Analysis of a vinculin homolog in a sponge (phylum Porifera) reveals that vertebrate-like cell adhesions emerged early in animal evolution.
Miller, P.W., Pokutta, S., Mitchell, J.M., Chodaparambil, J.V., Clarke, D.N., Nelson, W.J., Weis, W.I., Nichols, S.A.(2018) J Biol Chem 293: 11674-11686
- PubMed: 29880641 
- DOI: 10.1074/jbc.RA117.001325
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
6BFI - PubMed Abstract: 
The evolution of cell-adhesion mechanisms in animals facilitated the assembly of organized multicellular tissues. Studies in traditional animal models have revealed two predominant adhesion structures, the adherens junction (AJ) and focal adhesions (FAs), which are involved in the attachment of neighboring cells to each other and to the secreted extracellular matrix (ECM), respectively ...