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Takagi S, Sancer G, Abuin L, Stupski SD, Arguello JR, Prieto-Godino LL, Stern DL, Cruchet S, Alvarez-Ocana R, Wienecke CFR, van Breugel F, Jeanne JM, Auer TO, Benton R. Sensory neuron population expansion enhances odor tracking without sensitizing projection neurons. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.09.15.556782. [PMID: 37745467 PMCID: PMC10515935 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.15.556782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
The evolutionary expansion of sensory neuron populations detecting important environmental cues is widespread, but functionally enigmatic. We investigated this phenomenon through comparison of homologous neural pathways of Drosophila melanogaster and its close relative Drosophila sechellia , an extreme specialist for Morinda citrifolia noni fruit. D. sechellia has evolved species-specific expansions in select, noni-detecting olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) populations, through multigenic changes. Activation and inhibition of defined proportions of neurons demonstrate that OSN population increases contribute to stronger, more persistent, noni-odor tracking behavior. These sensory neuron expansions result in increased synaptic connections with their projection neuron (PN) partners, which are conserved in number between species. Surprisingly, having more OSNs does not lead to greater odor-evoked PN sensitivity or reliability. Rather, pathways with increased sensory pooling exhibit reduced PN adaptation, likely through weakened lateral inhibition. Our work reveals an unexpected functional impact of sensory neuron expansions to explain ecologically-relevant, species-specific behavior.
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2
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Medina-Jiménez BI, Budd GE, Janssen R. Single-cell RNA sequencing of mid-to-late stage spider embryos: new insights into spider development. BMC Genomics 2024; 25:150. [PMID: 38326752 PMCID: PMC10848406 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09898-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The common house spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum represents an emerging new model organism of arthropod evolutionary and developmental (EvoDevo) studies. Recent technical advances have resulted in the first single-cell sequencing (SCS) data on this species allowing deeper insights to be gained into its early development, but mid-to-late stage embryos were not included in these pioneering studies. RESULTS Therefore, we performed SCS on mid-to-late stage embryos of Parasteatoda and characterized resulting cell clusters by means of in-silico analysis (comparison of key markers of each cluster with previously published information on these genes). In-silico prediction of the nature of each cluster was then tested/verified by means of additional in-situ hybridization experiments with additional markers of each cluster. CONCLUSIONS Our data show that SCS data reliably group cells with similar genetic fingerprints into more or less distinct clusters, and thus allows identification of developing cell types on a broader level, such as the distinction of ectodermal, mesodermal and endodermal cell lineages, as well as the identification of distinct developing tissues such as subtypes of nervous tissue cells, the developing heart, or the ventral sulcus (VS). In comparison with recent other SCS studies on the same species, our data represent later developmental stages, and thus provide insights into different stages of developing cell types and tissues such as differentiating neurons and the VS that are only present at these later stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenda I Medina-Jiménez
- Department of Earth Sciences, Palaeobiology, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Graham E Budd
- Department of Earth Sciences, Palaeobiology, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ralf Janssen
- Department of Earth Sciences, Palaeobiology, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden.
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3
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Mah JL, Dunn CW. Cell type evolution reconstruction across species through cell phylogenies of single-cell RNA sequencing data. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:325-338. [PMID: 38182680 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02281-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
The origin and evolution of cell types has emerged as a key topic in evolutionary biology. Driven by rapidly accumulating single-cell datasets, recent attempts to infer cell type evolution have largely been limited to pairwise comparisons because we lack approaches to build cell phylogenies using model-based approaches. Here we approach the challenges of applying explicit phylogenetic methods to single-cell data by using principal components as phylogenetic characters. We infer a cell phylogeny from a large, comparative single-cell dataset of eye cells from five distantly related mammals. Robust cell type clades enable us to provide a phylogenetic, rather than phenetic, definition of cell type, allowing us to forgo marker genes and phylogenetically classify cells by topology. We further observe evolutionary relationships between diverse vessel endothelia and identify the myelinating and non-myelinating Schwann cells as sister cell types. Finally, we examine principal component loadings and describe the gene expression dynamics underlying the function and identity of cell type clades that have been conserved across the five species. A cell phylogeny provides a rigorous framework towards investigating the evolutionary history of cells and will be critical to interpret comparative single-cell datasets that aim to ask fundamental evolutionary questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmine L Mah
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Casey W Dunn
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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4
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Morel JS, Causeret F. [How Cajal-Retzius cells hijacked a gene network involved in multiciliation to acquire their neuronal identity]. Med Sci (Paris) 2024; 40:107-109. [PMID: 38299914 DOI: 10.1051/medsci/2023184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Juliette S Morel
- Université Paris Cité, institut Imagine, équipe Génétique et développement du cortex cérébral, Paris, France - Université Paris Cité, institut de psychiatrie et neurosciences de Paris (IPNP), Inserm U1266, équipe Génétique et développement du cortex cérébral, Paris, France
| | - Frédéric Causeret
- Université Paris Cité, institut Imagine, équipe Génétique et développement du cortex cérébral, Paris, France - Université Paris Cité, institut de psychiatrie et neurosciences de Paris (IPNP), Inserm U1266, équipe Génétique et développement du cortex cérébral, Paris, France
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5
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Li Z, Yang W, Wu P, Shan Y, Zhang X, Chen F, Yang J, Yang JR. Reconstructing cell lineage trees with genomic barcoding: approaches and applications. J Genet Genomics 2024; 51:35-47. [PMID: 37269980 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2023.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In multicellular organisms, developmental history of cell divisions and functional annotation of terminal cells can be organized into a cell lineage tree (CLT). The reconstruction of the CLT has long been a major goal in developmental biology and other related fields. Recent technological advancements, especially those in editable genomic barcodes and single-cell high-throughput sequencing, have sparked a new wave of experimental methods for reconstructing CLTs. Here we review the existing experimental approaches to the reconstruction of CLT, which are broadly categorized as either image-based or DNA barcode-based methods. In addition, we present a summary of the related literature based on the biological insight provided by the obtained CLTs. Moreover, we discuss the challenges that will arise as more and better CLT data become available in the near future. Genomic barcoding-based CLT reconstructions and analyses, due to their wide applicability and high scalability, offer the potential for novel biological discoveries, especially those related to general and systemic properties of the developmental process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zizhang Li
- Advanced Medical Technology Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China; Department of Genetics and Biomedical Informatics, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China
| | - Wenjing Yang
- Advanced Medical Technology Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China
| | - Peng Wu
- Advanced Medical Technology Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China
| | - Yuyan Shan
- Advanced Medical Technology Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhang
- Advanced Medical Technology Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China
| | - Feng Chen
- Advanced Medical Technology Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China; Department of Genetics and Biomedical Informatics, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China
| | - Junnan Yang
- Advanced Medical Technology Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China
| | - Jian-Rong Yang
- Advanced Medical Technology Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China; Department of Genetics and Biomedical Informatics, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China; Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control, Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
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6
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Sur A, Wang Y, Capar P, Margolin G, Prochaska MK, Farrell JA. Single-cell analysis of shared signatures and transcriptional diversity during zebrafish development. Dev Cell 2023; 58:3028-3047.e12. [PMID: 37995681 PMCID: PMC11181902 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2023.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
During development, animals generate distinct cell populations with specific identities, functions, and morphologies. We mapped transcriptionally distinct populations across 489,686 cells from 62 stages during wild-type zebrafish embryogenesis and early larval development (3-120 h post-fertilization). Using these data, we identified the limited catalog of gene expression programs reused across multiple tissues and their cell-type-specific adaptations. We also determined the duration each transcriptional state is present during development and identify unexpected long-term cycling populations. Focused clustering and transcriptional trajectory analyses of non-skeletal muscle and endoderm identified transcriptional profiles and candidate transcriptional regulators of understudied cell types and subpopulations, including the pneumatic duct, individual intestinal smooth muscle layers, spatially distinct pericyte subpopulations, and recently discovered best4+ cells. To enable additional discoveries, we make this comprehensive transcriptional atlas of early zebrafish development available through our website, Daniocell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhinav Sur
- Division of Developmental Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Yiqun Wang
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Paulina Capar
- Division of Developmental Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Gennady Margolin
- Bioinformatics and Scientific Programming Core, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Morgan Kathleen Prochaska
- Division of Developmental Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Jeffrey A Farrell
- Division of Developmental Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
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7
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Krienen FM, Levandowski KM, Zaniewski H, del Rosario RC, Schroeder ME, Goldman M, Wienisch M, Lutservitz A, Beja-Glasser VF, Chen C, Zhang Q, Chan KY, Li KX, Sharma J, McCormack D, Shin TW, Harrahill A, Nyase E, Mudhar G, Mauermann A, Wysoker A, Nemesh J, Kashin S, Vergara J, Chelini G, Dimidschstein J, Berretta S, Deverman BE, Boyden E, McCarroll SA, Feng G. A marmoset brain cell census reveals regional specialization of cellular identities. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadk3986. [PMID: 37824615 PMCID: PMC10569717 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk3986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
The mammalian brain is composed of many brain structures, each with its own ontogenetic and developmental history. We used single-nucleus RNA sequencing to sample over 2.4 million brain cells across 18 locations in the common marmoset, a New World monkey primed for genetic engineering, and examined gene expression patterns of cell types within and across brain structures. The adult transcriptomic identity of most neuronal types is shaped more by developmental origin than by neurotransmitter signaling repertoire. Quantitative mapping of GABAergic types with single-molecule FISH (smFISH) reveals that interneurons in the striatum and neocortex follow distinct spatial principles, and that lateral prefrontal and other higher-order cortical association areas are distinguished by high proportions of VIP+ neurons. We use cell type-specific enhancers to drive AAV-GFP and reconstruct the morphologies of molecularly resolved interneuron types in neocortex and striatum. Our analyses highlight how lineage, local context, and functional class contribute to the transcriptional identity and biodistribution of primate brain cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fenna M. Krienen
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Kirsten M. Levandowski
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Heather Zaniewski
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Ricardo C.H. del Rosario
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Margaret E. Schroeder
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Melissa Goldman
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Martin Wienisch
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Alyssa Lutservitz
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Victoria F. Beja-Glasser
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Cindy Chen
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Qiangge Zhang
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Ken Y. Chan
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Katelyn X. Li
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Jitendra Sharma
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Dana McCormack
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Tay Won Shin
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Andrew Harrahill
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Eric Nyase
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Gagandeep Mudhar
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Abigail Mauermann
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Alec Wysoker
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - James Nemesh
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Seva Kashin
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Josselyn Vergara
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Gabriele Chelini
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Piazza della Manifattura n.1, Rovereto (TN) 38068, Italy
| | - Jordane Dimidschstein
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Sabina Berretta
- Basic Neuroscience Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02478, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Benjamin E. Deverman
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Ed Boyden
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Steven A. McCarroll
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Guoping Feng
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
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8
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Lamanna F, Hervas-Sotomayor F, Oel AP, Jandzik D, Sobrido-Cameán D, Santos-Durán GN, Martik ML, Stundl J, Green SA, Brüning T, Mößinger K, Schmidt J, Schneider C, Sepp M, Murat F, Smith JJ, Bronner ME, Rodicio MC, Barreiro-Iglesias A, Medeiros DM, Arendt D, Kaessmann H. A lamprey neural cell type atlas illuminates the origins of the vertebrate brain. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1714-1728. [PMID: 37710042 PMCID: PMC10555824 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02170-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
The vertebrate brain emerged more than ~500 million years ago in common evolutionary ancestors. To systematically trace its cellular and molecular origins, we established a spatially resolved cell type atlas of the entire brain of the sea lamprey-a jawless species whose phylogenetic position affords the reconstruction of ancestral vertebrate traits-based on extensive single-cell RNA-seq and in situ sequencing data. Comparisons of this atlas to neural data from the mouse and other jawed vertebrates unveiled various shared features that enabled the reconstruction of cell types, tissue structures and gene expression programs of the ancestral vertebrate brain. However, our analyses also revealed key tissues and cell types that arose later in evolution. For example, the ancestral brain was probably devoid of cerebellar cell types and oligodendrocytes (myelinating cells); our data suggest that the latter emerged from astrocyte-like evolutionary precursors in the jawed vertebrate lineage. Altogether, our work illuminates the cellular and molecular architecture of the ancestral vertebrate brain and provides a foundation for exploring its diversification during evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Lamanna
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | | | - A Phillip Oel
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - David Jandzik
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Department of Zoology, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Daniel Sobrido-Cameán
- Department of Functional Biology, CIBUS, Faculty of Biology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Gabriel N Santos-Durán
- Department of Functional Biology, CIBUS, Faculty of Biology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Megan L Martik
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jan Stundl
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Stephen A Green
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Thoomke Brüning
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katharina Mößinger
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Julia Schmidt
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Celine Schneider
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Mari Sepp
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Florent Murat
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany
- INRAE, LPGP, Rennes, France
| | - Jeramiah J Smith
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Marianne E Bronner
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - María Celina Rodicio
- Department of Functional Biology, CIBUS, Faculty of Biology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Antón Barreiro-Iglesias
- Department of Functional Biology, CIBUS, Faculty of Biology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Daniel M Medeiros
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Detlev Arendt
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Henrik Kaessmann
- Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg, Germany.
