Publication Date
7-12-2016
Document Type
Article
Organizational Units
College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Biological Sciences
Keywords
Microvillus, Versatile organelle, Vertebrate, Freshwater sponge, Gene homologs, Choanocytes
Abstract
Background
The microvillus is a versatile organelle that serves important functions in disparate animal cell types. However, from a molecular perspective, the microvillus has been well studied in only a few, predominantly vertebrate, contexts. Little is known about how differences in microvillar structure contribute to differences in function, and how these differences evolved. We sequenced the transcriptome of the freshwater sponge, Ephydatia muelleri, and examined the expression of vertebrate microvillar gene homologs in choanocytes—the only microvilli-bearing cell type present in sponges. Sponges offer a distant phylogenetic comparison with vertebrates, and choanocytes are central to discussions about early animal evolution due to their similarity with choanoflagellates, the single-celled sister lineage of modern animals.
Results
We found that, from a genomic perspective, sponges have conserved homologs of most vertebrate microvillar genes, most of which are expressed in choanocytes, and many of which exhibit choanocyte-specific or choanocyte-enriched expression. Possible exceptions include the cadherins that form intermicrovillar links in the enterocyte brush border and hair cell stereocilia of vertebrates and cnidarians. No obvious orthologs of these proteins were detected in sponges, but at least four candidate cadherins were identified as choanocyte-enriched and might serve this function. In contrast to the evidence for conserved microvillar structure in sponges and vertebrates, we found that choanoflagellates and ctenophores lack homologs of many fundamental microvillar genes, suggesting that microvillar structure may diverge significantly in these lineages, warranting further study.
Conclusions
The available evidence suggests that microvilli evolved early in the prehistory of modern animals and have been repurposed to serve myriad functions in different cellular contexts. Detailed understanding of the sequence by which different microvilli-bearing cell/tissue types diversified will require further study of microvillar composition and development in disparate cell types and lineages. Of particular interest are the microvilli of choanoflagellates, ctenophores, and sponges, which collectively bracket the earliest events in animal evolution.
Copyright Date
7-12-2016
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Rights Holder
The Authors
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
15 pgs
File Size
6199 KB
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the authors. User is responsible for all copyright compliance. This article was originally published as:
Peña, J. F., Alié, A., Richter, D. J., Wang, L., Funayama, N., & Nichols, S. A. (2016). Conserved expression of vertebrate microvillar gene homologs in choanocytes of freshwater sponges. EvoDevo, 7(1), 1-15. DOI: 10.1186/s13227-016-0050-x
Publication Title
EvoDevo
Volume
7
First Page
1
Last Page
15
ISSN
3091-3446
Recommended Citation
Peña, J. F., Alié, A., Richter, D. J., Wang, L., Funayama, N., & Nichols, S. A. (2016). Conserved expression of vertebrate microvillar gene homologs in choanocytes of freshwater sponges. EvoDevo, 7(1), 1-15. DOI: 10.1186/s13227-016-0050-x