Search results for "Suberites"
showing 10 items of 135 documents
Functional Molecular Biodiversity: Assessing the Immune Status of Two Sponge Populations (Suberites domuncula) on the Molecular Level
2004
. Porifera (sponges) are sessile filter feeders living primarily in the marine environment. In this study the population diversity of one species, the demosponge Suberites domuncula, has been investigated in an isolated area, the Limski Canal (LC) near Rovinj (Croatia; Mediterranean Sea), in comparison to that in the open sea (OS), only 10–20 km apart from the LC. The immune competence of the S. domuncula specimens was studied in response to exposure to the bacterial endotoxin LPS. The level of phosphorylation of the p38 kinase from specimens collected in LC is significantly lower than that of OS animals. To confirm the biochemical data on the molecular level, the technique of identificati…
Sponges (Porifera) model systems to study the shift from immortal to senescent somatic cells: the telomerase activity in somatic cells.
1998
Abstract Sponges (Porifera) represent the lowest metazoan phylum, characterized by a pronounced plasticity in the determination of cell lineages. In a first approach to elucidate the molecular mechanisms controlling the switch from the cell lineage with a putative indefinite growth capacity to senescent, somatic cells, the activity of the telomerase as an indicator for immortality has been determined. The studies were performed with the marine demosponges Suberites domuncula and Geodia cydonium . It was found that the activity for the telomerase in the tissue of both sponges is high; a quantitative analysis revealed that the extract from S. domuncula contained 10.3 TPG units per 5000 cell e…
Bauplan of Urmetazoa: Basis for Genetic Complexity of Metazoa
2004
Sponges were first grouped to the animal-plants or plant-animals then to the Zoophyta or Mesozoa and finally to the Parazoa. Only after the application of molecular biological techniques was it possible to place the Porifera monophyletically with the other metazoan phyla, justifying a unification of all multicellular animals to only one kingdom, the Metazoa. The first strong support came from the discovery that cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion molecules that were cloned from sponges and were subsequently expressed share a high DNA sequence and protein function similarity with the corresponding molecules of other metazoans. Besides these evolutionary novelties for Metazoa, sponges also hav…
Suppression of allograft rejection in the sponge Suberites domuncula by FK506 and expression of genes encoding FK506-binding proteins in allografts.
2001
SUMMARY Porifera (sponges) are, evolutionarily, the oldest metazoan phylum. Recent molecular data suggest that these animals possess molecules similar to and homologous with those of the innate and adaptive immune systems of higher Metazoa. Applying the biological system of parabiosis and the technique of differential display of mRNA, two cDNAs encoding putative FK506-binding proteins were isolated. FK506 is successfully used in clinics as a drug to prevent allograft rejection and is toxic to Suberites domuncula cells in vitro at doses above 100ng ml−1. Autograft fusion of transplants from S. domuncula was not affected by FK506. Allograft non-fusion was not affected by FK506 at toxic doses;…
Origin of metazoan adhesion molecules and adhesion receptors as deduced from cDNA analyses in the marine sponge Geodia cydonium: a review.
1997
The phylogenetic relationships of the kingdom Animalia (Metazoa) have long been questioned. Whether the lowest eukaryotic multicellular organisms, the metazoan phylum Porifera (sponges), independently evolved multicellularity from a separate protist lineage (polyphyly of animals) or whether they were derived from the same protist group as the other animal phyla (monophyly) remains unclear. Analyses of the genes that are typical for multicellularity, e.g. those coding for adhesion molecules (galectin) and adhesion receptors (receptor tyrosine kinase, integrin receptor, receptors featuring scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domains) or elements involved in signal transduction pathways (G-protei…
Differentiation capacity of epithelial cells in the sponge Suberites domuncula.
2004
Sponges (phylum Porifera) represent the oldest metazoans. Their characteristic metazoan adhesion molecules and transcription factors enable them to establish a complex "Bauplan" ; three major differentiated cell types (epithelial cells, skeletal cells/sclerocytes, and contractile cells) can be distinguished. Since no molecular markers are as yet available to distinguish these somatic cells or the corresponding embryonic cells from which they originate, we have selected the following three genes for their characterization: noggin (a signaling molecule in development), a caspase that encodes an apoptotic molecule, and silicatein. Silicatein is an enzyme that is involved in the synthesis of si…
Histochemical and electron microscopic analysis of spiculogenesis in the demosponge Suberites domuncula.
2006
The skeleton of demosponges is built of spicules consisting of biosilica. Using the primmorph system from Suberites domuncula, we demonstrate that silicatein, the biosilica-synthesizing enzyme, and silicase, the catabolic enzyme, are colocalized at the surface of growing spicules as well as in the axial filament located in the axial canal. It is assumed that these two enzymes are responsible for the deposition of biosilica. In search of additional potential structural molecules that might guide the mineralization process during spiculogenesis to species-specific spicules, electron microscopic studies with antibodies against galectin and silicatein were performed. These studies showed that …
Genome size and chromosomes in marine sponges [Suberites domuncula, Geodia cydonium]
1995
The genome size of the marine sponges Suberites domuncula and Geodia cydonium has been determined by flow cytofluorometric analysis using diamidino-phenylindole [DAPI]. Using human lymphocytes as reference the amount of DNA in cells from S. domuncula has been determined to be 3.7 pg and that of G. cydonium 3.3 pg. While no chromosomes could be identified in G. cydonium, the karyotype of the Suberites domuncula is 32 chromosomes in the diploid state. The size of the chromosomes was between 0.25 and 1.0 micron. No pronounced banding pattern was visible.
Innate Immune Defense of the Sponge Suberites domuncula against Bacteria Involves a MyD88-dependent Signaling Pathway
2005
Sponges (phylum Porifera) are the phylogenetically oldest metazoa; as filter feeders, they are abundantly exposed to marine microorganisms. Here we present data indicating that the demosponge Suberites domuncula is provided with a recognition system for Gram-negative bacteria. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-interacting protein was identified as a receptor on the sponge cell surface, which recognizes the bacterial endotoxin LPS. The cDNA was isolated, and the protein (Mr 49,937) was expressed. During binding to LPS, the protein dimerizes and interacts with MyD88, which was also identified and cloned. The sponge MyD88 (Mr 28,441) is composed of two protein interaction domains, a Toll/interleuki…
On the origin of Metazoan adhesion receptors: cloning of integrin alpha subunit from the sponge Geodia cydonium
1997
Integrins are prominent receptors known from vertebrates and the higher phyla of invertebrates. Until now, no evidence has been provided for the existence of integrins in the lowest Metazoa, the sponges (Porifera). We have isolated and characterized a cDNA clone encoding the alpha subunit of integrin from the marine sponge Geodia cydonium (GCINTEG). The open reading frame encodes a polypeptide of 1,086 residues (118 kDa). The intracellular domain features the sequence Tyr-Phe-x-Gly-Phe-Phe-x-Arg, which is different in one residue from the characteristic consensus pattern for integrin alpha subunits. We conclude that sponges, the oldest multicellular animal phylum, already utilize the struct…