{"title":"The significance of sponges for comparative studies of developmental evolution","authors":"J. Colgren, S. Nichols","doi":"10.1002/wdev.359","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Sponges, ctenophores, placozoans, and cnidarians have key evolutionary significance in that they bracket the time interval during which organized animal tissues were first assembled, fundamental cell types originated (e.g., neurons and myocytes), and developmental patterning mechanisms evolved. Sponges in particular have often been viewed as living surrogates for early animal ancestors, largely due to similarities between their feeding cells (choanocytes) with choanoflagellates, the unicellular/colony‐forming sister group to animals. Here, we evaluate these claims and highlight aspects of sponge biology with comparative value for understanding developmental evolution, irrespective of the purported antiquity of their body plan. Specifically, we argue that sponges strike a different balance between patterning and plasticity than other animals, and that environmental inputs may have prominence over genetically regulated developmental mechanisms. We then present a case study to illustrate how contractile epithelia in sponges can help unravel the complex ancestry of an ancient animal cell type, myocytes, which sponges lack. Sponges represent hundreds of millions of years of largely unexamined evolutionary experimentation within animals. Their phylogenetic placement lends them key significance for learning about the past, and their divergent biology challenges current views about the scope of animal cell and developmental biology.","PeriodicalId":23630,"journal":{"name":"Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Developmental Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1002/wdev.359","citationCount":"9","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Developmental Biology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wdev.359","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 9
Abstract
Sponges, ctenophores, placozoans, and cnidarians have key evolutionary significance in that they bracket the time interval during which organized animal tissues were first assembled, fundamental cell types originated (e.g., neurons and myocytes), and developmental patterning mechanisms evolved. Sponges in particular have often been viewed as living surrogates for early animal ancestors, largely due to similarities between their feeding cells (choanocytes) with choanoflagellates, the unicellular/colony‐forming sister group to animals. Here, we evaluate these claims and highlight aspects of sponge biology with comparative value for understanding developmental evolution, irrespective of the purported antiquity of their body plan. Specifically, we argue that sponges strike a different balance between patterning and plasticity than other animals, and that environmental inputs may have prominence over genetically regulated developmental mechanisms. We then present a case study to illustrate how contractile epithelia in sponges can help unravel the complex ancestry of an ancient animal cell type, myocytes, which sponges lack. Sponges represent hundreds of millions of years of largely unexamined evolutionary experimentation within animals. Their phylogenetic placement lends them key significance for learning about the past, and their divergent biology challenges current views about the scope of animal cell and developmental biology.
期刊介绍:
Developmental biology is concerned with the fundamental question of how a single cell, the fertilized egg, ultimately produces a complex, fully patterned adult organism. This problem is studied on many different biological levels, from the molecular to the organismal. Developed in association with the Society for Developmental Biology, WIREs Developmental Biology will provide a unique interdisciplinary forum dedicated to fostering excellence in research and education and communicating key advances in this important field. The collaborative and integrative ethos of the WIREs model will facilitate connections to related disciplines such as genetics, systems biology, bioengineering, and psychology.
The topical coverage of WIREs Developmental Biology includes: Establishment of Spatial and Temporal Patterns; Gene Expression and Transcriptional Hierarchies; Signaling Pathways; Early Embryonic Development; Invertebrate Organogenesis; Vertebrate Organogenesis; Nervous System Development; Birth Defects; Adult Stem Cells, Tissue Renewal and Regeneration; Cell Types and Issues Specific to Plants; Comparative Development and Evolution; and Technologies.