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Cited by 78Marine Sponges and Natural ProductsMarine Invertebrate Physiology and EcologyPaleontology and Evolutionary Biology

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The unique skeleton of siliceous sponges (Porifera; Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) that evolved first from the Urmetazoa during the Proterozoic: a review

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Müller, W. E. G., Jinhe Li, Schröder, H. C., Li Qiao, Xiaohong Wang·2007·Biogeosciences
DOI 10.5194/bg-4-219-2007

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Abstract

Abstract. Sponges (phylum Porifera) had been considered as an enigmatic phylum, prior to the analysis of their genetic repertoire/tool kit. Already with the isolation of the first adhesion molecule, galectin, it became clear that the sequences of sponge cell surface receptors and of molecules forming the intracellular signal transduction pathways triggered by them, share high similarity with those identified in other metazoan phyla. These studies demonstrated that all metazoan phyla, including Porifera, originate from one common ancestor, the Urmetazoa. The sponges evolved prior to the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary (542 million years ago [myr]) during two major "snowball earth events", the Sturtian glaciation (710 to 680 myr) and the Varanger-Marinoan ice ages (605 to 585 myr). During this period the ocean was richer in silica due to the silicate weathering. The oldest sponge fossils (Hexactinellida) have been described from Australia, China and Mongolia and are thought to have existed coeval with the diverse Ediacara fauna. Only little younger are the fossils discovered in the Sansha section in Hunan (Early Cambrian; China). It has been proposed that only the sponges possessed the genetic repertoire to cope with the adverse conditions, e.g. temperature-protection molecules or proteins protecting them against ultraviolet radiation. The skeletal elements of the Hexactinellida (model organisms Monorhaphis chuni and Monorhaphis intermedia or Hyalonema sieboldi) and Demospongiae (models Suberites domuncula and Geodia cydonium), the spicules, are formed enzymatically by the anabolic enzyme silicatein and the catabolic enzyme silicase. Both, the spicules of Hexactinellida and of Demospongiae, comprise a central axial canal and an axial filament which harbors the silicatein. After intracellular formation of the first lamella around the channel and the subsequent extracellular apposition of further lamellae the spicules are completed in a net formed of collagen fibers. The data summarized here substantiate that with the finding of silicatein a new aera in the field of bio/inorganic chemistry started. For the first time strategies could be formulated and experimentally proven that allow the formation/synthesis of inorganic structures by organic molecules. These findings are not only of importance for the further understanding of basic pathways in the body plan formation of sponges but also of eminent importance for applied/commercial processes in a sustainable use of biomolecules for novel bio/inorganic materials.

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Metadata

Authors
Müller, W. E. G., Li, J., Schröder, H. C., Qiao, L., & Wang, X.
Affiliations
  • Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
  • Tsinghua University (CN)
ORCID
Venue
Biogeosciences
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Published
2007-05-03
Volume
4
Issue
2
Pages
219-232
ISSN
  • 1726-4170 (ISSN-L)
  • 1726-4189
DOI
10.5194/bg-4-219-2007
OpenAlex
W2164879214
Cited by
78
References
80
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 4
FWCI
5.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Biogeosciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • European Commission
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China
  • Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biotechnology › Marine Sponges and Natural Products
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
Keywords
sponges, Hexactinellida, Demospongiae, sponge skeleton, spicules, silicatein, silica biomineralization, metazoan origin, Proterozoic, Sturtian glaciation, Marinoan glaciation, Ediacaran, galectins

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The unique skeleton of siliceous sponges (Porifera; Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) that evolved first from the Urmetazoa during the Proterozoic: a review. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.5194/bg-4-219-2007
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Müller, W. E. G., Li, J., Schröder, H. C., Qiao, L., & Wang, X. (2007). The unique skeleton of siliceous sponges (Porifera; Hexactinellida and Demospongiae) that evolved first from the Urmetazoa during the Proterozoic: a review. Biogeosciences. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-4-219-2007