Chapter 5: Phylum PORIFERA
BODY WALL
-Sponges evolved a multicellular body uniquely specialized for filter
feeding(Separation of suspended food particles from water by
passing them through a mesh that strains out the food)
-Constant rearrangement of tissues brought by ameboid movements
of cells
-Dynamic tissues and Totipotent cells: sponges are intermediate
form between protozoan colonies and other metazoans
-Sister taxon of remaining Metazoa (Eumetazoa)
-porifera=pore bearers
-water enter through pores and flows throughout the body in a
system of flagellated canals
-adult sponge: sessile and attached organism
-connective tissue well developed
-body symmetry may be radial by asymmetry predominates
-Intermediate growth: enlargement without a fixed upper size limit
-Color of sponges result from cell pigments and endosymbionts
FORM
-Asconoid
simplest; hollow cylinder attached by its base to
substratum; body surface covered by monolayer of flat cells
called pinacoderm (platter skin); hollow interior, atrium, or
spongocoel, lined with monolayer of flagellated collar cells
called choanoderm (collar skin); small pores: ostia
peforate the cylinder wall; osculum: larger opening at
upper free end of body.
Choanoderm creates unidirectional water flow that enters
the ostia, passes over the choanoderm en route the atrium,
exits through osculum
Aaquiferous system: circulatory system of choanoderm,
pores, and chambers
all asconoid: small and cylindrical or tubular body
Leucosolenia (single tube or cluster of tubes joined at
base)
Clathrina (network of tubes)
limits body size (unfavorable SA:V ratio); Since flagella
move water effectively only near the choanoderm surface,
an increase in body diameter would create volume too
large to be pumped by the flagella unless wall thickens or
body was redesigned.
-Syconoid
increased surface area and reduced atrial volume by
forming alternating inpockets and outpockets of the body
wall.
choanocyte chamber/ radial canal: outpockets of the
choanoderm
incurrent canals: inpockets of the pinacoderm; discharge
into the choanocyte chambers via prosopyles (front gates;
numerous small openings)
water path: Ostiaincurrent canals prosopyles
choanocyte chamber atrium osculum
this decrease volume of atrium and increase area of
flagellated choanoderm
larger than asconoid
Grantia and Sycon (Scypha)
-Leuconoid
largest body size; aquiferous system is complex network of
water vessels that permeate a solid, spongy body
spherical choanocyte chamber at intersection of incurrent
and excurrent canals
excurrent canals: small diameter; multiple oscula replace
voluminous atrium and single osculum of asconoid and
syconoid sponges
water enters via surface ostia surface before flowing to
incurrent canalsprosopyleschoanocyte chambers
apopyle (water exit, back gate) excurrent canals and collars are away from ostia (asconoid) or prosopyle (leuconoid
oscula
Microsciona prolifera
Vastly increases area of flagellated choanoderm while
minimizing water volume to be moved
water pumping is decentralized
-thin in asconoid
-thick in most leuconoid
-intermediate thickness is syconoid
-demosponges and calcareous sponges, body wall is cellular but
glass sponge body wall is syncytium
-syncytium: large extensive multinucleated cytoplasm enclosed by
external membrane by not divided into cells by internal membrane
Cellular
-demosponges and calcareous sponge (cellularia): two types of
tissues: epitheloid and connective
-Epitheloid tissue: epithelium but lacks intercellular junctions and
hemidesmosomes; not underlaid by basal lamina; pinacoderm which
covers outer surface of body (exopinacoderm) and lines incurrent
and excurrent canals (endopinacoderm) and flagellated
choanoderm which forms atrial lining (asconoid) and lining of the
choanocyte chambers (syconoid and leuconoid)
-Connective tissue layer between the pinacoderm and choanoderm
called mesohyl (middle wood): form bushy fibrous network: bath
sponges
-pinacoderm: 2 types of differentiated cells
pinacocyte (platter cell); flattened squamous cells that
abut each other edge to edge to form skinlike cellular
pavement
o generally lacks flagella except Plakina and
Oscarella ( flagellated endopinacoderm lining)
Porocyte:form ostia of all asconoid and many syconoid
and leuconoid; constitute prosopyles and apopyles of many
syconoid and leuconoid psonges
-porocyte surround pore; miniature sphincter valve
-Connective Tissue: mesohyl not bathed w/ environmental water
acheocytes (progenitor cells): macrophage- like, large
ameboid cells with conspicuous nucleus and numerous
large lysosomes and skeletal elements; totipotent;
phagocytic; digestion and internal transport
lophocytes (crest cells): archeocyte-like ameboid cells;
secret collagen fibers of mesohyl; produce and maintain
fine collagen fibers of messohyl
spongocyte: only in Demospongiae, secrete collagen that
polymerizes into thick skeletal fibers called sponging
sclerocytes: (hard cells): mineralized skeletal spicules of
many sponges
myocytes (muscle cells): contain actin and myosin;
regulate oscular aperture size; help water control
oocytes and spermatocytes: gametogenesis that later will
develop into sperm and eggs
-choanoderm have choanocytes (collar cells): generate water flow
through sponge
-basal part of choanocyte flagellum of many species (Microciona and
Grantia compressa) have bilateral vane
Synctial
-glass sponge: no sheetlike pinacoderm pavement
-in hexactinellids: living tissue in 3D strands called trabecular
syncytium
-cellular choanoderm absent; choanosyncytium in place
-collar body: with collar and flagellum; no nucleus arise from surface
of choanosycytium
