Thermal proteome profiling of sponge whole-body movement

Sponges (Porifera) are early-branching Metazoa who do not possess muscles or neurons, however are able to undergo a whole-body movement that involves the closure of their canal system and collapse of an epithelial tent. In this study we profile proteomic responses of the freshwater sponge Spongilla lacustris during nitric oxide (NO) and agitation induced movements to elucidate the early evolution of coordination. Specifically, we measure condition-dependent changes in protein thermal stability and abundance using Thermal proteome profiling (TPP). These changes are the result of proteins undergoing stabilizing or destabilizing conformational changes broadly caused by e.g. the binding or dissociation of small molecules to the proteins, the formation or loss of protein-protein interactions or a change in post-translational modifications.