Background The enteric nervous system (ENS) and the central nervous system (CNS) of
mammals both contain integrative neural circuitry and similarities between them have led to …

Host-microbe interactions are ubiquitous and play important roles in host biology, ecology,
and evolution. Yet, host-microbe research has focused on inland species, whereas marine …

Background The aquiferous system in sponges represents one of the simplest circulatory
systems used by animals for the internal uptake and distribution of oxygen and metabolic …

Marine pharmacology is an exciting and growing discipline that blends blue biotechnology
and natural compound pharmacology together. Several sea-derived compounds that are …

The gut has been a central subject of organogenesis since Caspar Friedrich Wolff's seminal
1769 work 'De Formatione Intestinorum'. Today, we are moving from a purely genetic …

Marine sponges are excellent examples of invertebrate–microbe symbioses. In this
holobiont, the partnership has elegantly evolved by either transmitting key microbial …

All life forms must gain nutrients from the environment and from single cell organisms to
mammals a digestive system is present. Components of the digestive system that are …

The comparative study of the four non-bilaterian phyla (Cnidaria, Placozoa, Ctenophora,
Porifera) should provide insights into the origin of bilaterian traits. Except for Cnidaria …

The Rho associated coiled-coil protein kinase (ROCK) plays crucial roles in development
across bilaterian animals. The fact that the Rho/Rock pathway is required to initiate epithelial …

Sponges are widely spread organisms in the tropical reefs of the American Northwest-
Atlantic Ocean, they structure ecosystems and provide services such as shelter, protection …