Evolution of mechanisms controlling epithelial morphogenesis across animals: new insights from dissociation-reaggregation experiments in the sponge Oscarella lobularis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The ancestral presence of epithelia in Metazoa is no longer debated. Porifera seem to be one of the best candidates to be the sister group to all other Metazoa. This makes them a key taxon to explore cell-adhesion evolution on animals. For this reason, several transcriptomic, genomic, histological, physiological and biochemical studies focused on sponge epithelia. Nevertheless, the complete and precise protein composition of cell-cell junctions and mechanisms that regulate epithelial morphogenetic processes still remain at the center of attention.

Results

To get insights into the early evolution of epithelial morphogenesis, we focused on morphogenic characteristics of the homoscleromorph sponge Oscarella lobularis. Homoscleromorpha are a sponge class with a typica

SUBMITTER: Vernale A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8380372 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature