Systematics is nowadays facing new challenges with the introduction of new concepts and
new techniques. Compared to most other phyla, phylogenetic relationships among sponges …

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are a diverse taxon of benthic aquatic animals of great
ecological, commercial, and biopharmaceutical importance. They are arguably the earliest …

Microorganisms often form symbiotic relationships with eukaryotes, and the complexity of
these relationships can range from those with one single dominant symbiont to associations …

Background Demospongiae is the largest sponge class including 81% of all living sponges
with nearly 7,000 species worldwide. Systema Porifera (2002) was the result of a large …

The most diverse and species-rich class of the phylum Porifera is Demospongiae. In recent
years, the systematics of this clade, which contains more than 7000 species, has developed …

Over the past few years, there has been growing interest among the sponge community in
the phylogenetic position of the Homoscleromorpha (ie within or outside the class …

The current morphological classification of the Demospongiae G4 clade was tested using
large subunit ribosomal RNA (LSU rRNA) sequences from 119 taxa. Fifty-three …

Background Homoscleromorpha is the fourth major sponge lineage, recently recognized to
be distinct from the Demospongiae. It contains< 100 described species of exclusively marine …

Marine sponges are the most prolific marine sources for discovery of novel bioactive
compounds. Sponge secondary metabolites are sought-after for their potential in …

The highly collaborative research sponsored by the NSF-funded Assembling the Porifera
Tree of Life (PorToL) project is providing insights into some of the most difficult questions in …