Oxide; Porifera; RNA-Seq; Secretory Vesicles; Signal Transduction; Single-Cell Analysis; Transcriptome
PubMed: 34735222
DOI: 10.1126/science.abj2949 -
Nature Sep 2021PIWI proteins use PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) to identify and silence transposable elements and thereby maintain genome integrity between metazoan generations. The...
PIWI proteins use PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) to identify and silence transposable elements and thereby maintain genome integrity between metazoan generations. The targeting of transposable elements by PIWI has been compared to mRNA target recognition by Argonaute proteins, which use microRNA (miRNA) guides, but the extent to which piRNAs resemble miRNAs is not known. Here we present cryo-electron microscopy structures of a PIWI-piRNA complex from the sponge Ephydatia fluviatilis with and without target RNAs, and a biochemical analysis of target recognition. Mirroring Argonaute, PIWI identifies targets using the piRNA seed region. However, PIWI creates a much weaker seed so that stable target association requires further piRNA-target pairing, making piRNAs less promiscuous than miRNAs. Beyond the seed, the structure of PIWI facilitates piRNA-target pairing in a manner that is tolerant of mismatches, leading to long-lived PIWI-piRNA-target interactions that may accumulate on transposable-element transcripts. PIWI ensures targeting fidelity by physically blocking the propagation of piRNA-target interactions in the absence of faithful seed pairing, and by requiring an extended piRNA-target duplex to reach an endonucleolytically active conformation. PIWI proteins thereby minimize off-targeting cellular mRNAs while defending against evolving genomic threats.
Topics: Animals; Argonaute Proteins; Cryoelectron Microscopy; Models, Molecular; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Porifera; RNA, Small Interfering; Substrate Specificity
PubMed: 34471284
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03856-x -
MBio Apr 2016A paradigm shift has recently transformed the field of biological science; molecular advances have revealed how fundamentally important microorganisms are to many... (Review)
Review
A paradigm shift has recently transformed the field of biological science; molecular advances have revealed how fundamentally important microorganisms are to many aspects of a host's phenotype and evolution. In the process, an era of "holobiont" research has emerged to investigate the intricate network of interactions between a host and its symbiotic microbial consortia. Marine sponges are early-diverging metazoa known for hosting dense, specific, and often highly diverse microbial communities. Here we synthesize current thoughts about the environmental and evolutionary forces that influence the diversity, specificity, and distribution of microbial symbionts within the sponge holobiont, explore the physiological pathways that contribute to holobiont function, and describe the molecular mechanisms that underpin the establishment and maintenance of these symbiotic partnerships. The collective genomes of the sponge holobiont form the sponge hologenome, and we highlight how the forces that define a sponge's phenotype in fact act on the genomic interplay between the different components of the holobiont.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; Genome, Bacterial; Microbial Consortia; Porifera; Symbiosis
PubMed: 27103626
DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00135-16 -
Marine Drugs Mar 2018The biosynthesis, structural diversity, and functionality of collagens of sponge origin are still paradigms and causes of scientific controversy. This review has the... (Review)
Review
The biosynthesis, structural diversity, and functionality of collagens of sponge origin are still paradigms and causes of scientific controversy. This review has the ambitious goal of providing thorough and comprehensive coverage of poriferan collagens as a multifaceted topic with intriguing hypotheses and numerous challenging open questions. The structural diversity, chemistry, and biochemistry of collagens in sponges are analyzed and discussed here. Special attention is paid to spongins, collagen IV-related proteins, fibrillar collagens from demosponges, and collagens from glass sponge skeletal structures. The review also focuses on prospects and trends in applications of sponge collagens for technology, materials science and biomedicine.
Topics: Animals; Biological Products; Collagen; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Porifera; Tissue Scaffolds
PubMed: 29510493
DOI: 10.3390/md16030079 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2022
Topics: Animals; Cnidaria; Immunity, Innate; Porifera
PubMed: 35173730
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.816550 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2021The islands of the South Pacific Ocean have been in the limelight for natural product biodiscovery, due to their unique and pristine tropical waters and environment. The... (Review)
Review
The islands of the South Pacific Ocean have been in the limelight for natural product biodiscovery, due to their unique and pristine tropical waters and environment. The Kingdom of Tonga is an archipelago in the central Indo-Pacific Ocean, consisting of 176 islands, 36 of which are inhabited, flourishing with a rich diversity of flora and fauna. Many unique natural products with interesting bioactivities have been reported from Indo-Pacific marine sponges and other invertebrate phyla; however, there have not been any reviews published to date specifically regarding natural products from Tongan marine organisms. This review covers both known and new/novel Marine Natural Products (MNPs) and their biological activities reported from organisms collected within Tongan territorial waters up to December 2020, and includes 109 MNPs in total, the majority from the phylum Porifera. The significant biological activity of these metabolites was dominated by cytotoxicity and, by reviewing these natural products, it is apparent that the bulk of the new and interesting biologically active compounds were from organisms collected from one particular island, emphasizing the geographic variability in the chemistry between these organisms collected at different locations.
