Profiling cellular diversity in sponges informs animal cell type and nervous system evolution
journal contribution
posted on 2022-02-28, 12:17authored byJacob M Musser, Klaske J. Schippers, Michael Nickel, Giulia Mizzon, Andrea B. Kohn, Constantin Pape, Paolo Ronchi, Nikolaos Papadopoulos, Alexander J. Tarashansky, Jörg U Hammel, Florian Wolff, Cong Liang, Ana Hernández-Plaza, Carlos P. Cantalapiedra, Kaia Achim, Nicole L. Schieber, Leslie Pan, Fabian Ruperti, Warren R. Francis, Sergio Vargas, Svenja Kling, Maike Renkert, Maxim Polikarpov, Gleb Bourenkov, Roberto Feuda, Imre Gaspar, Pawel BurkhardtPawel Burkhardt, Bo Wang, Peer Bork, Martin Beck, Thomas R. Schneider, Anna Kreshuk, Gert Wörheide, Jaime Huerta-Cepas, Yannick Schwab, Leonid L. Moroz, Detlev Arendt
The evolutionary origin of metazoan cell types such as neurons and muscles is not known. Using whole-body single-cell RNA sequencing in a sponge, an animal without nervous system and musculature, we identified 18 distinct cell types. These include nitric oxide–sensitive contractile pinacocytes, amoeboid phagocytes, and secretory neuroid cells that reside in close contact with digestive choanocytes that express scaffolding and receptor proteins. Visualizing neuroid cells by correlative x-ray and electron microscopy revealed secretory vesicles and cellular projections enwrapping choanocyte microvilli and cilia. Our data show a communication system that is organized around sponge digestive chambers, using conserved modules that became incorporated into the pre- and postsynapse in the nervous systems of other animals.
Funding
National Institutes of Health: R01NS114491
H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions: No 764840
Human Frontier Science Program
National Science Foundation: 1146575
National Science Foundation: 1557923
National Science Foundation: 1548121
European Research Coucil BrainEvoDevo: 294810
European Research Coucil BrainEvoDevo: 788921
National Science Foundation: 1645219
Excellence Programme from the State Research Agency (AEI) of Spain: SEV-2016-0672
National Programme for Fostering Excellence in Scientific and Technical Research: PGC2018-098073-A-I00 MCIU/AEI/FEDER
Research Technical Support Staff Aid: PTA2019-017593-I / AEI / 10.13039/501100011033
History
Citation
SCIENCE, VOL. 374, NO. 6568, pp. 717-723 • DOI: 10.1126/science.abj2949
Author affiliation
Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester
Version
VoR (Version of Record)
Published in
Science
Volume
374
Issue
6568
Pagination
717 - 723
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science