Evolutionary origins of germline segregation in Metazoa: evidence for a germ stem cell lineage in the coral Orbicella faveolata (Cnidaria, Anthozoa).

ABSTRACT: The ability to segregate a committed germ stem cell (GSC) lineage distinct from somatic cell lineages is a characteristic of bilaterian Metazoans. However, the occurrence of GSC lineage specification in basally branching Metazoan phyla, such as Cnidaria, is uncertain. Without an independently segregated GSC lineage, germ cells and their precursors must be specified throughout adulthood from continuously dividing somatic stem cells, generating the risk of propagating somatic mutations within the individual and its gametes. To address the potential for existence of a GSC lineage in Anthozoa, the sister-group to all remaining Cnidaria, we identified moderate- to high-frequency somatic mutations and their potential for gametic transfer in the long-lived coral Orbicella faveolata (Anthozoa, Cni

SUBMITTER: Barfield S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4721087 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature