Roxas, R

Chapter 5: Porifera (P)

- pore bearers

-Sponges are a conspicious and colorful component of many seascapes.

Filter feeding- multicellular body uniquely specialized.

-separation of suspended food particles from water by passing them through a mesh that strains out the food.

Dynamic tissues
Totipotent cells

-they suggest that sponges are an intermediate form between protozoan colonies and other metazoans in which tissue
and cell specializations tend to be more permanent.

Indeterminate growth- enlargement without a fixed upper size limit.

- The growth forms may be massive, erect, branching,or encrusting , depending on the species and environtmental
conditions.

Form

Filter feeding of a sponge is built around one of three anatomical designs:

asconoid
syconoid
leuconoid

ASCONOID- simplest

- hollow cylinder attached by its base

to the substratum.

Pinacoderm- platter skin

- body surface is covered by monolayer

cells.

Atrium(or spongocoel)- hollow interior

Choanoderm- collar skin

- monolayer of flagellated collar cells

Ostia- small pores

- perforate the cylinder wall

Osculum- larger opening; upper free end of the body

the flagellated choanoderm creates a unidirectional water flow that enters the ostia, passes over the choanoderm en
route to the atrium, and exits through the ocsulum.

Aquiferous System- circulatory system of choanoderm, pores and chambers

 all asconoid sponges are small and have cylindrical, or tubular, bodies, which typically do not exceed a diameter of
1mm.

SYNCONOID- increaces surface area and reduced atrial volume by forming alternating inpockets and outpockets of the body
wall.

Choanocyte chambers(or radial canals)- outpockets of the choanoderm

Incurrent canals- inpockets of the pinacoderm

Prosopyles- front gates; numerous small openings

Water flow in the synconoid aquiferous system route:

ostia->incurrent canals ->prosopyles -> choanocyte chambers ->atrium -> osculum

LEUCONOID- large body sizes, ranging from a few centimeters to more than one meter

excurrent canals- replace the relatively voluminous atrium and single osculum of asconoid and synconoid sponges.

Apopyle- back gate

-where water exits each choanocyte chamber and then flows trough the excurrent canals, which become progressively
larger in diameter as they join with other excurrent canals.

Body Wall

-thin in asconoid; thick in most leuconoid; intermediate thickness in synconoid

Synctium- large or extensive multinucleated cytoplasm enclosed by an external membrane but not divided into cells by
internal membranes.

Cellular

The bodies of demosponges and calcareous sponges are composed of

Epitheloid tissue
Connective tissue
EPITHELOID TISSUE- resembles epithelium but it lacks epitheliums intercellular junctions and hemidesmosomes and is not
underlaid by a basal lamina.

Exopinacoderm- covers outer surface of the body

Endopinacoderm- incurrent and excurrent canals
Asconoid design- flagellated choanoderm which forms the atrial lining
Mesohyl- connective-tissue layer between the pinacoderm and choanoderm
- it forms a bushy, fibrous network that is especially obvious in bath sponges
- one layer of the sponge body wall that typically not bathed with env. water
- sole internal compartment
- as connective tissue, composed of proteinaceous, gel matrix contains differentiated and undifferentiated cells like
skeletal muscles.

Pinacoderm consists of:

Pinacocyte
Porocyte

Pinacocyte- flattened(squamous)
- lack flagella (except Plankina and Ocarella)
Porocyte- from the ostia of all asconoid and many synconoid and leuconoid
 - also constitute prosopyles and apopyles of many synconoid and leuconoid
- surrounds a pore, regulated by contraction of cytoplasm filaments
- miniature sphincter valves
Archeocytes- progenitor cells
- machropage like
- large ameboid cells bearing a nucleus and numerous large lysosomes
- totipotent and can differentiate into any other type of sponge cell
- phagocytic and play a role in digestion and internal tranport
Lophocytes- crest cells
- archeocyte-like ameboid cells that secrete collagen fibers
- produce and maintain the fine collagen fibers of mesohyl
Spongocytes- occur only in taxon Demospongiae
- resembles archeocyte; secrete collagen that polymerizes in spongin