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9
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Sheloukhova L, Watanabe H. Analysis of cnidarian Gcm suggests a neuronal origin of glial EAAT1 function. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14790. [PMID: 37684386 PMCID: PMC10491807 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42046-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In bilaterian central nervous systems, coordination of neurotransmission by glial cells enables highly sophisticated neural functions. The diversity of transcription factors (TFs) involved in gliogenesis suggests multiple evolutionary origins of various glial cell types of bilaterians. Many of these TFs including the glial cells missing (Gcm) are also present in genomes of Cnidaria, the closest outgroup to Bilateria, but their function remains to be elucidated. In this study, we analyzed the function of Gcm, a multifunctional TF involved in development of glial and non-glial cell types, in the sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. siRNA-mediated knockdown of Nematostella Gcm altered expression of cell adhesion proteins, glutamate and GABA transporters, ion channels, metabolic enzymes, and zinc finger and Ets-related TFs. NvGcm and mRNAs of downstream genes are expressed in broad neural cell clusters. However, immunostaining of a NvGcm target protein, the glutamate transporter, NvEAAT1, visualized a novel class of cells with flat cell bodies and no clear processes. Together with the finding of unique morphological features of NvEAAT1-functioning cells, these data suggest that extracellular glutamate metabolism, one of major glial functions, is deployed downstream of Gcm in specific neural cell types in Cnidaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larisa Sheloukhova
- Evolutionary Neurobiology Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, 904-0412, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Watanabe
- Evolutionary Neurobiology Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, 904-0412, Japan.
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10
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Amini S, Doyle JJ, Libault M. The evolving definition of plant cell type. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1271070. [PMID: 37692436 PMCID: PMC10485272 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1271070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sahand Amini
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States
| | - Jeffrey J. Doyle
- School of Integrative Plant Science, Plant Biology Section, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
- School of Integrative Plant Science, Plant Breeding & Genetics Section, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Marc Libault
- Center for Plant Science Innovation, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States
- Single Cell Genomics Core Facility, Center for Biotechnology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States
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11
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Kuwabara T, Kohno H, Hatakeyama M, Kubo T. Evolutionary dynamics of mushroom body Kenyon cell types in hymenopteran brains from multifunctional type to functionally specialized types. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadd4201. [PMID: 37146148 PMCID: PMC10162674 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add4201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionary dynamics of diversification of brain neuronal cell types that have underlain behavioral evolution remain largely unknown. Here, we compared transcriptomes and functions of Kenyon cell (KC) types that compose the mushroom bodies between the honey bee and sawfly, a primitive hymenopteran insect whose KCs likely have the ancestral properties. Transcriptome analyses show that the sawfly KC type shares some of the gene expression profile with each honey bee KC type, although unique gene expression profiles have also been acquired in each honey bee KC type. In addition, functional analysis of two sawfly genes suggested that the functions in learning and memory of the ancestral KC type were heterogeneously inherited among the KC types in the honey bee. Our findings strongly suggest that the functional evolution of KCs in Hymenoptera involved two previously hypothesized processes for evolution of cell function: functional segregation and divergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takayoshi Kuwabara
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Hiroki Kohno
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Masatsugu Hatakeyama
- Division of Insect Advanced Technology, Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, NARO, Owashi, Tsukuba 305-8634, Japan
| | - Takeo Kubo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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12
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Sur A, Wang Y, Capar P, Margolin G, Farrell JA. Single-cell analysis of shared signatures and transcriptional diversity during zebrafish development. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.20.533545. [PMID: 36993555 PMCID: PMC10055256 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.20.533545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
During development, animals generate distinct cell populations with specific identities, functions, and morphologies. We mapped transcriptionally distinct populations across 489,686 cells from 62 stages during wild-type zebrafish embryogenesis and early larval development (3-120 hours post-fertilization). Using these data, we identified the limited catalog of gene expression programs reused across multiple tissues and their cell-type-specific adaptations. We also determined the duration each transcriptional state is present during development and suggest new long-term cycling populations. Focused analyses of non-skeletal muscle and the endoderm identified transcriptional profiles of understudied cell types and subpopulations, including the pneumatic duct, individual intestinal smooth muscle layers, spatially distinct pericyte subpopulations, and homologs of recently discovered human best4+ enterocytes. The transcriptional regulators of these populations remain unknown, so we reconstructed gene expression trajectories to suggest candidates. To enable additional discoveries, we make this comprehensive transcriptional atlas of early zebrafish development available through our website, Daniocell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhinav Sur
- Division of Developmental Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20814
| | - Yiqun Wang
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Paulina Capar
- Division of Developmental Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20814
| | - Gennady Margolin
- Bioinformatics and Scientific Programming Core, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20814
| | - Jeffrey A. Farrell
- Division of Developmental Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20814
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13
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Rusin LY. Evolution of homology: From archetype towards a holistic concept of cell type. J Morphol 2023; 284:e21569. [PMID: 36789784 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
The concept of homology lies in the heart of comparative biological science. The distinction between homology as structure and analogy as function has shaped the evolutionary paradigm for a century and formed the axis of comparative anatomy and embryology, which accept the identity of structure as a ground measure of relatedness. The advent of single-cell genomics overturned the classical view of cell homology by establishing a backbone regulatory identity of cell types, the basic biological units bridging the molecular and phenotypic dimensions, to reveal that the cell is the most flexible unit of living matter and that many approaches of classical biology need to be revised to understand evolution and diversity at the cellular level. The emerging theory of cell types explicitly decouples cell identity from phenotype, essentially allowing for the divergence of evolutionarily related morphotypes beyond recognition, as well as it decouples ontogenetic cell lineage from cell-type phylogeny, whereby explicating that cell types can share common descent regardless of their structure, function or developmental origin. The article succinctly summarizes current progress and opinion in this field and formulates a more generalistic view of biological cell types as avatars, transient or terminal cell states deployed in a continuum of states by the developmental programme of one and the same omnipotent cell, capable of changing or combining identities with distinct evolutionary histories or inventing ad hoc identities that never existed in evolution or development. It highlights how the new logic grounded in the regulatory nature of cell identity transforms the concepts of cell homology and phenotypic stability, suggesting that cellular evolution is inherently and massively network-like, with one-to-one homologies being rather uncommon and restricted to shallower levels of the animal tree of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonid Y Rusin
- Laboratory for Mathematic Methods and Models in Bioinformatics, Institute for Information Transmission Problems (Kharkevich Institute), Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- EvoGenome Analytics LLC, Odintsovo, Moscow Region, Russia
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14
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Ma F, Zheng C. Transcriptome age of individual cell types in Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2216351120. [PMID: 36812209 PMCID: PMC9992843 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2216351120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The phylotranscriptomic analysis of development in several species revealed the expression of older and more conserved genes in midembryonic stages and younger and more divergent genes in early and late embryonic stages, which supported the hourglass mode of development. However, previous work only studied the transcriptome age of whole embryos or embryonic sublineages, leaving the cellular basis of the hourglass pattern and the variation of transcriptome ages among cell types unexplored. By analyzing both bulk and single-cell transcriptomic data, we studied the transcriptome age of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans throughout development. Using the bulk RNA-seq data, we identified the morphogenesis phase in midembryonic development as the phylotypic stage with the oldest transcriptome and confirmed the results using whole-embryo transcriptome assembled from single-cell RNA-seq data. The variation in transcriptome ages among individual cell types remained small in early and midembryonic development and grew bigger in late embryonic and larval stages as cells and tissues differentiate. Lineages that give rise to certain tissues (e.g., hypodermis and some neurons) but not all recapitulated the hourglass pattern across development at the single-cell transcriptome level. Further analysis of the variation in transcriptome ages among the 128 neuron types in C. elegans nervous system found that a group of chemosensory neurons and their downstream interneurons expressed very young transcriptomes and may contribute to adaptation in recent evolution. Finally, the variation in transcriptome age among the neuron types, as well as the age of their cell fate regulators, led us to hypothesize the evolutionary history of some neuron types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuqiang Ma
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Chaogu Zheng
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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15
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Zinchenko V, Hugger J, Uhlmann V, Arendt D, Kreshuk A. MorphoFeatures for unsupervised exploration of cell types, tissues, and organs in volume electron microscopy. eLife 2023; 12:80918. [PMID: 36795088 PMCID: PMC9934868 DOI: 10.7554/elife.80918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Electron microscopy (EM) provides a uniquely detailed view of cellular morphology, including organelles and fine subcellular ultrastructure. While the acquisition and (semi-)automatic segmentation of multicellular EM volumes are now becoming routine, large-scale analysis remains severely limited by the lack of generally applicable pipelines for automatic extraction of comprehensive morphological descriptors. Here, we present a novel unsupervised method for learning cellular morphology features directly from 3D EM data: a neural network delivers a representation of cells by shape and ultrastructure. Applied to the full volume of an entire three-segmented worm of the annelid Platynereis dumerilii, it yields a visually consistent grouping of cells supported by specific gene expression profiles. Integration of features across spatial neighbours can retrieve tissues and organs, revealing, for example, a detailed organisation of the animal foregut. We envision that the unbiased nature of the proposed morphological descriptors will enable rapid exploration of very different biological questions in large EM volumes, greatly increasing the impact of these invaluable, but costly resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentyna Zinchenko
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)HeidelbergGermany
| | - Johannes Hugger
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)CambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Virginie Uhlmann
- European Bioinformatics Institute, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)CambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Detlev Arendt
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)HeidelbergGermany
| | - Anna Kreshuk
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)HeidelbergGermany
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16
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DiFrisco J, Love AC, Wagner GP. The hierarchical basis of serial homology and evolutionary novelty. J Morphol 2023; 284:e21531. [PMID: 36317664 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Given the pervasiveness of gene sharing in evolution and the extent of homology across the tree of life, why is everything not homologous with everything else? The continuity and overlapping genetic contributions to diverse traits across lineages seem to imply that no discrete determination of homology is possible. Although some argue that the widespread overlap in parts and processes should be acknowledged as "partial" homology, this threatens a broad base of presumed comparative morphological knowledge accepted by most biologists. Following a long scientific tradition, we advocate a strategy of "theoretical articulation" that introduces further distinctions to existing concepts to produce increased contrastive resolution among the labels used to represent biological phenomena. We pursue this strategy by drawing on successful patterns of reasoning from serial homology at the level of gene sequences to generate an enriched characterization of serial homology as a hierarchical, phylogenetic concept. Specifically, we propose that the concept of serial homology should be applied primarily to repeated but developmentally individualized body parts, such as cell types, differentiated body segments, or epidermal appendages. For these characters, a phylogenetic history can be reconstructed, similar to families of paralogous genes, endowing the notion of serial homology with a hierarchical, phylogenetic interpretation. On this basis, we propose a five-fold theoretical classification that permits a more fine-grained mapping of diverse trait-types. This facilitates answering the question of why everything is not homologous with everything else, as well as how novelty is possible given that any new character possesses evolutionary precursors. We illustrate the fecundity of our account by reference to debates over insect wing serial homologs and vertebrate paired appendages.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.,Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Günter P Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Yale Systems Biology Institute, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale Medical School, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
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17