Topics: Animals; Aquatic Organisms; Biodiversity; Biological Products; Drug Discovery; Pacific Ocean; Porifera; Secondary Metabolism; Tonga; Tropical Climate
PubMed: 34361690
DOI: 10.3390/molecules26154534 -
Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry Dec 2017This review discusses the chemistry of cyclic azole-homologated peptides (AHPs) from the marine sponges, Theonella swinhoei, other Theonella species, Calyx spp. and... (Review)
Review
This review discusses the chemistry of cyclic azole-homologated peptides (AHPs) from the marine sponges, Theonella swinhoei, other Theonella species, Calyx spp. and Plakina jamaicensis. The origin, distribution of AHPs and molecular structure elucidations of AHPs are described followed by their biosynthesis, bioactivity, and synthetic efforts towards their total synthesis. Reports of partial and total synthesis of AHPs extend beyond peptide coupling reactions and include creative construction of the non-proteinogenic amino acid components, mainly the homologated heteroaromatic and α-keto-β-amino acids. A useful conclusion is drawn regarding AHPs: despite their rarity, exotic structures and the potent protease inhibitory properties of some members, their synthesis is under-developed and beckons solutions for outstanding problems towards their efficient assembly.
Topics: Animals; Azoles; Molecular Conformation; Peptides; Porifera
PubMed: 29210421
DOI: 10.1039/c7ob02628e -
Trends in Ecology & Evolution May 2015Animal evolution is often presented as a march toward complexity, with different living animal groups each representing grades of organization that arose through the... (Review)
Review
Animal evolution is often presented as a march toward complexity, with different living animal groups each representing grades of organization that arose through the progressive acquisition of complex traits. There are now many reasons to reject this classical hypothesis. Not only is it incompatible with recent phylogenetic analyses, but it is also an artifact of 'hidden biology', that is, blind spots to complex traits in non-model species. A new hypothesis of animal evolution, where many complex traits have been repeatedly gained and lost, is emerging. As we discuss here, key details of this new model hinge on a better understanding of the Porifera and Ctenophora, which have each been hypothesized to be sister to all other animals, but are poorly studied and often misrepresented.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Ctenophora; Phylogeny; Porifera
PubMed: 25840473
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.03.003 -
International Journal of Molecular... Aug 2021Ferritins comprise a conservative family of proteins found in all species and play an essential role in resistance to redox stress, immune response, and cell...
Ferritins comprise a conservative family of proteins found in all species and play an essential role in resistance to redox stress, immune response, and cell differentiation. Sponges (Porifera) are the oldest Metazoa that show unique plasticity and regenerative potential. Here, we characterize the ferritins of two cold-water sponges using proteomics, spectral microscopy, and bioinformatic analysis. The recently duplicated conservative and atypical genes were found in the genome. Multiple related transcripts of were identified in the transcriptome. Expression of was much higher than that of in all annual seasons and regulated differently during the sponge dissociation/reaggregation. The presence of the MRE and HRE motifs in the and promotor regions and the IRE motif in mRNAs of and indicates that sponge ferritins expression depends on the cellular iron and oxygen levels. The gel electrophoresis combined with specific staining and mass spectrometry confirmed the presence of ferric ions and ferritins in multi-subunit complexes. The 3D modeling predicts the iron-binding capacity of HdF1 and HpF1 at the ferroxidase center and the absence of iron-binding in atypical HdF2. Interestingly, atypical ferritins lacking iron-binding capacity were found in genomes of many invertebrate species. Their function deserves further research.
Topics: Animals; Conserved Sequence; Ferritins; Iron; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Models, Molecular; Phylogeny; Porifera; Protein Domains; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Transcriptome
PubMed: 34445356
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22168635 -
PloS One 2012With the completion of a single unified classification, the Systema Porifera (SP) and subsequent development of an online species database, the World Porifera Database... (Review)
Review
With the completion of a single unified classification, the Systema Porifera (SP) and subsequent development of an online species database, the World Porifera Database (WPD), we are now equipped to provide a first comprehensive picture of the global biodiversity of the Porifera. An introductory overview of the four classes of the Porifera is followed by a description of the structure of our main source of data for this paper, the WPD. From this we extracted numbers of all 'known' sponges to date: the number of valid Recent sponges is established at 8,553, with the vast majority, 83%, belonging to the class Demospongiae. We also mapped for the first time the species richness of a comprehensive set of marine ecoregions of the world, data also extracted from the WPD. Perhaps not surprisingly, these distributions appear to show a strong bias towards collection and taxonomy efforts. Only when species richness is accumulated into large marine realms does a pattern emerge that is also recognized in many other marine animal groups: high numbers in tropical regions, lesser numbers in the colder parts of the world oceans. Preliminary similarity analysis of a matrix of species and marine ecoregions extracted from the WPD failed to yield a consistent hierarchical pattern of ecoregions into marine provinces. Global sponge diversity information is mostly generated in regional projects and resources: results obtained demonstrate that regional approaches to analytical biogeography are at present more likely to achieve insights into the biogeographic history of sponges than a global perspective, which appears currently too ambitious. We also review information on invasive sponges that might well have some influence on distribution patterns of the future.
Topics: Animals; Biodiversity; Databases, Factual; Demography; Oceans and Seas; Porifera; Species Specificity
PubMed: 22558119
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035105