Abstract
The troponin complex, composed of Troponin-I, Troponin-T and Troponin-C, is an essential mediator of the contraction of striated muscle downstream of calcium signaling in almost all bilaterians. However, in echinoderms and hemichordates, collectively termed Ambulacraria, the components of the troponin complex have never been isolated, thus suggesting that these organisms lost the troponin system during evolution. Here, by analyzing genomic information from sea urchins, we identify the troponin-I gene and isolate its complete mRNA sequence. Using this information, we reveal that the larval muscles express this gene and its translated product and that the protein is definitely a functional molecule expressed in sea urchin larvae by showing that Troponin-I morphants are unable to swallow algae. We conclude that muscular contraction in all bilaterians universally depends on a regulatory system mediated by Troponin-I, which emerged in the common ancestor of bilaterians.