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Faure L, Techameena P, Hadjab S. Emergence of neuron types. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2022; 79:102133. [PMID: 36347131 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2022.102133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Neuron types are the building blocks of the nervous system, and therefore, of functional circuits. Understanding the origin of neuronal diversity has always been an essential question in neuroscience and developmental biology. While knowledge on the molecular control of their diversification has largely increased during the last decades, it is now possible to reveal the dynamic mechanisms and the actual stepwise molecular changes occurring at single-cell level with the advent of single-cell omics technologies and analysis with high temporal resolution. Here, we focus on recent advances in the field and in technical and analytical tools that enable detailed insights into the emergence of neuron types in the central and peripheral nervous systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis Faure
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Prach Techameena
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Saida Hadjab
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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18
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Garbouchian A, Montgomery AC, Gilbert SP, Bentley M. KAP is the neuronal organelle adaptor for Kinesin-2 KIF3AB and KIF3AC. Mol Biol Cell 2022; 33:ar133. [PMID: 36200888 PMCID: PMC9727798 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e22-08-0336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Kinesin-driven organelle transport is crucial for neuron development and maintenance, yet the mechanisms by which kinesins specifically bind their organelle cargoes remain undefined. In contrast to other transport kinesins, the neuronal function and specific organelle adaptors of heterodimeric Kinesin-2 family members KIF3AB and KIF3AC remain unknown. We developed a novel microscopy-based assay to define protein-protein interactions in intact neurons. The experiments found that both KIF3AB and KIF3AC bind kinesin-associated protein (KAP). These interactions are mediated by the distal C-terminal tail regions and not the coiled-coil domain. We used live-cell imaging in cultured hippocampal neurons to define the localization and trafficking parameters of KIF3AB and KIF3AC organelle populations. We discovered that KIF3AB/KAP and KIF3AC/KAP bind the same organelle populations and defined their transport parameters in axons and dendrites. The results also show that ∼12% of KIF3 organelles contain the RNA-binding protein adenomatous polyposis coli. These data point toward a model in which KIF3AB and KIF3AC use KAP as their neuronal organelle adaptor and that these kinesins mediate transport of a range of organelles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Garbouchian
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180
| | - Andrew C. Montgomery
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180
| | - Susan P. Gilbert
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180
| | - Marvin Bentley
- Department of Biological Sciences and Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180,*Address correspondence to: Marvin Bentley ()
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19
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Caenorhabditis elegans sine oculis/SIX-type homeobox genes act as homeotic switches to define neuronal subtype identities. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2206817119. [PMID: 36067313 PMCID: PMC9478639 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2206817119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Anatomical and molecular studies have revealed that in many animal nervous systems, neuronal cell types can often be subclassified into highly related subtypes with only small phenotypic differences. We decipher here the regulatory logic of such cell type diversification processes. We show that identity features of neurons that are highly similar to one another are controlled by master regulatory transcription factors and that phenotypic differences between related cell types are controlled by downstream acting transcription factors that promote or antagonize the ability of master regulatory factors to control unique identity features. Our findings help explain how neuronal cell types diversify and suggest hypothetical scenarios for neuronal cell-type evolution. The classification of neurons into distinct types reveals hierarchical taxonomic relationships that reflect the extent of similarity between neuronal cell types. At the base of such taxonomies are neuronal cells that are very similar to one another but differ in a small number of reproducible and select features. How are very similar members of a neuron class that share many features instructed to diversify into distinct subclasses? We show here that the six very similar members of the Caenorhabditis elegans IL2 sensory neuron class, which are all specified by a homeobox terminal selector, unc-86/BRN3, differentiate into two subtly distinct subclasses, a dorsoventral subclass and a lateral subclass, by the toggle switch–like action of the sine oculis/SIX homeobox gene unc-39. unc-39 is expressed only in the lateral IL2 neurons, and loss of unc-39 leads to a homeotic transformation of the lateral into the dorsoventral class; conversely, ectopic unc-39 expression converts the dorsoventral subclass into the lateral subclass. Hence, a terminal selector homeobox gene controls both class- as well as subclass-specific features, while a subordinate homeobox gene determines the ability of the class-specific homeobox gene to activate subtype-specific target genes. We find a similar regulatory mechanism operating in a distinct class of six motor neurons. Our findings underscore the importance of homeobox genes in neuronal identity control and invite speculations about homeotic identity transformations as potential drivers of evolutionary novelty during cell-type evolution in the brain.
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20
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Doyle JJ. Cell types as species: Exploring a metaphor. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:868565. [PMID: 36072310 PMCID: PMC9444152 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.868565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The concept of "cell type," though fundamental to cell biology, is controversial. Cells have historically been classified into types based on morphology, physiology, or location. More recently, single cell transcriptomic studies have revealed fine-scale differences among cells with similar gross phenotypes. Transcriptomic snapshots of cells at various stages of differentiation, and of cells under different physiological conditions, have shown that in many cases variation is more continuous than discrete, raising questions about the relationship between cell type and cell state. Some researchers have rejected the notion of fixed types altogether. Throughout the history of discussions on cell type, cell biologists have compared the problem of defining cell type with the interminable and often contentious debate over the definition of arguably the most important concept in systematics and evolutionary biology, "species." In the last decades, systematics, like cell biology, has been transformed by the increasing availability of molecular data, and the fine-grained resolution of genetic relationships have generated new ideas about how that variation should be classified. There are numerous parallels between the two fields that make exploration of the "cell types as species" metaphor timely. These parallels begin with philosophy, with discussion of both cell types and species as being either individuals, groups, or something in between (e.g., homeostatic property clusters). In each field there are various different types of lineages that form trees or networks that can (and in some cases do) provide criteria for grouping. Developing and refining models for evolutionary divergence of species and for cell type differentiation are parallel goals of the two fields. The goal of this essay is to highlight such parallels with the hope of inspiring biologists in both fields to look for new solutions to similar problems outside of their own field.
