Molecular markers for germ cell differentiation in the demosponge Suberites domuncula

Perović-Ottstadt, Sanja; Ćetković, Helena; Gamulin, Vera; Schröder, Heinz C.; Kropf, Klaus; Moss, Claire; Korzhev, Michael; Diehl‐Seifert, Bärbel; Müller, Isabel M.; Müller, Werner

doi:10.1387/ijdb.041813sp

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…The expression of a sperm associated antigen (Spag) in the known regions of gametogenesis in a sponge [60], for example, suggests a highly conserved function of Spag proteins throughout the Metazoa. Support for this hypothesis has to come from functional studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Insights into Placozoan Sexual Reproduction and Development

Eitel

Guidi²,

Hadrys

et al. 2011

PLoS ONE

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Unraveling animal life cycles and embryonic development is basic to understanding animal biology and often sheds light on phylogenetic relationships. A key group for understanding the evolution of the Metazoa is the early branching phylum Placozoa, which has attracted rapidly increasing attention. Despite over a hundred years of placozoan research the life cycle of this enigmatic phylum remains unknown. Placozoa are a unique model system for which the nuclear genome was published before the basic biology (i.e. life cycle and development) has been unraveled. Four organismal studies have reported the development of oocytes and one genetic study has nourished the hypothesis of sexual reproduction in natural populations at least in the past. Here we report new observations on sexual reproduction and embryonic development in the Placozoa and support the hypothesis of current sexual reproduction. The regular observation of oocytes and expressed sperm markers provide support that placozoans reproduce sexually in the field. Using whole genome and EST sequences and additional cDNA cloning we identified five conserved sperm markers, characteristic for different stages in spermatogenesis. We also report details on the embryonic development up to a 128-cell stage and new ultrastructural features occurring during early development. These results suggest that sperm and oocyte generation and maturation occur in different placozoans and that clonal lineages reproduce bisexually in addition to the standard mode of vegetative reproduction. The sum of observations is best congruent with the hypothesis of a simple life cycle with an alternation of reproductive modes between bisexual and vegetative reproduction.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Insights into Placozoan Sexual Reproduction and Development

Eitel

Guidi²,

Hadrys

et al. 2011

PLoS ONE

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“…domuncula specimens live in the sea in a depth of 15e25 m on sandy to muddy ground. This species is growing commensally with a hermit crab (Pagurites oculatus [Decapoda: Paguridea], which resides predominantly in shells of the mollusk Trunculariopsis trunculus [Gastropoda: Muricidae]); Perović-Ottstadt et al (2004).…”

Section: Animals and Cell Cultures Of S Domunculamentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation and characterization of Wnt pathway‐related genes from Porifera

Adell

Thakur

Müller

2007

Cell Biology International

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The Wnt signal acts by binding to Frizzled receptors, with the subsequent activation of two different signal transduction cascades, the canonical and the non-canonical Wnt pathways, involved in cell growth, differentiation, migration and fate. The canonical pathway functions through the translocation of beta-catenin to the nucleus and the activation of TCF/LEF transcription factors; it plays an important role in developmental patterning and cell fate decisions during embryogenesis. The non-canonical Wnt pathway is responsible for the planar cell polarity process in invertebrates, and for the convergent-extension movements during vertebrate gastrulation. The final effect of the non-canonical Wnt pathway is the rearrangement of the cell cytoskeleton, through the activation of the subfamily of Ras-like small GTPases. In a recent report we described for the first time the isolation of a Wnt-related gene, Sd-Frizzled, from the most basal animal phylum, the Porifera. In the present study we report the isolation and phylogenetic characterization of several Wnt pathway-related genes from the sponge Suberites domuncula: Sd-TCF/LEF, Sd-GSK3, a recently discovered molecule with a putative function as a Wnt regulator (Sd-LZIC), the small Rho GTPases Sd-RhoA, Sd-Cdc42, and their effector Sd-mrlc. Also the isolation of a secreted frizzled related protein sFRP from another sponge species (Lubomirskia baicalensis) is reported.

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“…AJ620112) and 28S rRNA (GenBank accession no. AJ620113) from S. domuncula were already reported (Perovic-Ottstadt et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%