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First published online November 1, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 4436-4443 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02527
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Mechanical adaptability of a sponge extracellular matrix: evidence for cellular control of mesohyl stiffness in Chondrosia reniformis Nardo

I. C. Wilkie1,*, L. Parma2, F. Bonasoro2, G. Bavestrello3, C. Cerrano4 and M. D. Candia Carnevali2

1 Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, 70 Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, Scotland, UK
2 Dipartimento di Biologia `Luigi Gorini', Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy
3 Dipartimento di Scienze del Mare, Università Politecnica delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
4 Dipartimento per lo studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse, Università di Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: i.wilkie{at}gcal.ac.uk)

Accepted 6 September 2006

The marine sponge Chondrosia reniformis Nardo consists largely of a collagenous tissue, the mesohyl, which confers a cartilaginous consistency on the whole animal. This investigation was prompted by the incidental observation that, despite a paucity of potentially contractile elements in the mesohyl, intact C. reniformis stiffen noticeably when touched. By measuring the deflection under gravity of beam-shaped tissue samples, it was demonstrated that the flexural stiffness of the mesohyl is altered by treatments that influence cellular activities, including [Ca2+] manipulation, inorganic and organic calcium channel-blockers and cell membrane disrupters, and that it is also sensitive to extracts of C. reniformis tissue that have been repeatedly frozen then thawed. Since the membrane disrupters and tissue extracts cause marked stiffening of mesohyl samples, it is hypothesised that cells in the mesohyl store a stiffening factor and that the physiologically controlled release of this factor is responsible for the touch-induced stiffening of intact animals.

Key words: connective tissue, extracellular matrix, mechanical properties, mutable collagenous tissue, sponge






© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2006