Publication
Collagen IV and basement membrane at the evolutionary dawn of metazoan tissues.
Authors Fidler AL, Darris CE, Chetyrkin SV, Pedchenko VK, Boudko SP, Brown KL, Gray
Jerome W, Hudson JK, Rokas A, Hudson BG
Submitted By Submitted Externally on 5/1/2017
Status Published
Journal eLife
Year 2017
Date Published 4/1/2017
Volume : Pages 6 : Not Specified
PubMed Reference 28418331
Abstract The role of the cellular microenvironment in enabling metazoan tissue genesis
remains obscure. Ctenophora has recently emerged as one of the
earliest-branching extant animal phyla, providing a unique opportunity to
explore the evolutionary role of the cellular microenvironment in tissue
genesis. Here, we characterized the extracellular matrix (ECM), with a focus on
collagen IV and its variant, spongin short-chain collagens, of non-bilaterian
animal phyla. We identified basement membrane (BM) and collagen IV in
Ctenophora, and show that the structural and genomic features of collagen IV are
homologous to those of non-bilaterian animal phyla and Bilateria. Yet,
ctenophore features are more diverse and distinct, expressing up to twenty genes
compared to six in vertebrates. Moreover, collagen IV is absent in unicellular
sister-groups. Collectively, we conclude that collagen IV and its variant,
spongin, are primordial components of the extracellular microenvironment, and as
a component of BM, collagen IV enabled the assembly of a fundamental
architectural unit for multicellular tissue genesis.





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