Distinct histomorphology for growth arrest and digitate outgrowth in cultivated Haliclona sp. (Porifera: Demospongiae).

The use of sponges in biotechnological processes is limited by the supply problem, and sponge biomass production is becoming a current topic of research. The distinction between characteristics for growth and growth arrest is also important for environmental monitoring. In this study, we analyze the morphology of the digitate outgrowths from the sponge Haliclona sp.

Cellular migration, transition and interaction during regeneration of the sponge Hymeniacidon heliophila.

Sponges have a high capacity for regeneration and this process improves biomass production in some species, thus contributing to a solution for the biomass supply problem for biotechnological applications. The aim of this work is to characterize the dynamics of cell behavior during the initial stages of sponge regeneration, using bright-field microscopy, confocal microscopy and SEM. We focused on the first 20 h of regeneration, during which blastema formation and epithelium initialization occur.

Evaluation of differential protein expression in Haliclona aquarius and sponge-associated microorganisms under cadmium stress.

A comparative proteomic approach was used to assess differentially expressed proteins in marine sponges after 36 h of exposure to cadmium (Cd). After separation performed by 2-D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, 46 protein spots indicated differential expression, and 17 of these proteins were identified by electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. From the proteins identified, 76% were attributed to sponge-associated microorganisms (fungi and bacteria), and 24% were attributed to Haliclona aquarius.

Sulfated polysaccharides from marine sponges: conspicuous distribution among different cell types and involvement on formation of in vitro cell aggregates.

Marine sponges (Porifera) display an ancestral type of cell-cell adhesion, based on carbohydrate-carbohydrate interaction. The aim of the present work was to investigate further details of this adhesion by using, as a model, the in vitro aggregation of dissociated sponge cells. Our results showed the participation of sulfated polysaccharides in this cell-cell interaction, as based on the following observations: (1) a variety of sponge cells contained similar sulfated polysaccharides as surface-associated molecules and as intracellular inclusions; (2) (35)S-sulfate metabolic labeling of dissociated sponge cells revealed that the majority (two thirds) of the total sulfated polysaccharide occurred as a cell-surface-associated molecule; (3) the aggregation process of dissociated sponge cells demanded the active de novo synthesis of sulfated polysaccharides, which ceased as cell aggregation reached a plateau; (4) the typical well-organized aggregates of sponge cells, known as primmorphs, contained three cell types showing sulfated polysaccharides on their cell surface; (5) collagen fibrils were also produced by the primmorphs in order to fill the extracellular spaces of their inner portion and the external layer surrounding their entire surface.

Sulfated polysaccharides from marine sponges (Porifera): an ancestor cell-cell adhesion event based on the carbohydrate-carbohydrate interaction.

Marine sponges (Porifera) are ancient and simple eumetazoans. They constitute key organisms in the evolution from unicellular to multicellular animals. We now demonstrated that pure sulfated polysaccharides from marine sponges are responsible for the species-specific cell-cell interaction in these invertebrates.

Early steps in the evolution of multicellularity: deep structural and functional homologies among homeobox genes in sponges and higher metazoans.

The sponge homeobox gene EmH-3 had not been attributed to any homeobox family. Comparative promoter and homeodomain sequence analyses suggest that it is related to the Hox11 gene, which belongs to the Tlx homeobox family. Hox11 is highly expressed in proliferating progenitor cells, but expression is downregulated during cell differentiation.