A post-synaptic scaffold at the origin of the animal kingdom.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The evolution of complex sub-cellular structures such as the synapse requires the assembly of multiple proteins, each conferring added functionality to the integrated structure. Tracking the early evolution of synapses has not been possible without genomic information from the earliest branching animals. As the closest extant relatives to the Eumetazoa, Porifera (sponges) represent a pivotal group for understanding the evolution of nervous systems, because sponges lack neurons with clearly recognizable synapses, in contrast to eumetazoan animals.

Methodology/principal findings

We show that the genome of the demosponge Amphimedon queenslandica possesses a nearly complete set of post-synaptic protein homologs whose conserved interaction motifs suggest assembly into

SUBMITTER: Sakarya O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1876816 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature