Architecture of the nervous system in mystacocarida (Arthropoda, crustacea)--an immunohistochemical study and 3D reconstruction

How body patterning might have worked in the evolution of arthropods-A case study of the mystacocarid Derocheilocaris remanei (Crustacea, Oligostraca)

Body organization within arthropods is enormously diverse, but a fusion of segments into "functional groups" (tagmatization) is found in all species. Within Tetraconata/Pancrustacea, an anterior head, a locomotory thorax region, and a posterior, mostly limbless tagma known as the abdomen is present. The posterior-most tagma in crustaceans is frequently confused with the malacostracan, for example, decapod pleon often misleadingly termed abdomen, however, its evolutionary and developmental origin continues to pose a riddle, especially the completely limbless abdomen of the "entomostracan morphotype" (e.g., fairy shrimps). Since the discovery of Hox genes and their involvement in specifying the morphology or identity of segments, tagmata, or regions along the anteroposterior axis of an organism, only a few studies have focused on model organisms representing the "entomostracan morphotype" and used a variety of dedicated Hox genes and their transcription products to shine light on abdomen formation. The homeotic genes or the molecular processes that determine the identity of the entomostracan abdomen remain unknown to date. This study focuses on the "entomostracan morphotype" representative Derocheilocaris remanei (Mystacocarida). We present a complete overview of development throughout larval stages and investigate homeotic gene expression data using the antibody FP6.87 that binds specifically to epitopes of Ultrabithorax/Abdominal-A proteins. Our results suggest that the abdomen in Mystacocarida is bipartite (abdomen I + abdomen II). We suggest that the limbless abdomen is an evolutionary novelty that evolved several times independently within crustaceans and which might be the result of a progressive reduction of former thoracic segments into abdominal segments.

A microCT-based atlas of the central nervous system and midgut in sea spiders (Pycnogonida) sheds first light on evolutionary trends at the family level

Background

Pycnogonida (sea spiders) is the sister group of all other extant chelicerates (spiders, scorpions and relatives) and thus represents an important taxon to inform early chelicerate evolution. Notably, phylogenetic analyses have challenged traditional hypotheses on the relationships of the major pycnogonid lineages (families), indicating external morphological traits previously used to deduce inter-familial affinities to be highly homoplastic. This erodes some of the support for phylogenetic information content in external morphology and calls for the study of additional data classes to test and underpin in-group relationships advocated in molecular analyses. In this regard, pycnogonid internal anatomy remains largely unexplored and taxon coverage in the studies available is limited.

Results

Based on micro-computed X-ray tomography and 3D reconstruction, we created a comprehensive atlas of in-situ representations of the central nervous system and midgut layout in all pycnogonid families. Beyond that, immunolabeling for tubulin and synapsin was used to reveal selected details of ganglionic architecture. The ventral nerve cord consistently features an array of separate ganglia, but some lineages exhibit extended composite ganglia, due to neuromere fusion. Further, inter-ganglionic distances and ganglion positions relative to segment borders vary, with an anterior shift in several families. Intersegmental nerves target longitudinal muscles and are lacking if the latter are reduced. Across families, the midgut displays linear leg diverticula. In Pycnogonidae, however, complex multi-branching diverticula occur, which may be evolutionarily correlated with a reduction of the heart.

Conclusions

Several gross neuroanatomical features are linked to external morphology, including intersegmental nerve reduction in concert with trunk segment fusion, or antero-posterior ganglion shifts in partial correlation to trunk elongation/compaction. Mapping on a recent phylogenomic phylogeny shows disjunct distributions of these traits. Other characters show no such dependency and help to underpin closer affinities in sub-branches of the pycnogonid tree, as exemplified by the tripartite subesophageal ganglion of Pycnogonidae and Rhynchothoracidae. Building on this gross anatomical atlas, future studies should now aim to leverage the full potential of neuroanatomy for phylogenetic interrogation by deciphering pycnogonid nervous system architecture in more detail, given that pioneering work on neuron subsets revealed complex character sets with unequivocal homologies across some families.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12983-022-00459-8.

The visual pathway in sea spiders (Pycnogonida) displays a simple serial layout with similarities to the median eye pathway in horseshoe crabs

BACKGROUND

Phylogenomic studies over the past two decades have consolidated the major branches of the arthropod tree of life. However, especially within the Chelicerata (spiders, scorpions, and kin), interrelationships of the constituent taxa remain controversial. While sea spiders (Pycnogonida) are firmly established as sister group of all other extant representatives (Euchelicerata), euchelicerate phylogeny itself is still contested. One key issue concerns the marine horseshoe crabs (Xiphosura), which recent studies recover either as sister group of terrestrial Arachnida or nested within the latter, with significant impact on postulated terrestrialization scenarios and long-standing paradigms of ancestral chelicerate traits. In potential support of a nested placement, previous neuroanatomical studies highlighted similarities in the visual pathway of xiphosurans and some arachnopulmonates (scorpions, whip scorpions, whip spiders). However, contradictory descriptions of the pycnogonid visual system hamper outgroup comparison and thus character polarization.

RESULTS

To advance the understanding of the pycnogonid brain and its sense organs with the aim of elucidating chelicerate visual system evolution, a wide range of families were studied using a combination of micro-computed X-ray tomography, histology, dye tracing, and immunolabeling of tubulin, the neuropil marker synapsin, and several neuroactive substances (including histamine, serotonin, tyrosine hydroxylase, and orcokinin). Contrary to previous descriptions, the visual system displays a serial layout with only one first-order visual neuropil connected to a bilayered arcuate body by catecholaminergic interneurons. Fluorescent dye tracing reveals a previously reported second visual neuropil as the target of axons from the lateral sense organ instead of the eyes.

CONCLUSIONS

Ground pattern reconstruction reveals remarkable neuroanatomical stasis in the pycnogonid visual system since the Ordovician or even earlier. Its conserved layout exhibits similarities to the median eye pathway in euchelicerates, especially in xiphosurans, with which pycnogonids share two median eye pairs that differentiate consecutively during development and target one visual neuropil upstream of the arcuate body. Given multiple losses of median and/or lateral eyes in chelicerates, and the tightly linked reduction of visual processing centers, interconnections between median and lateral visual neuropils in xiphosurans and arachnopulmonates are critically discussed, representing a plausible ancestral condition of taxa that have retained both eye types.

Neurons and Glia Cells in Marine Invertebrates: An Update

The nervous system (NS) of invertebrates and vertebrates is composed of two main types of cells: neurons and glia. In both types of organisms, nerve cells have similarities in biochemistry and functionality. The neurons are in charge of the synapse, and the glial cells are in charge of important functions of neuronal and homeostatic modulation. Knowing the mechanisms by which NS cells work is important in the biomedical area for the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders. For this reason, cellular and animal models to study the properties and characteristics of the NS are always sought. Marine invertebrates are strategic study models for the biological sciences. The sea slug Aplysia californica and the squid Loligo pealei are two examples of marine key organisms in the neurosciences field. The principal characteristic of marine invertebrates is that they have a simpler NS that consists of few and larger cells, which are well organized and have accessible structures. As well, the close phylogenetic relationship between Chordata and Echinodermata constitutes an additional advantage to use these organisms as a model for the functionality of neuronal cells and their cellular plasticity. Currently, there is great interest in analyzing the signaling processes between neurons and glial cells, both in vertebrates and in invertebrates. However, only few types of glial cells of invertebrates, mostly insects, have been studied, and it is important to consider marine organisms' research. For this reason, the objective of the review is to present an update of the most relevant information that exists around the physiology of marine invertebrate neuronal and glial cells.

Neuroanatomy of a hydrothermal vent shrimp provides insights into the evolution of crustacean integrative brain centers

Alvinocaridid shrimps are emblematic representatives of the deep hydrothermal vent fauna at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. They are adapted to a mostly aphotic habitat with extreme physicochemical conditions in the vicinity of the hydrothermal fluid emissions. Here, we investigated the brain architecture of the vent shrimp Rimicaris exoculata to understand possible adaptations of its nervous system to the hydrothermal sensory landscape. Its brain is modified from the crustacean brain ground pattern by featuring relatively small visual and olfactory neuropils that contrast with well-developed higher integrative centers, the hemiellipsoid bodies. We propose that these structures in vent shrimps may fulfill functions in addition to higher order sensory processing and suggest a role in place memory. Our study promotes vent shrimps as fascinating models to gain insights into sensory adaptations to peculiar environmental conditions, and the evolutionary transformation of specific brain areas in Crustacea.

The simple neuroendocrine-immune regulatory network in oyster Crassostrea gigas mediates complex functions

The neuroendocrine-immune (NEI) regulatory network is a complex system, which plays an indispensable role in the immunity of the host. In the present study, the bioinformatical analysis of the transcriptomic data from oyster Crassostrea gigas and further biological validation revealed that oyster TNF (CgTNF-1 CGI_10018786) could activate the transcription factors NF-κB and HSF (heat shock transcription factor) through MAPK signaling pathway, and then regulate apoptosis, redox reaction, neuro-regulation and protein folding in oyster haemocytes. The activated immune cells then released neurotransmitters including acetylcholine, norepinephrine and [Met(5)]-enkephalin to regulate the immune response by arising the expression of three TNF (CGI_10005109, CGI_10005110 and CGI_10006440) and translocating two NF-κB (Cgp65, CGI_10018142 and CgRel, CGI_10021567) between the cytoplasm and nuclei of haemocytes. Neurotransmitters exhibited the immunomodulation effects by influencing apoptosis and phagocytosis of oyster haemocytes. Acetylcholine and norepinephrine could down-regulate the immune response, while [Met(5)]-enkephalin up-regulate the immune response. These results suggested that the simple neuroendocrine-immune regulatory network in oyster might be activated by oyster TNF and then regulate the immune response by virtue of neurotransmitters, cytokines and transcription factors.

Serotonin-immunoreactivity in the ventral nerve cord of Pycnogonida--support for individually identifiable neurons as ancestral feature of the arthropod nervous system

BACKGROUND

The arthropod ventral nerve cord features a comparably low number of serotonin-immunoreactive neurons, occurring in segmentally repeated arrays. In different crustaceans and hexapods, these neurons have been individually identified and even inter-specifically homologized, based on their soma positions and neurite morphologies. Stereotypic sets of serotonin-immunoreactive neurons are also present in myriapods, whereas in the investigated chelicerates segmental neuron clusters with higher and variable cell numbers have been reported. This led to the suggestion that individually identifiable serotonin-immunoreactive neurons are an apomorphic feature of the Mandibulata. To test the validity of this neurophylogenetic hypothesis, we studied serotonin-immunoreactivity in three species of Pycnogonida (sea spiders). This group of marine arthropods is nowadays most plausibly resolved as sister group to all other extant chelicerates, rendering its investigation crucial for a reliable reconstruction of arthropod nervous system evolution.

RESULTS

In all three investigated pycnogonids, the ventral walking leg ganglia contain different types of serotonin-immunoreactive neurons, the somata of which occurring mostly singly or in pairs within the ganglionic cortex. Several of these neurons are readily and consistently identifiable due to their stereotypic soma position and characteristic neurite morphology. They can be clearly homologized across different ganglia and different specimens as well as across the three species. Based on these homologous neurons, we reconstruct for their last common ancestor (presumably the pycnogonid stem species) a minimal repertoire of at least seven identified serotonin-immunoreactive neurons per hemiganglion. Beyond that, each studied species features specific pattern variations, which include also some neurons that were not reliably labeled in all specimens.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results unequivocally demonstrate the presence of individually identifiable serotonin-immunoreactive neurons in the pycnogonid ventral nerve cord. Accordingly, the validity of this neuroanatomical feature as apomorphy of Mandibulata is questioned and we suggest it to be ancestral for arthropods instead. The pronounced disparities between the segmental pattern in pycnogonids and the one of studied euchelicerates call for denser sampling within the latter taxon. By contrast, overall similarities between the pycnogonid and myriapod patterns may be indicative of single cell homologies in these two taxa. This notion awaits further substantiation from future studies.

The brain in three crustaceans from cavernous darkness

BACKGROUND

While a number of neuroanatomical studies in other malacostracan taxa have recently contributed to the reconstruction of the malacostracan ground pattern, little is known about the nervous system in the three enigmatic blind groups of peracarids from relict habitats, Thermosbaenacea, Spelaeogriphacea, and Mictocarididae. This first detailed description of the brain in a representative of each taxon is largely based on a combination of serial semi-thin sectioning and computer-aided 3D-reconstructions. In addition, the mictocaridid Mictocaris halope was studied with a combination of immunolabeling (tubulin, nuclear counter-stains) and confocal laser scanning microscopy, addressing also the ventral nerve cord.

RESULTS

Adjacent to the terminal medulla, all three representatives exhibit a distal protocerebral neuropil, which is reminiscent of the lobula in other Malacostraca, but also allows for an alternative interpretation in M. halope and the thermosbaenacean Tethysbaena argentarii. A central complex occurs in all three taxa, most distinctively in the spelaeogriphacean Spelaeogriphus lepidops. The deutocerebral olfactory lobe in M. halope and S. lepidops is large. The comparably smaller olfactory lobe in T. argentarii appears to be associated with a unique additional deutocerebral neuropil. A small hemiellipsoid body exists only in the protocerebrum of T. argentarii. Distinctive mechanosensory neuropils corresponding to other malacostracans are missing.

CONCLUSIONS

The considerable reduction of the optic lobe in the studied taxa is higher than in any other blind malacostracan. The large size of deutocerebral olfactory centers implies an important role of the olfactory sense. The presence of a distinctive central complex in the blind S. lepidops adds further support to a central-coordinating over a visual function of this structure. The lack of a hemiellipsoid body in M. halope and S. lepidops suggests that their terminal medulla takes over the function of a second order olfactory center completely, as in some other peracarids. The reduction of the optic lobe and hemiellipsoid body is suggested to have occurred several times independently within Peracarida. The missing optic sense in the studied taxa is not correlated with an emphasized mechanosense.

Embryonic neurogenesis in Pseudopallene sp. (Arthropoda, Pycnogonida) includes two subsequent phases with similarities to different arthropod groups

BACKGROUND

Studies on early neurogenesis have had considerable impact on the discussion of the phylogenetic relationships of arthropods, having revealed striking similarities and differences between the major lineages. In Hexapoda and crustaceans, neurogenesis involves the neuroblast, a type of neural stem cell. In each hemi-segment, a set of neuroblasts produces neural cells by repeated asymmetrical and interiorly directed divisions. In Euchelicerata and Myriapoda, neurogenesis lacks neural stem cells, featuring instead direct immigration of neural cell groups from fixed sites in the neuroectoderm. Accordingly, neural stem cells were hitherto assumed to be an evolutionary novelty of the Tetraconata (Hexapoda + crustaceans). To further test this hypothesis, we investigated neurogenesis in Pycnogonida, or sea spiders, a group of marine arthropods with close affinities to euchelicerates.

RESULTS

We studied neurogenesis during embryonic development of Pseudopallene sp. (Callipallenidae), using fluorescent histochemical staining and immunolabelling. Embryonic neurogenesis has two phases. The first phase shows notable similarities to euchelicerates and myriapods. These include i) the lack of morphologically different cell types in the neuroectoderm; ii) the formation of transiently identifiable, stereotypically arranged cell internalization sites; iii) immigration of predominantly post-mitotic ganglion cells; and iv) restriction of tangentially oriented cell proliferation to the apical cell layer. However, in the second phase, the formation of a central invagination in each hemi-neuromere is accompanied by the differentiation of apical neural stem cells. The latter grow in size, show high mitotic activity and an asymmetrical division mode. A marked increase of ganglion cell numbers follows their differentiation. Directly basal to the neural stem cells, an additional type of intermediate neural precursor is found.

CONCLUSIONS

Embryonic neurogenesis of Pseudopallene sp. combines features of central nervous system development that have been hitherto described separately in different arthropod taxa. The two-phase character of pycnogonid neurogenesis calls for a thorough reinvestigation of other non-model arthropods over the entire course of neurogenesis. With the currently available data, a common origin of pycnogonid neural stem cells and tetraconate neuroblasts remains unresolved. To acknowledge this, we present two possible scenarios on the evolution of arthropod neurogenesis, whereby Myriapoda play a key role in the resolution of this issue.

Serotonin-immunoreactive neurons in the ventral nerve cord of Remipedia (Crustacea): support for a sister group relationship of Remipedia and Hexapoda?

Background

Remipedia were initially seen as a primitive taxon within Pancrustacea based on characters considered ancestral, such as the homonomously segmented trunk. Meanwhile, several morphological and molecular studies proposed a more derived position of Remipedia within Pancrustacea, including a sister group relationship to Hexapoda. Because of these conflicting hypotheses, fresh data are crucial to contribute new insights into euarthropod phylogeny. The architecture of individually identifiable serotonin-immunoreactive neurons has successfully been used for phylogenetic considerations in Euarthropoda. Here, we identified neurons in three species of Remipedia with an antiserum against serotonin and compared our findings to reconstructed ground patterns in other euarthropod taxa. Additionally, we traced neurite connectivity and neuropil outlines using antisera against acetylated α-tubulin and synapsin.

Results

The ventral nerve cord of Remipedia displays a typical rope-ladder-like arrangement of separate metameric ganglia linked by paired longitudinally projecting connectives. The peripheral projections comprise an intersegmental nerve, consisting of two branches that fuse shortly after exiting the connectives, and the segmental anterior and posterior nerve. The distribution and morphology of serotonin-immunoreactive interneurons in the trunk segments is highly conserved within the remipede species we analyzed, which allows for the reconstruction of a ground pattern: two posterior and one anterior pair of serotonin-immunoreactive neurons that possess a single contralateral projection. Additionally, three pairs of immunoreactive neurons are found in the medial part of each hemiganglion. In one species (Cryptocorynetes haptodiscus), the anterior pair of immunoreactive neurons is missing.

Conclusions

The anatomy of the remipede ventral nerve cord with its separate metameric ganglia mirrors the external morphology of the animal’s trunk. The rope-ladder-like structure and principal architecture of the segmental ganglia in Remipedia corresponds closely to that of other Euarthropoda. A comparison of the serotonin-immunoreactive cell arrangement of Remipedia to reconstructed ground patterns of major euarthropod taxa supports a homology of the anterior and posterior neurons in Pancrustacea. These neurons in Remipedia possess unbranched projections across the midline, pointing towards similarities to the hexapod pattern. Our findings are in line with a growing number of phylogenetic investigations proposing Remipedia to be a rather derived crustacean lineage that perhaps has close affinities to Hexapoda.

Neural markers reveal a one-segmented head in tardigrades (water bears)

BACKGROUND

While recent neuroanatomical and gene expression studies have clarified the alignment of cephalic segments in arthropods and onychophorans, the identity of head segments in tardigrades remains controversial. In particular, it is unclear whether the tardigrade head and its enclosed brain comprises one, or several segments, or a non-segmental structure. To clarify this, we applied a variety of histochemical and immunocytochemical markers to specimens of the tardigrade Macrobiotus cf. harmsworthi and the onychophoran Euperipatoides rowelli.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Our immunolabelling against serotonin, FMRFamide and α-tubulin reveals that the tardigrade brain is a dorsal, bilaterally symmetric structure that resembles the brain of onychophorans and arthropods rather than a circumoesophageal ring typical of cycloneuralians (nematodes and allies). A suboesophageal ganglion is clearly lacking. Our data further reveal a hitherto unknown, unpaired stomatogastric ganglion in Macrobiotus cf. harmsworthi, which innervates the ectodermal oesophagus and the endodermal midgut and is associated with the second leg-bearing segment. In contrast, the oesophagus of the onychophoran E. rowelli possesses no immunoreactive neurons, whereas scattered bipolar, serotonin-like immunoreactive cell bodies are found in the midgut wall. Furthermore, our results show that the onychophoran pharynx is innervated by a medullary loop nerve accompanied by monopolar, serotonin-like immunoreactive cell bodies.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

A comparison of the nervous system innervating the foregut and midgut structures in tardigrades and onychophorans to that of arthropods indicates that the stomatogastric ganglion is a potential synapomorphy of Tardigrada and Arthropoda. Its association with the second leg-bearing segment in tardigrades suggests that the second trunk ganglion is a homologue of the arthropod tritocerebrum, whereas the first ganglion corresponds to the deutocerebrum. We therefore conclude that the tardigrade brain consists of a single segmental region corresponding to the arthropod protocerebrum and, accordingly, that the tardigrade head is a non-composite, one-segmented structure.

Invertebrate neurophylogeny: suggested terms and definitions for a neuroanatomical glossary

BACKGROUND

Invertebrate nervous systems are highly disparate between different taxa. This is reflected in the terminology used to describe them, which is very rich and often confusing. Even very general terms such as 'brain', 'nerve', and 'eye' have been used in various ways in the different animal groups, but no consensus on the exact meaning exists. This impedes our understanding of the architecture of the invertebrate nervous system in general and of evolutionary transformations of nervous system characters between different taxa.

RESULTS

We provide a glossary of invertebrate neuroanatomical terms with a precise and consistent terminology, taxon-independent and free of homology assumptions. This terminology is intended to form a basis for new morphological descriptions. A total of 47 terms are defined. Each entry consists of a definition, discouraged terms, and a background/comment section.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of our revised neuroanatomical terminology in any new descriptions of the anatomy of invertebrate nervous systems will improve the comparability of this organ system and its substructures between the various taxa, and finally even lead to better and more robust homology hypotheses.

Distribution of C-type allatostatin (C-AST)-like immunoreactivity in the central nervous system of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus

The C-type allatostatins (C-ASTs) are a family of highly pleiotropic arthropod neuropeptides. In crustaceans, transcriptomic/mass spectral studies have identified C-ASTs in the nervous systems of many species; the cellular distributions of these peptides remain unknown. Here, the distribution of C-AST was mapped in the nervous system of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus, the major contributor to the North Atlantic's zooplanktonic biomass; C-AST-immunopositive neurons were identified in the protocerebrum, in several peripheral ganglia associated with feeding appendages, and in the ganglia controlling the swimming legs, with immunopositive axons present throughout the ventral nerve cord. In addition, axons innervating the dorsal longitudinal and ventral longitudinal muscles of the body wall of the metasome were labeled by the C-AST antibody. While the distribution of C-AST-like immunoreactivity was similar between sexes, several differences were noted, i.e., two pair of somata located at the deutocerebral/tritocerebral border in males and immunopositive fibers that surround the genital opening in females. To place the C-AST-like labeling into context with those of several previously mapped peptides, i.e., A-type allatostatin (A-AST) and tachykinin-related peptide (TRP), we conducted double-labeling studies; the C-AST-like immunopositive neurons appear distinct from those expressing either A-AST or TRP (and through extrapolation, pigment dispersing hormone). Collectively, our data represent the first mapping of C-AST in crustacean neural tissue, show that sex-specific differences in the distribution of C-AST exist in the C. finmarchicus CNS, and suggest that the peptide may be involved in the modulation of both feeding and postural control/locomotion.