Abstract
Sponges are an ancient basal life form, so understanding their evolution is key to understanding all metazoan evolution. Sponges have very unusual feeding mechanisms, with an intricate network of progressively optimized filtration units: from the simple choanocyte lining of a central cavity, or spongocoel, to more complex chambers and canals. Furthermore, in a single evolutionary event, a group of sponges transitioned to carnivory. This major evolutionary transition involved replacing the filter-feeding apparatus with mobile phagocytic cells that migrate collectively towards the trapped prey. Here, we focus on the diversity and evolution of sponge nutrition systems and the amazing adaptation to carnivory.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Laurence Meslin (CNRS, “Plateforme Communication Scientifique Visuelle – ISEM”), for the drawing and elaborating the figures. For the transcriptomic data, we benefited from the Montpellier Bioinformatics Biodiversity platform supported by the LabEx CeMEB, an ANR “Investissements d’avenir” program (ANR-10-LABX-04-01).
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Godefroy, N., Le Goff, E., Martinand-Mari, C. et al. Sponge digestive system diversity and evolution: filter feeding to carnivory. Cell Tissue Res 377, 341–351 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-019-03032-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-019-03032-8