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21
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Extended intergenic DNA contributes to neuron-specific expression of neighboring genes in the mammalian nervous system. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2733. [PMID: 35585070 PMCID: PMC9117226 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30192-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammalian genomes comprise largely intergenic noncoding DNA with numerous cis-regulatory elements. Whether and how the size of intergenic DNA affects gene expression in a tissue-specific manner remain unknown. Here we show that genes with extended intergenic regions are preferentially expressed in neural tissues but repressed in other tissues in mice and humans. Extended intergenic regions contain twice as many active enhancers in neural tissues compared to other tissues. Neural genes with extended intergenic regions are globally co-expressed with neighboring neural genes controlled by distinct enhancers in the shared intergenic regions. Moreover, generic neural genes expressed in multiple tissues have significantly longer intergenic regions than neural genes expressed in fewer tissues. The intergenic regions of the generic neural genes have many tissue-specific active enhancers containing distinct transcription factor binding sites specific to each neural tissue. We also show that genes with extended intergenic regions are enriched for neural genes only in vertebrates. The expansion of intergenic regions may reflect the regulatory complexity of tissue-type-specific gene expression in the nervous system.
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22
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DiFrisco J, Wagner GP, Love AC. Reframing research on evolutionary novelty and co-option: Character identity mechanisms versus deep homology. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2022; 145:3-12. [PMID: 35400563 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.03.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
A central topic in research at the intersection of development and evolution is the origin of novel traits. Despite progress on understanding how developmental mechanisms underlie patterns of diversity in the history of life, the problem of novelty continues to challenge researchers. Here we argue that research on evolutionary novelty and the closely associated phenomenon of co-option can be reframed fruitfully by: (1) specifying a conceptual model of mechanisms that underwrite character identity, (2) providing a richer and more empirically precise notion of co-option that goes beyond common appeals to "deep homology", and (3) attending to the nature of experimental interventions that can determine whether and how the co-option of identity mechanisms can help to explain novel character origins. This reframing has the potential to channel future investigation to make substantive progress on the problem of evolutionary novelty. To illustrate this potential, we apply our reframing to two case studies: treehopper helmets and beetle horns.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Günter P Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Yale Systems Biology Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale Medical School, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Alan C Love
- Department of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
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23
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Rapti G. Open Frontiers in Neural Cell Type Investigations; Lessons From Caenorhabditis elegans and Beyond, Toward a Multimodal Integration. Front Neurosci 2022; 15:787753. [PMID: 35321480 PMCID: PMC8934944 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.787753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Nervous system cells, the building blocks of circuits, have been studied with ever-progressing resolution, yet neural circuits appear still resistant to schemes of reductionist classification. Due to their sheer numbers, complexity and diversity, their systematic study requires concrete classifications that can serve reduced dimensionality, reproducibility, and information integration. Conventional hierarchical schemes transformed through the history of neuroscience by prioritizing criteria of morphology, (electro)physiological activity, molecular content, and circuit function, influenced by prevailing methodologies of the time. Since the molecular biology revolution and the recent advents in transcriptomics, molecular profiling gains ground toward the classification of neurons and glial cell types. Yet, transcriptomics entails technical challenges and more importantly uncovers unforeseen spatiotemporal heterogeneity, in complex and simpler nervous systems. Cells change states dynamically in space and time, in response to stimuli or throughout their developmental trajectory. Mapping cell type and state heterogeneity uncovers uncharted terrains in neurons and especially in glial cell biology, that remains understudied in many aspects. Examining neurons and glial cells from the perspectives of molecular neuroscience, physiology, development and evolution highlights the advantage of multifaceted classification schemes. Among the amalgam of models contributing to neuroscience research, Caenorhabditis elegans combines nervous system anatomy, lineage, connectivity and molecular content, all mapped at single-cell resolution, and can provide valuable insights for the workflow and challenges of the multimodal integration of cell type features. This review reflects on concepts and practices of neuron and glial cells classification and how research, in C. elegans and beyond, guides nervous system experimentation through integrated multidimensional schemes. It highlights underlying principles, emerging themes, and open frontiers in the study of nervous system development, regulatory logic and evolution. It proposes unified platforms to allow integrated annotation of large-scale datasets, gene-function studies, published or unpublished findings and community feedback. Neuroscience is moving fast toward interdisciplinary, high-throughput approaches for combined mapping of the morphology, physiology, connectivity, molecular function, and the integration of information in multifaceted schemes. A closer look in mapped neural circuits and understudied terrains offers insights for the best implementation of these approaches.
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24
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Genetic and correlative light and electron microscopy evidence for the unique differentiation pathway of erythrophores in brown trout skin. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1015. [PMID: 35046436 PMCID: PMC8770521 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-04799-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Based on their cell ultrastructure, two types of erythrophores in the spotted skin regions of brown trout (Salmo trutta) were previously described. To test the hypothesis regarding the origin of a new cell type following genome duplication, we analysed the gene and paralogue gene expression patterns of erythrophores in brown trout skin. In addition, the ultrastructure of both erythrophore types was precisely examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and correlative light microscopy and electron microscopy (CLEM). Ultrastructural differences between the sizes of erythrophore inclusions were confirmed; however, the overlapping inclusion sizes blur the distinction between erythrophore types, which we have instead defined as cell subtypes. Nevertheless, the red spots of brown trout skin with subtype 2 erythrophores, exhibited unique gene expression patterns. Many of the upregulated genes are involved in melanogenesis or xanthophore differentiation. In addition, sox10, related to progenitor cells, was also upregulated in the red spots. The expressions of paralogues derived from two genome duplication events were also analysed. Multiple paralogues were overexpressed in the red spots compared with other skin regions, suggesting that the duplicated gene copies adopted new functions and contributed to the origin of a new cell subtype that is characteristic for red spot. Possible mechanisms regarding erythrophore origin are proposed and discussed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate pigment cell types in the black and red spots of brown trout skin using the advanced CLEM approach together with gene expression profiling.
