Myosin II Head Interaction in Primitive Species

The significance of sponges for comparative studies of developmental evolution

Sponges, ctenophores, placozoans, and cnidarians have key evolutionary significance in that they bracket the time interval during which organized animal tissues were first assembled, fundamental cell types originated (e.g., neurons and myocytes), and developmental patterning mechanisms evolved. Sponges in particular have often been viewed as living surrogates for early animal ancestors, largely due to similarities between their feeding cells (choanocytes) with choanoflagellates, the unicellular/colony-forming sister group to animals. Here, we evaluate these claims and highlight aspects of sponge biology with comparative value for understanding developmental evolution, irrespective of the purported antiquity of their body plan. Specifically, we argue that sponges strike a different balance between patterning and plasticity than other animals, and that environmental inputs may have prominence over genetically regulated developmental mechanisms. We then present a case study to illustrate how contractile epithelia in sponges can help unravel the complex ancestry of an ancient animal cell type, myocytes, which sponges lack. Sponges represent hundreds of millions of years of largely unexamined evolutionary experimentation within animals. Their phylogenetic placement lends them key significance for learning about the past, and their divergent biology challenges current views about the scope of animal cell and developmental biology. This article is characterized under: Comparative Development and Evolution > Evolutionary Novelties Comparative Development and Evolution > Body Plan Evolution.

Lessons from a tarantula: new insights into myosin interacting-heads motif evolution and its implications on disease

Tarantula's leg muscle thick filament is the ideal model for the study of the structure and function of skeletal muscle thick filaments. Its analysis has given rise to a series of structural and functional studies, leading, among other things, to the discovery of the myosin interacting-heads motif (IHM). Further electron microscopy (EM) studies have shown the presence of IHM in frozen-hydrated and negatively stained thick filaments of striated, cardiac, and smooth muscle of bilaterians, most showing the IHM parallel to the filament axis. EM studies on negatively stained heavy meromyosin of different species have shown the presence of IHM on sponges, animals that lack muscle, extending the presence of IHM to metazoans. The IHM evolved about 800 MY ago in the ancestor of Metazoa, and independently with functional differences in the lineage leading to the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum (Mycetozoa). This motif conveys important functional advantages, such as Ca²⁺ regulation and ATP energy-saving mechanisms. Recent interest has focused on human IHM structure in order to understand the structural basis underlying various conditions and situations of scientific and medical interest: the hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies, overfeeding control, aging and hormone deprival muscle weakness, drug design for schistosomiasis control, and conditioning exercise physiology for the training of power athletes.

Molecular structure of muscle filaments determined by electron microscopy

Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction have together played a key role in our understanding of the molecular structure and mechanism of contraction of muscle. This review highlights the role of electron microscopy, from early insights into thick and thin filament structure by negative staining, to studies of single myosin molecule structure, and finally to recent high-resolution structures by cryo-electron microscopy. Muscle filaments are designed for movement. Their labile structures thus present challenges to obtaining near-atomic detail, which are also discussed.