Sponge Genome Reveals Animal, Cancer Origins

Posted On: August 6, 2010

In a paper appearing in the recent 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 of both the first animals and cancer.

“Our hypothesis is that multicellularity and cancer are two sides of the same coin,” says Rokhsar, professor at UC Berkeley. “If you are a cell in a multicellular organism, you have to cooperate with other cells in your body, making sure that you divide when you are supposed to as part of the team. The genes that regulate this cooperation are also the ones whose disruption can cause cells to behave selfishly and grow in uncontrolled ways to the detriment of the organism.”

As part of the new analysis, the team looked in the sponge genome for more than 100 genes that have been implicated in human cancers and found about 90 percent of them. Future research will show what roles these genes play in endowing sponge cells with team spirit.

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