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Sponge genome project on the Daily Californian

A team of scientists – led by Daniel Rokhsar, UC Berkeley professor of molecular cell biology and physics and program head for computational genomics at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute – assembled a draft genome sequence of the Amphimedon queenslandica, a sponge native to the Great Barrier Reef, which researchers said provides… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on University of Queensland news site

In another breakthrough, the sequencing of the sea sponge genome offers unprecedented insights in to the origin of the animal kingdom and how ancient genes contribute to human biology and health. The study, published in Nature this week, illustrates how all contemporary animals, from sea sponges and corals to butterflies and humans, evolved from ancient… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on redOrbit

“Though we think of a sponge as a simple creature whose skeleton we take to the bathtub, it has a lot of the major biochemical and developmental pathways we associate with complex functions in humans and other more complex animals,” she said. “But there are certain missing components. Future studies will reveal how sponges operate… [Read More]

Sponge genome project at UC Berkeley Newsroom

“Our hypothesis is that multicellularity and cancer are two sides of the same coin,” said Rokhsar, program head for computational genomics at JGI and a professor of molecular and cell biology and of physics at UC Berkeley. “If you are a cell in a multicellular organism, you have to cooperate with other cells in your… [Read More]

Sponge genome project in InSciences

He explained that the conclusion of that early work –– the finding that genes that encode a synapse are present in the sponge –– has important implications. “The conclusion of that paper said that what evolution did was exaptation,” said Kosik. “This is a very important technical word. Evolution takes something that was evolved for… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on LaboratoryEquipment.com

In a paper appearing in the today’s issue of the journal Nature, a team of researchers led by Daniel Rokhsar of the Univ. of California, Berkeley, and the Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI), report the draft genome sequence of the sea sponge Amphimedon queenslandica and several insights the genome gives into the origins… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on Softpedia

“What’s exciting is the new things we’re learning about animal evolution. For example, sponges have embryos, and having the genome helps us look at how they develop and make specific connections to developmental pathways in other animals. It’s the kind of thing that will lead to a much clearer understanding of what the very first metazoans… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on ScienceDaily

In a paper published online in the journal Nature, Rice University’s Nicholas Putnam is among a group of scientists who have established a draft genome sequence for Amphimedon queenslandica, a sponge found off the coast of Australia. The genome is helping evolutionary biologists connect the dots as they look for DNA sequences shared by metazoans,… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on GenomeWeb

Sponges, some of the earliest branching animals, are multicellular but lack a nervous system, gut, and some other organ systems found in most animals, the researchers explained. And fossil evidence going back more than 600 million years suggests sponge ancestors appeared remarkably similar to sponges living today. In an effort to learn more about early… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on EurekAlert

All living animals are descended from the common ancestor of sponges and humans, which lived more than 600 million years ago. A sponge-like creature may have been the first organism with more than one cell type and the ability to develop from a fertilized egg produced by the merger of sperm and egg cells.– that… [Read More]