title: The Conservation of the Germline Multipotency Program, from Sponges to Vertebrates: A Stepping Stone to Understanding the Somatic and Germline Origins.
abstract: The germline definition in metazoans was first based on few bilaterian models. As a result, gene function interpretations were often based on phenotypes observed in those models and led to the definition of a set of genes, considered as specific of the germline, named the "germline core". However, some of these genes were shown to also be involved in somatic stem cells, thus leading to the notion of germline multipotency program (GMP). Because Porifera and Ctenophora are currently the best candidates to be the sister-group to all other animals, the comparative analysis of gene contents and functions between these phyla, Cnidaria and Bilateria is expected to provide clues on early animal evolution and on the links between somatic and germ lineages. Our present bioinformatic analyses at the metazoan scale show that a set of 18 GMP genes was already present in the last common ancestor of metazoans and indicate more precisely the evolution of some of them in the animal lineage. The expression patterns and levels of 11 of these genes in the homoscleromorph sponge Oscarella lobularis show that they are expressed throughout their life cycle, in pluri/multipotent progenitors, during gametogenesis, embryogenesis and during wound healing. This new study in a nonbilaterian species reinforces the hypothesis of an ancestral multipotency program.
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR 7263, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale IMBE, Station Marine d'Endoume, Rue de la Batterie des Lions, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fierro-Constaín
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR 7263, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale IMBE, Station Marine d'Endoume, Rue de la Batterie des Lions, Marseille, France.|Department of Genetics and Evolution, Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Genetics and Genomics in Geneva (IGe3), University of Geneva.
authors.forename: Quentin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Schenkelaars
authors.affiliation: Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, UMR 7592, Univ Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Eve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gazave
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR 7263, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale IMBE, Station Marine d'Endoume, Rue de la Batterie des Lions, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haguenauer
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR 7263, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale IMBE, Station Marine d'Endoume, Rue de la Batterie des Lions, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rocher
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR 7263, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale IMBE, Station Marine d'Endoume, Rue de la Batterie des Lions, Marseille, France.|Department of Embryology, Faculty of Biology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ereskovsky
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR 7263, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale IMBE, Station Marine d'Endoume, Rue de la Batterie des Lions, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Borchiellini
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Avignon, CNRS, IRD, UMR 7263, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale IMBE, Station Marine d'Endoume, Rue de la Batterie des Lions, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Renard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003063:Cnidaria / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005854:Germ Cells; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D011161:Porifera / Q000235:genetics; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000235:genetics*
keywords: GMP signature; cell transdifferentiation; gametogenesis; multi/pluripotency; sponge; stem cells