Amphimedon queenslandica cell-type transcriptomes

It is widely accepted that animals evolved from a unicellular ancestor with an apical cilium surrounded by a microvillar collar that structurally resembled present-day sponge choanocytes and choanoflagellates. Here we test this traditional view of the origin of the animal kingdom by obtaining the transcriptomes of three primary sponge cell types; choanocytes, mesenchymal pluripotent archeocytes and epithelial pinacocytes, to compare with choanoflagellates and other unicellular holozoans.