-water in hexactinellids: surface openings in trabecular network -
incurrent canals - collar body chambers - excurrent canals - atrium
osculum
WATER PUMPING
-flow velocity fastest through osculum; slowest in choanocyte
chambers
-water current: activity of choanocyte flagella -choanocyte flagella
and syconoid)
-oscula at chimneys well above main body and ostia
SKELETON BIOEROSION
-mesohylar endoskeleton -demosponge family Clionidae: breakdown of calcareous shell and
-Oscarella and Halisarca: sole skeleton is gelatinous mesohyl coralline rock in sea
supported by 1 fine collagen fiber -etching cells: specialized archeocytes; erode shell
-mesohylar matrix supplemented with mineral spicules, spongin or
both REPRODUCTION
-spicules: stiffen mesohyl Clonal reproduction
-Euplecta aspergillum and Michinella: glass sponge; rigid brittle 3D -fragmentation, budding, or by propagating overwintering propagules
spicular skeleton -calcifying demosponges (sclerosponges): massive called gemmules
basal exoskeleton of CaCO3 -sclerosponges: siliceous spicules -Clathrina: budding
-bath sponges (Spongia, Hippospongia): compressible elastic and -freshwater sponges and few marine: gemmules
spongy -diapause: state of near metabolic arrest
-Haliclona: spongin welds together spicule tips -Dysidea janiae: -gemmules: produced in mesohyl of a dying sponge
sponge no spicular skeleton but use calcareous skeleton of red alga - -spongocytes: spongin shell around cellular mass
spicules: siliceous (SiO2) or calcareous (CaCO3) -shell encloses cell mass except at one pole where micropyle
-Spicules: remains
Megascleres: principal skeletal framework -completed gemmule consists of a shell and its enclosed archeocytes
Microscleres: smaller; support pinacodermal lining of and is then called thesocyte
canal system or toughen body wall
secreted extracellulary by sclerocytes in calcareous Sexual reproduction and development
sponges, intracellularly in sclerocytes in demosponges, -hermaphrodites
intersynctyially in glass sponges -sperm spawned from one sponge and transported by water current
to another
LOCOMOTION AND DYNAMIC TISSUES -Cliona are oviaparous
-Ephydatia, Chondrilla, Hymeniacidon, Tethya can move -most sponge: viviparous
-collective ameboid movement or pinacodermal and other cells -lack genital organ
-Clathrina coriacea: constriction of oscula by myocytes -spermatic cyst
-absence of intercellular junctions, basal lamina, hemidesmosomes in -eggs arise from archeocytes or dedifferentiated choanocytes
sponge tissues allows these independent and cell movements -egg and nurse cells: enclosed in follicle
-carrier cell: transformed ameboid choanocyte
PHYSIOLOGICAL COMPARTMENTALIZATION sperm lack acrosome
-aquiferous system: gas exchange, food acquisition, waste disposal, -coeloblastula larva: calcareous sponge (Clathrina)
release sperm and larvae -amphiblastula larva: (Grantia, Sycon, Lecosolenia); develops as
-little segregation of function, integrating systems are not well hollow ball with anterior flagellated cells and posterior non flagellated
developed granular cells
-sponge lack nervous tissue -parenchymella larva: most demosponges
-low level organization allow to adaptively remold bodies to -trichimella larvae: glass sponges
regenerate readily -all sponge larvae are lecithotrophic
-olynthus: juvenile sponge functional and feed
NUTRITION -rhagon: juvenile stage
-filter food particles
-phagocytosis DIVERSITY OF PORIFERA
-food trapping filters in incurrent canals (decrease in diameter as they SymplasmasP (Hexactinellida)
penetrate inward) and choanocytes -glass sponge have synctial tissues
-smallest particles enter choanocyte chambers and removed by -siliceous triaxonal hexactines spicules -Euplectella, Dactylocalyx,
phagocytosis or pinocytosis Hyalonema, Rhabdocalyptus
-choanocyte and archeocyte engulf and digest particles in vesicles CellulariasP
-carnivorous species: demosponge family Cladorhizidae -w/ cellular tissues
-sources of particulate wastes in sponges: indigestible products of
intercellular digestion and inorganic mineral particles that enter in DEMOSPONGIAEC
water stream -leuconoid
-Freshwater sponges: green algae in archeocytes -siliceous spicules, spongin, spicules(spongin or mesohyl)
-Marine sponges: host dinoflagellates -megascleres: monoaxons, triaxons, tetraxons

INTERNAL TRANSPORT, GAS EXCHANGE AND HOMOSCLEROMORPHA (subclass)

EXCRETION o lacking distinction between mega and
-internal transport of food inglass sponges is intrasyncytial microscleres
-leaky animals: sponges TETRACTINOMORPHA (subclass)
-freshwater sponge: contractile vacuoles: osmoregulating for o tetraxons, asterose microscleres, w/o sponging
individual cells CERACTINOMORPHA (subclass)
o distinct mega and microscleres
INTEGRATION o Haliclona
-local myocyte contraction in response to local stimulus o Microsciona prolifera (red beard sponge)
-slow: specialized intercellular junctions are absent CALCAREA (class)
-membranes between cells isolate rather than conduct wave of o asconoid, syconoid and leuconoid
depolarization o calcite spicules
CALCINEA (subclass)
BIOACTIVE METABOLITES AND BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION o choanocytic flagellum not close w/ nucleus
-metabolites: prevent settlement of other organisms on surfaces Clathrina
-use to compete for space CALCARONEA (subclass)
-harbor endosymbionts that occupy space in aquiferous system and o choanocyte flagellum close to nucleus
take advantage of water flow and protection afforded by host o Grantia, Lecosolenia (asconoid), Sycon
(syconoid)
PALEONTOLOGY AND PHYLOGENY OF PORIFERA
-3 major taxa: hexactinellida, demospongiae, calcarea: cambrian or
ordovician periods