Sewing up the wounds: the epithelial morphogenesis as a central mechanism of Leucosolenia complicata (Porifera, Calcarea) regeneration

• Main Authors: Ereskovsky, Alexander, Bolshakov, Feodor, Tokina, Daria, Lavrov, Andrey
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: F1000 Research Limited 2018
• Subjects: White Sea
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.7490/f1000research.1115997.1; https://f1000research.com/posters/7-1343

Sponges are the earliest branching metazoans, and as such a key group for understanding of the evolutionary history of animal regeneration mechanisms. Sponges are known to possess remarkable reconstitutive and regenerative abilities. We investigated regeneration of Leucosolenia complicata, an abundant and broadly distributed in White Sea species. We have combined several microscopy techniques to study cellular mechanisms of reparative regeneration in this sponge. Wound healing followed by complete restoration of lost body parts have been observed. Epithelial morphogenesis, mainly spreading (flattening) and fusion of epithelial sheets was found to be the key morphogenetic process during regeneration for L. complicata . Transdifferentiation of choanocytes to pinacocytes accompanied the regeneration. We demonstrate that regeneration in sponges involves a variety of processes utilized in other animals and points to the particular importance of transdifferentiation in this process. Financial support by Russian Foundation for Basic Research n° 16-04-00084 and the Russian Science Foundation n° 17-14-01089 is gratefully acknowledged.