Degnan lab > Amphimedon
Sea sponge holobiont genome
Amphimedon queenslandica
- Origin and evolution of animals
- Evolution of genome regulation
- Animal-bacterial symbiosis
The coral reef sponge Amphimedon queenslandica houses three maternally-inherited bacterial symbionts (AqS1, AqS2 and AqS3) that constitute up to 95% of the adult microbiome. This holobiont provides a tractable system to explore how animals and symbionts work together from egg to adult through changing life cycle and environmental conditions. Given that sponges diverged from other animals over 700 million years ago, the Amphimedon holobiont also provides insights into the last common ancestor of modern animals and helps us to identify cardinal features of animal multicellularity.
Extensive RNA-Seq, ChIP-Seq, ATAC-Seq data across development, and changing ecological and environmental conditions provide insights into sponge and symbiont function, and the origin and early evolution of the animal kingdom.
Funding
We would like to acknowledge the following funding bodies for their support of this project
