... to their thermal maxima, stress response mechanisms found in these organisms are poorly understood. We used a novel physiological–proteomic approach for sponges to describe the stress response mechanisms of the lagoon-inhabiting sponge Amphimedon navalis , when exposed to elevated seawater temperatures of +2°C...

...Gregory D. Wells; Qiong-Yao Tang; Robert Heler; Gabrielle J. Tompkins-MacDonald; Erica N. Pritchard; Sally P. Leys; Diomedes E. Logothetis; Linda M. Boland SUMMARY A cDNA encoding a potassium channel of the two-pore domain family (K 2P , KCNK) of leak channels was cloned from the marine sponge...

...Xiaohong Wang; Matthias Wiens; Heinz C. Schröder; Klaus P. Jochum; Ute Schloßmacher; Hermann Götz; Heinz Duschner; Werner E. G. Müller SUMMARY The giant basal spicule of the hexactinellid sponge Monorhaphis chuni represents the longest natural siliceous structure on Earth. This spicule is composed...

... of nervous systems may be understood by studying organisms at key positions in the evolution of animal multicellularity. We have carried out the first analysis of ion channels cloned from a marine sponge, Amphimedon queenslandica . Phylogenetic comparison of sequences encoding for poriferan inward-rectifier...

...I. C. Wilkie; L. Parma; F. Bonasoro; G. Bavestrello; C. Cerrano; M. D. Candia Carnevali SUMMARY The marine sponge Chondrosia reniformis Nardo consists largely of a collagenous tissue, the mesohyl, which confers a cartilaginous consistency on the whole animal. This investigation was prompted...

.... The present study demonstrates that primmorphs from the demosponge Suberites domuncula express the gene for arginine kinase after exposure to exogenous silicic acid. The deduced sponge arginine kinase sequence displays the two characteristic domains of the ATP:guanido phosphotransferases; it can be grouped...

...Michael Nickel SUMMARY Sponges of the species Tethya wilhelma display rhythmic body contractions, which were analyzed by digital timelapse imaging and semi-automated image analysis. For the first time, differential, quantitative data on sponge behaviour could be obtained. The sponges are able...

...Adele J. Pile; Adrienne Grant; Rosalind Hinde; Michael A. Borowitzka SUMMARY Grazing on ultraplankton by the sponge partner of an invertebrate/algal symbiotic association can provide enough particulate organic nitrogen to support the nitrogen needs of both partners. The previously unknown natural...

...Matthias Wiens; Renato Batel; Michael Korzhev; Werner E. G. Müller SUMMARY To date no nuclear receptors have been identified or cloned from the phylogenetically oldest metazoan phylum, the Porifera (sponges). We show that retinoic acid causes tissue regression in intact individuals...

...Simon K. Davy; Donelle A. Trautman; Michael A. Borowitzka; Rosalind Hinde SUMMARY Symbioses between sponges and algae are abundant in the nutrient-poor waters of tropical reefs, yet very little is known of the nutritional interactions that may promote this abundance. We measured nitrogen flux...

...Werner E. G. Müller; Renate Steffen; Bernd Lorenz; Renato Batel; Michael Kruse; Anatoli Krasko; Isabel M. Müller; Heinz C. Schröder SUMMARY Porifera (sponges) are, evolutionarily, the oldest metazoan phylum. Recent molecular data suggest that these animals possess molecules similar...

...S. P. Leys; G. O. Mackie; R. W. Meech ABSTRACT All-or-none propagated electrical impulses were recorded from the hexactinellid sponge Rhabdocalyptus dawsoni using suction electrodes attached to lumps of aggregated sponge tissue grafted onto the surface of pieces of the same sponge. Impulses were...