Origin of Metazoa: Sponges as Living Fossils |
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Authors: | Werner E G Müller |
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Institution: | Akademie gemeinnütziger Wissenschaften zu Erfurt, Dacher?densches Haus, D-99015 Erfurt, Germany, DE
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Abstract: | Geodia cydonium , which code for proteins. The analyses of their deduced amino acid sequences allowed a molecular biological approach to solve
the problem of monophyly of Metazoa. Molecules of the extracellular matrix/basal lamina, with the integrin receptor, fibronectin,
and galectin as prominent examples, cell-surface receptors (tyrosine kinase receptor), elements of sensory systems (crystallin,
metabotropic glutamate receptor), and homologs/modules of an immune system (immunoglobulin like molecules, scavenger receptor
cysteine-rich, and short consensus repeats, rhesus system) classify the Porifera as true Metazoa. As living fossils, provided
with simple, primordial molecules allowing cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion as well as processes of signal transduction
as known in a more complex manner from higher Metazoa, they also show peculiarities not known in other metazoan phyla. Tissues
of sponges are rich in telomerase activity, suggesting a high plasticity in the determination of cell lineages. It is concluded
that molecular biological studies with sponges as model will not only help to understand the evolution of Protoctista to Metazoa
but also the complex, hierarchial regulatory network of cells in higher Metazoa. |
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