Freshwater sponges (Spongillida: Demospongiae), including more than 240 described
species, are globally distributed in continental waters (except for Antarctica), where they …

Sponges are ecologically important benthic organisms with many important functional roles.
However, despite increasing global interest in the functions that sponges perform, there has …

Despite the obstacles facing marine colonists, most lineages of aquatic organisms have
colonized and diversified in freshwaters repeatedly. These transitions can trigger rapid …

Sponges are among the earliest branching extant animals. As such, genetic data from this
group are valuable for understanding the evolution of various traits and processes in other …

The freshwater sponge, Ephydatia muelleri, is an emerging model system for studying
animal: microbe symbioses. Intracellular green microalgae are one of the more common …

Species of littoral freshwater environments in regions with continental climate experience
pronounced seasonal temperature changes. Co** with long cold winters and hot …

The study of the state of Baikal endemic sponge populations is of great interest because of
the occurrence of mass mortalities and disease in recent decades. To identify possible signs …

Rhodopsin, the light-sensitive visual pigment expressed in rod photoreceptors, is
specialized for vision in dim-light environments. Aquatic environments are particularly …

Parasites are important components of biodiversity and contributors to ecosystem
functioning, but are often neglected in ecological studies. Most studies examine model …

Microbial drug discovery programs rely heavily on accessing bacterial diversity from the
environment to acquire new specialized metabolite (SM) lead compounds for the therapeutic …