Epithelia and integration in sponges

An epithelium is important for integrity, homeostasis, communication and co-ordination, and its development must have been a fundamental step in the evolution of modern metazoan body plans. Sponges are metazoans that are often said to lack a true epithelium. We assess the properties of epithelia, and review the history of studies on sponge epithelia, focusing on their homology to bilaterian epithelia, their ultrastructure, and on their ability to seal. Electron micrographs show that adherens-type junctions are present in sponges but they can appear much slighter than equivalent junctions in other metazoans. Fine septae are seen in junctions of all sponge groups, but distinct septate junctions are only known from Calcarea. Similarly, all sponges can have collagenous sheets underlying their epithelia, but only homoscleromorphs are established to have a distinct basal lamina. The presence of most, but not all, gene families known to be involved in epithelial development and function also suggests that sponge epithelia function like, and are homologous to, bilaterian epithelia. However, physiological evidence that sponge epithelia regulate their internal environment is so far lacking. Given that up to six differentiated epithelia can be recognized in sponges, distinct physiological roles are expected. Recognition that sponges have epithelia challenges the perception that sponges are only loose associations of cells, and helps to relate the biology and physiology of the body plan of the adult sponge to the biology of other metazoans.