From Marine Animals to Smart Biomaterials

From Marine Animals to Smart Biomaterials

Groundbreaking Study Reveals Genes Behind Echinoderms’ Remarkable Tissue Mutability

Throughout the animal kingdom, collagenous connective tissue serves as a crucial structural framework. However, certain marine animals – the echinoderms, including sea stars, sea cucumbers, and brittle stars – have evolved a unique type of collagen that gives them the extraordinary ability to reversibly control their tissue properties through their nervous system.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers have identified putative key genes responsible for this remarkable tissue adaptability, known as mutable collagenous tissue (MCT). This unique tissue allows echinoderms to rapidly and reversibly alter the strength of their tendons and ligaments, enabling remarkable functions such as defensive limb detachment, energy-efficient posture maintenance, and even asexual reproduction through body splitting.

At the heart of this mechanism are specialized neurosecretory cells called juxtaligamental cells (JCLs), which release substances that can either soften or stiffen the tissue on demand. While scientists have known about this phenomenon for decades, the molecular mechanisms and genetic controls behind it have remained largely mysterious.

The research team is from North Carolina, USA, and is composed of researchers from Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte). They used cutting-edge RNA sequencing technology to study a brittle star population from Florida, focusing on regions rich in JLCs known to control MCT. Their analysis revealed 16 novel genes that appear to control collagenous tissue mutability, which will be validated and characterized in forthcoming functional analyses. This discovery represents the first comprehensive investigation of MCT modulators using high-throughput methods and bioinformatics.

The identification of these genes marks a significant step toward understanding how these fascinating creatures control their tissue properties at the molecular level. Moreover, these findings offer new insights into the molecular physiology of MCT and hold potential for the development of novel collagen-based biomaterials with dynamic properties, paving the way for innovative medical applications.

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Where to find the paper

“Unveiling putative modulators of mutable collagenous tissue in the brittle star Ophiomastix wendtii: an RNA-Seq analysis” was published online in the journal BMC Genomics on October 29, 2024 (DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-10926-7). Click here to get a free copy of the article.

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