BBB seminar: Maja Adamska

Maja Adamska
Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, Bergen

Sponges are one of the simplest multicellular animals. While they are often considered not to possess true tissues and organs, sponges do undergo embryonic development and metamorphosis, leading to formation of a complex body composed of multiple cell types. Studies on the recently sequenced demosponge, Amphimedon queenslandica, demonstrate that sponge development utilizes Wnt, TGF-beta and Hedgehog signaling pathways in a manner similar to more complex animals. At the same time, cell migration patterns in Amphimedon development demonstrate unique features of sponge embryogenesis.

I will present dynamic expression patterns of genes involved in intercellular signaling in Amphimedon in the context of cell migration during sponge embryogenesis. I will also introduce Sycon ciliatum, a calcareous sponge common in Norwegian fjords, as a new model system to study cell migration, intercellular communication and differentiation in sponge development.

Host: Beate Stern <beate.stern@biomed.uib.no>, Department of Biomedicine