Scientists Make a Sponge Sneeze
Posted on January 17, 2014
Danielle Ludeman and Sally Leys at the University of Alberta have made a sponge sneeze. The researchers say this suggests sponges have a sensory organ. The sneeze helps the sponge remove sediment clogging up its filtration system. It takes the sponge 30 to 45 minutes to complete a sneeze. During the sneeze the entire body of the sponge expands and contracts. Here is a time-lapse video of a sneezing sponge. Take a look:
The researchers used a variety of drugs to elicit sneezes in freshwater sponges and observed the process using a fluorescent dye. The researchers focused on the sponge's osculum, which controls water exiting the sponge, including water the sponge expels during a sneeze. The researchers discovered that ciliated cells lining the osculum play a role in triggering sneezes. The researchers have come to the conclusion that the osculum is a sensory organ.
Leys, Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Developmental Biology, says in a news release, "For a sponge to have a sensory organ is totally new. This does not appear in a textbook; this doesn't appear in someone's concept of what sponges are permitted to have."
A research paper about the new sensory organ in sponges was published here in BMC Evolutionary Biology.