With the completion of a single unified classification, the Systema Porifera (SP) and
subsequent development of an online species database, the World Porifera Database …

The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) protein export system is present in the cytoplasmic
membranes of most bacteria and archaea and has the highly unusual property of …

Animal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is commonly described as a small, circular molecule
that is conserved in size, gene content, and organization. Data collected in the last decade …

The modular domain structure of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and their genes has
allowed extensive exon/domain shuffling during evolution to generate hundreds of ECM …

Background Cnidaria (corals, sea anemones, hydroids, jellyfish) is a phylum of relatively
simple aquatic animals characterized by the presence of the cnidocyst: a cell containing a …

Many years of extensive studies of metazoan mitochondrial genomes have established
differences in gene arrangements and genetic codes as valuable phylogenetic markers …

Systematics is nowadays facing new challenges with the introduction of new concepts and
new techniques. Compared to most other phyla, phylogenetic relationships among sponges …

Matrotrophy, the continuous extra‐vitelline supply of nutrients from the parent to the progeny
during gestation, is one of the masterpieces of nature, contributing to offspring fitness and …

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are a diverse taxon of benthic aquatic animals of great
ecological, commercial, and biopharmaceutical importance. They are arguably the earliest …

The most diverse and species-rich class of the phylum Porifera is Demospongiae. In recent
years, the systematics of this clade, which contains more than 7000 species, has developed …