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The genome of the contractile demosponge Tethya wilhelma and the evolution of metazoan neural signalling pathways

View ORCID ProfileWarren R. Francis, View ORCID ProfileMichael Eitel, View ORCID ProfileSergio Vargas, Marcin Adamski, View ORCID ProfileSteven H.D. Haddock, Stefan Krebs, Helmut Blum, Dirk Erpenbeck, View ORCID ProfileGert Wörheide
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/120998
Warren R. Francis
1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology and Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Richard-Wagner Straße 10, 80333 Munich, Germany
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Michael Eitel
1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology and Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Richard-Wagner Straße 10, 80333 Munich, Germany
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Sergio Vargas
1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology and Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Richard-Wagner Straße 10, 80333 Munich, Germany
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Marcin Adamski
2Research School of Biology, College of Medicine, Biology & Environment, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 Australia
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Steven H.D. Haddock
3Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, CA 95039, USA
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Stefan Krebs
4Laboratory for Functional Genome Analysis (LAFUGA), Gene Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
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Helmut Blum
4Laboratory for Functional Genome Analysis (LAFUGA), Gene Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
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Dirk Erpenbeck
1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology and Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Richard-Wagner Straße 10, 80333 Munich, Germany
5GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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Gert Wörheide
1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology and Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Richard-Wagner Straße 10, 80333 Munich, Germany
5GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
6Bavarian State Collection for Paleontology and Geology, Munich, Germany
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Abstract

Porifera are a diverse animal phylum with species performing important ecological roles in aquatic ecosystems, and have become models for multicellularity and early-animal evolution. Demosponges form the largest class in sponges, but previous studies have relied on the only draft demosponge genome of Amphimedon queenslandica. Here we present the 125-megabase draft genome of a contractile laboratory demosponge Tethya wilhelma, sequenced to almost 150x coverage. We explore the genetic repertoire of transporters, receptors, and neurotransmitter metabolism across early-branching metazoans in the context of the evolution of these gene families. Presence of many genes is highly variable across animal groups, with many gene family expansions and losses. Three sponge classes show lineage-specific expansions of GABA-B receptors, far exceeding the gene number in vertebrates, while ctenophores appear to have secondarily lost most genes in the GABA pathway. Both GABA and glutamate receptors show lineage-specific domain rearrangements, making it difficult to trace the evolution of these gene families. Gene sets in the examined taxa suggest that nervous systems evolved independently at least twice and either changed function or were lost in sponges. Changes in gene content are consistent with the view that ctenophores and sponges are the earliest-branching metazoan lineages and provide additional support for the proposed clade of Placozoa/Cnidaria/Bilateria.

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Posted April 12, 2017.
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The genome of the contractile demosponge Tethya wilhelma and the evolution of metazoan neural signalling pathways
Warren R. Francis, Michael Eitel, Sergio Vargas, Marcin Adamski, Steven H.D. Haddock, Stefan Krebs, Helmut Blum, Dirk Erpenbeck, Gert Wörheide
bioRxiv 120998; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/120998
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The genome of the contractile demosponge Tethya wilhelma and the evolution of metazoan neural signalling pathways
Warren R. Francis, Michael Eitel, Sergio Vargas, Marcin Adamski, Steven H.D. Haddock, Stefan Krebs, Helmut Blum, Dirk Erpenbeck, Gert Wörheide
bioRxiv 120998; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/120998

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