Placozoa

Introduction

Other Names for Placozoa

• Trichoplacidae

References

Birstein, V. J. 1989. On the Karyotype of Trichoplax sp. (Placozoa). Biologisches Zentralblatt 108:63-67.

Blackstone, N. W. 2009. A new look at some old animals. PLoS Biol 7(1): e1000007 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000007

Buchholz, K. and A. Ruthmann. 1995. The mesenchyme-like layer of the fiber cells of Trichoplax adhaerens (Placozoa), a syncytium. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung Section C 50:282-285.

Dellaporta, S. L., A. Xu, S. Sagasser, W. Jakob, M. A. Moreno, L. W. Buss, and B. Schierwater. 2006. Mitochondrial genome of Trichoplax adhaerens supports placozoa as the basal lower metazoan phylum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.A.) 103(23):8751-8756.

Ender, A. and B. Schierwater. 2003. Placozoa are not derived cnidarians: Evidence from molecular morphology. Molecular Biology and Evolution 20(1):130-134.

Grell, K. G. 1971. Trichoplax adhaerens, F. E. Schulze und die Entstehung der Metazoen. Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau 24:160–1.

Grell, K. G. and A. Ruthmann. 1991. Placozoa. Pages 13-28 in Microscopic Anatomy of Invertebrates, Vol. 2. Placozoa, Porifera, Cnidaria, and Ctenophora. F. W. Harrison (ed.) New York: Wiley-Liss.

Hadrys, T, DeSalle R, Sagasser S, Fischer N, Schierwater B. The Trichoplax PaxB gene: a putative Proto-PaxA/B/C gene predating the origin of nerve and sensory cells. Mol Biol Evol (2005) 22::1569–78.

Miller, D. J. and E. E. Ball. 2005. Animal evolution: the enigmatic phylum Placozoa revisited. Current Biology 15(1):26-28.

Pearse V.B. and O. Voigt. 2007. Field biology of placozoans (Trichoplax): distribution, diversity, biotic interactions. Integrative and Comparative Biology 47(5):677-692.

Ruthmann, A., G. Behrendt, and R. Wahl. 1986. The ventral epithelium of Trichoplax adhaerens (Placozoa) - cytoskeletal structures, cell contacts and endocytosis. Zoomorphology 106:115-122.

Schierwater. B. 2005. My favorite animal, Trichoplax adhaerens. BioEssays 27:1294-1302.

Schuchert, P. 1993. Trichoplax adhaerens (Phylum Placozoa) has cells that react with antibodies against the neuropeptide Rfamide. Acta Zoologica 74:115-117.

Signorovitch, A. Y, S. L. Dellaporta, and L. W. Buss. 2005. Molecular signatures for sex in the Placozoa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.A.) 102(43):15518-15522.

Signorovitch, A. Y, S. L. Dellaporta, and L. W. Buss. 2006. Caribbean placozoan phylogeography. Biol. Bull. 211:149–156.

Srivastava, M., E. Begovic, J. Chapman, N. H. Putnam, U. Hellsten, T. Kawashima, A. Kuo, T. Mitros, A. Salamov, M. L. Carpenter, A. Y. Signorovitch, M. A. Moreno, K. Kamm, J. Grimwood, J. Schmutz, H. Shapiro, I. V. Grigoriev, L. W. Buss, B. Schierwater, S. L. Dellaporta, and D. S. Rokhsar. 2008. The Trichoplax genome and the nature of placozoans. Nature 454:955-960.

Syed, T. and B. Schierwater. 2002. The evolution of the Placozoa: a new morphological model. Senckenbergiana lethaea 82:259–270.

Syed, T. and B. Schierwater. 2002. Trichoplax adhaerens: Discovered as a missing link, forgotten as a hydrozoan, re-discovered as a key to metazoan evolution. Vie Milieu 52:177–187.

Thiemann, M. and A. Ruthmann. 1988. Trichoplax adhaerens Schulze, F. E. (Placozoa) - The formation of swarmers. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung Section C 43:955-957.

Thiemann, M. and A. Ruthmann. 1989. Microfilaments and microtubules in isolated fiber cells of Trichoplax adhaerens (Placozoa). Zoomorphology 109:89-96.

Thiemann, M. and A. Ruthmann. 1990. Spherical forms of Trichoplax adhaerens (Placozoa). Zoomorphology 110:37-45.

Thiemann, M. and A. Ruthmann. 1991. Alternative modes of sexual reproduction in Trichoplax adhaerens (Placozoa). Zoomorphology 110:165-174.

Ueda, T., S. Koya, and Y. K. Maruyama. 1999. Dynamic patterns in the locomotion and feeding behaviors by the placozoan Trichoplax adhaerence. Biosystems 54:65-70.

Voigt O., A.G. Collins, V.B. Pearse, J.S. Pearse, A. Ender, H. Hadrys, and B. Schierwater. 2004. Placozoa – no longer a phylum of one. Curr. Biol. 14:R944–R945.

Information on the Internet

• World Placozoa Database.
• Introduction to Placozoa. UCMP Berkeley.
• The Trichoplax Genome Project at the Yale Peabody Museum
• Genome of Simplest Animal Reveals Ancient Lineage, Confounding Array of Complex Capabilities. DOE Joint Genome Institute Press Release.
• Trichoplax Genome Sequenced: 'Rosetta Stone' For Understanding Evolution. Science Daily.
• Trichoplax: Pro-neuronal Genes. Andreas Heyland. Features movie clips of Trichoplax.
• A Weird Wee Beastie: Trichoplax adhaerens. Micscape Magazine article on Placozoa.
• Pharyngula on Trichoplax:
  • Trichoplax adhaerans
  • Mysterious Trichoplax