Silica-associated proteins from hexactinellid sponges support an alternative evolutionary scenario for biomineralization in Porifera.

ABSTRACT: Metazoans use silicon traces but rarely develop extensive silica skeletons, except for the early-diverging lineage of sponges. The mechanisms underlying metazoan silicification remain incompletely understood, despite significant biotechnological and evolutionary implications. Here, the characterization of two proteins identified from hexactinellid sponge silica, hexaxilin and perisilin, supports that the three classes of siliceous sponges (Hexactinellida, Demospongiae, and Homoscleromorpha) use independent protein machineries to build their skeletons, which become non-homologous structures. Hexaxilin forms the axial filament to intracellularly pattern the main symmetry of the skeletal parts, while perisilin appears to operate in their thickening, guiding extracellular deposition of periphe

SUBMITTER: Shimizu K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10772126 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature