Archive

News & Publications
Home › Blog

Sponge genome project on Astrobiology magazine

Sponges are an ancient group, with fossils dating back at least 650 million years. They are thought to have been the first group of animals to branch from all the others. Therefore, genes shared by sponges and other animals must have been present in the common ancestor of all metazoans. This ancestor would have evolved… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on NCAA Time

While household sponges are degraded to the dirty job of scrubbing grime off of kitchen counter tops, the recently sequenced genome of a marine sponge could increase the understanding of the origins of animals as well as cancer, according to a new study. A team of scientists – led by Daniel Rokhsar, UC Berkeley professor… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on AScribe Newswire

      The sponge genome reveals that, along the way toward the emergence of animals, genes for an entire network of specialized cells evolved. “This network laid the basis for the core gene logic of organisms that no longer functioned as single cells, but as a cooperative community of specialized cells — all geared toward the… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on TerraDaily

“What’s exciting is the new things we’re learning about animal evolution,” said Putnam, who got involved with the project while working at the Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute in 2006. “For example, sponges have embryos, and having the genome helps us look at how they develop and make specific connections to developmental pathways in… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on the Daily Californian

A team of scientists – led by Daniel Rokhsar, UC Berkeley professor of molecular cell biology and physics and program head for computational genomics at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute – assembled a draft genome sequence of the Amphimedon queenslandica, a sponge native to the Great Barrier Reef, which researchers said provides… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on University of Queensland news site

In another breakthrough, the sequencing of the sea sponge genome offers unprecedented insights in to the origin of the animal kingdom and how ancient genes contribute to human biology and health. The study, published in Nature this week, illustrates how all contemporary animals, from sea sponges and corals to butterflies and humans, evolved from ancient… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on redOrbit

“Though we think of a sponge as a simple creature whose skeleton we take to the bathtub, it has a lot of the major biochemical and developmental pathways we associate with complex functions in humans and other more complex animals,” she said. “But there are certain missing components. Future studies will reveal how sponges operate… [Read More]

Sponge genome project at UC Berkeley Newsroom

“Our hypothesis is that multicellularity and cancer are two sides of the same coin,” said Rokhsar, program head for computational genomics at JGI and a professor of molecular and cell biology and of physics at UC Berkeley. “If you are a cell in a multicellular organism, you have to cooperate with other cells in your… [Read More]

Sponge genome project in InSciences

He explained that the conclusion of that early work –– the finding that genes that encode a synapse are present in the sponge –– has important implications. “The conclusion of that paper said that what evolution did was exaptation,” said Kosik. “This is a very important technical word. Evolution takes something that was evolved for… [Read More]

Sponge genome project on LaboratoryEquipment.com

In a paper appearing in the today’s issue of the journal Nature, a team of researchers led by Daniel Rokhsar of the Univ. of California, Berkeley, and the Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute (JGI), report the draft genome sequence of the sea sponge Amphimedon queenslandica and several insights the genome gives into the origins… [Read More]