Spongin- thick skeletal fibers

Sclerocytes- hard cells

- secrete the mineralized skeletal spicules of many sponges

Myocytes- muscle cells
- muscle like cells; containing actin and myosin that aggregate around the oscula of some demosponges
- they regulate the size of the oscular aperture; help to control water flow
Oocytes and Spermatocytes
- reproductive cells that undergo gametogenesis in the mesohyl to form sperm and eggs.
Choanocytes- collar cells/flagellated collar cells
- generate water flow thorugh the sponge
- have an apical collar of long microvilli around a single flagellum

Syncytial

Trabecular Syncytium- living tissue in hexactenellids, arrange in three-dimensional, cobweb-like strands

Choanosynctium- cellular choanoderm is absent

Collar bodies- each with collar and flagellum but lacks nucleus

- occupies a synconoid-like pocket that is supported by the trabecular network

- many collar bodies arise in a single nucleated stem cell, choanoblast
Rhabdocalyptus dawsoni- mesohyl cells are joined to the trabecular synctium by slender cellular extensions and partially
syncytial
Dactylocalyx pumiceus- cells are reported independent of the synctium
gross anatomy of a hexactenellids is synconoid, but the aquiferous system, both incurrent and excurrent canals,
resembles the leuconoid design.
Water in hexactenellids flows:
trabecular network-> incurrent canals-> collar-body chambers-> excurrent canals-> atrium -> osculum

Skeleton
chiefly mesohylar endoskeleton
sole skeleton is gelatinous mesohyl supported only by fine collagen fibers
mesohylar matrix is supplemented with mineral spicules, spongin or both
Demosponges(sclerosponges)secrete a massive basal exoskeleton of CaCO3
some sponges lack spicules, but secrete organic spongin
Spicules are siliceous or calcareous whose composition, size, shape are used at all levels in classification of
sponges
Spicules are separated into two size classes: 1. megascleres 2. microscleres
1. Megascleres
- typically form the principal skeletal framework
 2. Microscleres

- support the pinacodermal lining of the canal system or high density; toughen the body wall

Spicules are secreted extracellularly by sclerocytes in calcareous sponges, intracellularly in sclerocytes in

demosponges, and intrasynctially in glass sponge.
Locomotion and Dynamic Tissues
Mesohyl cells, are more or less in constant motion; endopinacocytes and choanocytes can move about to
remodel the aquiferous system
remodeling, involves addition or fusion of flagellated chambers and branching of canals, may fine tune- to
optimize water flow
Physiological Compartmentalization

Nutrition

Internal Transport, Gas Exchange and Excretion

Integration

Bioactive Metabolites and Biological Associations

Bioerosion

Reproduction
CLONAL REPRODUCTION
gemmules- fragmentation, budding and formation of overwintering propagules
diapause- state of near metabolic arrest, then require a period of very cold temperature before they activated , germinate,
and differentiate into a new sponge, usually in the spring.
micropyle- opening
thesocyte- spherical, resembles an embryonic cell

Sexual Reproduction and Development

spermatic cyst- sperm arise from choanocytes or entire choanocytes chambers that sink into the mesohyl and become
enclosed in a thin cellular wall

follicle- egg and nurse cells together may be enclosed in ensheathing cells of follicle

carrier cell- ameboid choanocyte

coeloblastula larva- produced by calcareous sponges

-larva is a hollow sphere composed of a single layer of flagellated cells

amphiblastula larva- develops as a hollow ball composed of two types, anterior flagellated cells and posterior nonflagellated
granular cells
- occurs in other calcareous sponges

parenchymella larva- characteristic of most demosponges

- embryo develops directly into a solid mass of cells, forming a stereoblastula
trichimella larvae- typify the glass sponges
- stereoblastulae that bear a band of flagellated cells around the equator of the larval body
olynthus- miniature asconoid

Diversity of Porifera

Symplasma SP (Hexactinellida)
 - glass sponges; syncytial tissues; spicules are siliceous triaxonal hexactines

Cellularia SP
- porifera with cellular tissues

Demospongiae C

Homoscleromorpha SC

Tetractinomorpha SC

Ceractinomorpha SC

Calcarea C

Calcinea SC

Calcaronea SC

Paleontology and Phylogeny of Porifera