biostudies-literatureUnknown25(1)Nouri RUniversity of North Carolina at CharlotteCollagenous connective tissue, found throughout the bodies of metazoans, plays a crucial role in maintaining structural integrity. This versatile tissue has the potential for numerous biomedical applications, including the development of innovative collagen-based biomaterials. Inspiration for such advancements can be drawn from echinoderms, a group of marine invertebrates that includes sea stars, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, sea urchins, and sea lilies. Through their nervous system, these organisms can reversibly control the pliability of their connective tissue components (i.e., tendons and ligaments) that are composed of mutable collagenous tissue (MCT). The variable tensile properties of the MCT allow echinoderms to perform unique functions, including postural maintenance, reduction ofBMC genomics1013https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11520437biostudies-literatureUnveiling putative modulators of mutable collagenous tissue in the brittle star Ophiomastix wendtii: an RNA-Seq analysis.PMC11520437Harris ATaylor WJacob Machado DReid RWNouri RJanies DNew GMashanov VfalseUnveiling putative modulators of mutable collagenous tissue in the brittle star Ophiomastix wendtii: an RNA-Seq analysis.Collagenous connective tissue, found throughout the bodies of metazoans, plays a crucial role in maintaining structural integrity. This versatile tissue has the potential for numerous biomedical applications, including the development of innovative collagen-based biomaterials. Inspiration for such advancements can be drawn from echinoderms, a group of marine invertebrates that includes sea stars, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, sea urchins, and sea lilies. Through their nervous system, these organisms can reversibly control the pliability of their connective tissue components (i.e., tendons and ligaments) that are composed of mutable collagenous tissue (MCT). The variable tensile properties of the MCT allow echinoderms to perform unique functions, including postural maintenance, reduction of2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Oct2026-07-09T10:42:31.336Z2025-04-21T21:45:32.637ZS-EPMC115204373947282610.1186/s12864-024-10926-7