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25
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Salamon I, Rasin MR. Evolution of the Neocortex Through RNA-Binding Proteins and Post-transcriptional Regulation. Front Neurosci 2022; 15:803107. [PMID: 35082597 PMCID: PMC8784817 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.803107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The human neocortex is undoubtedly considered a supreme accomplishment in mammalian evolution. It features a prenatally established six-layered structure which remains plastic to the myriad of changes throughout an organism’s lifetime. A fundamental feature of neocortical evolution and development is the abundance and diversity of the progenitor cell population and their neuronal and glial progeny. These evolutionary upgrades are partially enabled due to the progenitors’ higher proliferative capacity, compartmentalization of proliferative regions, and specification of neuronal temporal identities. The driving force of these processes may be explained by temporal molecular patterning, by which progenitors have intrinsic capacity to change their competence as neocortical neurogenesis proceeds. Thus, neurogenesis can be conceptualized along two timescales of progenitors’ capacity to (1) self-renew or differentiate into basal progenitors (BPs) or neurons or (2) specify their fate into distinct neuronal and glial subtypes which participate in the formation of six-layers. Neocortical development then proceeds through sequential phases of proliferation, differentiation, neuronal migration, and maturation. Temporal molecular patterning, therefore, relies on the precise regulation of spatiotemporal gene expression. An extensive transcriptional regulatory network is accompanied by post-transcriptional regulation that is frequently mediated by the regulatory interplay between RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). RBPs exhibit important roles in every step of mRNA life cycle in any system, from splicing, polyadenylation, editing, transport, stability, localization, to translation (protein synthesis). Here, we underscore the importance of RBP functions at multiple time-restricted steps of early neurogenesis, starting from the cell fate transition of transcriptionally primed cortical progenitors. A particular emphasis will be placed on RBPs with mostly conserved but also divergent evolutionary functions in neural progenitors across different species. RBPs, when considered in the context of the fascinating process of neocortical development, deserve to be main protagonists in the story of the evolution and development of the neocortex.
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Abstract
The Tabula Gallus is a proposed project that aims to create a map of every cell type in the chicken body and chick embryos. Chickens (Gallus gallus) are one of the most recognized model animals that recapitulate the development and physiology of mammals. The Tabula Gallus will generate a compendium of single-cell transcriptome data from Gallus gallus, characterize each cell type, and provide tools for the study of the biology of this species, similar to other ongoing cell atlas projects (Tabula Muris and Tabula Sapiens/Human Cell Atlas for mice and humans, respectively). The Tabula Gallus will potentially become an international collaboration between many researchers. This project will be useful for the basic scientific study of Gallus gallus and other birds (e.g., cell biology, molecular biology, developmental biology, neuroscience, physiology, oncology, virology, behavior, ecology, and evolution). It will eventually be beneficial for a better understanding of human health and diseases.
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27
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Gene family evolution underlies cell-type diversification in the hypothalamus of teleosts. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:63-76. [PMID: 34824389 PMCID: PMC10387363 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01580-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Hundreds of cell types form the vertebrate brain but it is largely unknown how similar cellular repertoires are between or within species or how cell-type diversity evolves. To examine cell-type diversity across and within species, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing of ~130,000 hypothalamic cells from zebrafish (Danio rerio) and surface and cave morphs of Mexican tetra (Astyanax mexicanus). We found that over 75% of cell types were shared between zebrafish and Mexican tetra, which diverged from a common ancestor over 150 million years ago. Shared cell types displayed shifts in paralogue expression that were generated by subfunctionalization after genome duplication. Expression of terminal effector genes, such as neuropeptides, was more conserved than the expression of their associated transcriptional regulators. Species-specific cell types were enriched for the expression of species-specific genes and characterized by the neofunctionalization of expression patterns of members of recently expanded or contracted gene families. Comparisons between surface and cave morphs revealed differences in immune repertoires and transcriptional changes in neuropeptidergic cell types associated with genomic differences. The single-cell atlases presented here are a powerful resource to explore hypothalamic cell types and reveal how gene family evolution and shifts in paralogue expression contribute to cellular diversity.
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28
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Arendt D, Urzainqui IQ, Vergara HM. The conserved core of the nereid brain: Circular CNS, apical nervous system and lhx6-arx-dlx neurons. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 71:178-187. [PMID: 34861534 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2021] [Revised: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
When bilaterian animals first emerged, an enhanced perception of the Precambrian environment was key to their stunning success. This occurred through the acquisition of an anterior brain, as found in most extant bilaterians. What were the core circuits of the first brain, and how do they relate to today's diversity? With two landmark resources - the full connectome and a multimodal cellular atlas combining gene expression and ultrastructure - the young worm of the marine annelid Platynereis dumerilii takes center stage in comparative bilaterian neuroanatomy. The new data suggest a composite structure of the ancestral bilaterian brain, with the anterior end of a circular CNS fused to a sensory-neurosecretory apical system, and with lhx6-arx-dlx chemosensory circuits giving rise to associative centers in the descending bilaterian lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Detlev Arendt
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Developmental Biology Unit, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69012, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Idoia Quintana Urzainqui
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Developmental Biology Unit, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69012, Heidelberg, Germany
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29
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Mayorova TD, Hammar K, Jung JH, Aronova MA, Zhang G, Winters CA, Reese TS, Smith CL. Placozoan fiber cells: mediators of innate immunity and participants in wound healing. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23343. [PMID: 34857844 PMCID: PMC8639732 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02735-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Placozoa is a phylum of non-bilaterian marine animals. These small, flat organisms adhere to the substrate via their densely ciliated ventral epithelium, which mediates mucociliary locomotion and nutrient uptake. They have only six morphological cell types, including one, fiber cells, for which functional data is lacking. Fiber cells are non-epithelial cells with multiple processes. We used electron and light microscopic approaches to unravel the roles of fiber cells in Trichoplax adhaerens, a representative member of the phylum. Three-dimensional reconstructions of serial sections of Trichoplax showed that each fiber cell is in contact with several other cells. Examination of fiber cells in thin sections and observations of live dissociated fiber cells demonstrated that they phagocytose cell debris and bacteria. In situ hybridization confirmed that fiber cells express genes involved in phagocytic activity. Fiber cells also are involved in wound healing as evidenced from microsurgery experiments. Based on these observations we conclude that fiber cells are multi-purpose macrophage-like cells. Macrophage-like cells have been described in Porifera, Ctenophora, and Cnidaria and are widespread among Bilateria, but our study is the first to show that Placozoa possesses this cell type. The phylogenetic distribution of macrophage-like cells suggests that they appeared early in metazoan evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana D Mayorova
- Laboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, 49 Convent Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
| | - Katherine Hammar
- Central Microscopy Facility, Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
| | - Jae H Jung
- Laboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, 49 Convent Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Maria A Aronova
- Laboratory of Cellular Imaging and Macromolecular Biophysics, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Guofeng Zhang
- Laboratory of Cellular Imaging and Macromolecular Biophysics, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Christine A Winters
- Laboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, 49 Convent Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Thomas S Reese
- Laboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, 49 Convent Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Carolyn L Smith
- Light Imaging Facility, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, 35 Convent Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
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30
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Auer TO, Shahandeh MP, Benton R. Drosophila sechellia: A Genetic Model for Behavioral Evolution and Neuroecology. Annu Rev Genet 2021; 55:527-554. [PMID: 34530638 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-071719-020719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Defining the mechanisms by which animals adapt to their ecological niche is an important problem bridging evolution, genetics, and neurobiology. We review the establishment of a powerful genetic model for comparative behavioral analysis and neuroecology, Drosophila sechellia. This island-endemic fly species is closely related to several cosmopolitan generalists, including Drosophila melanogaster, but has evolved extreme specialism, feeding and reproducing exclusively on the noni fruit of the tropical shrub Morinda citrifolia. We first describe the development and use of genetic approaches to facilitate genotype/phenotype associations in these drosophilids. Next, we survey the behavioral, physiological, and morphological adaptations of D. sechellia throughout its life cycle and outline our current understanding of the genetic and cellular basis of these traits. Finally, we discuss the principles this knowledge begins to establish in the context of host specialization, speciation, and the neurobiology of behavioral evolution and consider open questions and challenges in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas O Auer
- Center for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; , ,
| | - Michael P Shahandeh
- Center for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; , ,
| | - Richard Benton
- Center for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; , ,
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31
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Smith SJ. Transcriptomic evidence for dense peptidergic networks within forebrains of four widely divergent tetrapods. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 71:100-109. [PMID: 34775262 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The primary function common to every neuron is communication with other neurons. Such cell-cell signaling can take numerous forms, including fast synaptic transmission and slower neuromodulation via secreted messengers, such as neuropeptides, dopamine, and many other diffusible small molecules. Individual neurons are quite diverse, however, in all particulars of both synaptic and neuromodulatory communication. Neuron classification schemes have therefore proven very useful in exploring the emergence of network function, behavior, and cognition from the communication functions of individual neurons. Recently published single-cell mRNA sequencing data and corresponding transcriptomic neuron classifications from turtle, songbird, mouse, and human provide evidence for a long evolutionary history and adaptive significance of localized peptidergic signaling. Across all four species, sets of at least twenty orthologous cognate pairs of neuropeptide precursor protein and receptor genes are expressed in individually sparse but heavily overlapping patterns suggesting that all forebrain neuron types are densely interconnected by local peptidergic signals.
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32
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Pereira Luppi M, Azcorra M, Caronia-Brown G, Poulin JF, Gaertner Z, Gatica S, Moreno-Ramos OA, Nouri N, Dubois M, Ma YC, Ramakrishnan C, Fenno L, Kim YS, Deisseroth K, Cicchetti F, Dombeck DA, Awatramani R. Sox6 expression distinguishes dorsally and ventrally biased dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra with distinctive properties and embryonic origins. Cell Rep 2021; 37:109975. [PMID: 34758317 PMCID: PMC8607753 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2019] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tier of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) degenerate prominently in Parkinson's disease, while those in the dorsal tier are relatively spared. Defining the molecular, functional, and developmental characteristics of each SNc tier is crucial to understand their distinct susceptibility. We demonstrate that Sox6 expression distinguishes ventrally and dorsally biased DA neuron populations in the SNc. The Sox6+ population in the ventral SNc includes an Aldh1a1+ subset and is enriched in gene pathways that underpin vulnerability. Sox6+ neurons project to the dorsal striatum and show activity correlated with acceleration. Sox6- neurons project to the medial, ventral, and caudal striatum and respond to rewards. Moreover, we show that this adult division is encoded early in development. Overall, our work demonstrates a dual origin of the SNc that results in DA neuron cohorts with distinct molecular profiles, projections, and functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milagros Pereira Luppi
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Maite Azcorra
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Giuliana Caronia-Brown
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jean-Francois Poulin
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA; Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Zachary Gaertner
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Serafin Gatica
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Navid Nouri
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Marilyn Dubois
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Yongchao C Ma
- Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Charu Ramakrishnan
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Lief Fenno
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Yoon Seok Kim
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Karl Deisseroth
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Francesca Cicchetti
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Daniel A Dombeck
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
| | - Rajeshwar Awatramani
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
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33
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Musser JM, Schippers KJ, Nickel M, Mizzon G, Kohn AB, Pape C, Ronchi P, Papadopoulos N, Tarashansky AJ, Hammel JU, Wolf F, Liang C, Hernández-Plaza A, Cantalapiedra CP, Achim K, Schieber NL, Pan L, Ruperti F, Francis WR, Vargas S, Kling S, Renkert M, Polikarpov M, Bourenkov G, Feuda R, Gaspar I, Burkhardt P, Wang B, Bork P, Beck M, Schneider TR, Kreshuk A, Wörheide G, Huerta-Cepas J, Schwab Y, Moroz LL, Arendt D. Profiling cellular diversity in sponges informs animal cell type and nervous system evolution. Science 2021; 374:717-723. [PMID: 34735222 DOI: 10.1126/science.abj2949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
[Figure: see text].
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob M Musser
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Klaske J Schippers
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Nickel
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.,Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institut für Zoologie und Evolutionsforschung mit Phyletischem Museum, Ernst-Haeckel-Haus und Biologiedidaktik, 07743 Jena, Germany.,GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80333 München, Germany
| | - Giulia Mizzon
- Electron Microscopy Core Facility, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Andrea B Kohn
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL 32080, USA
| | - Constantin Pape
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Paolo Ronchi
- Electron Microscopy Core Facility, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nikolaos Papadopoulos
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Jörg U Hammel
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institut für Zoologie und Evolutionsforschung mit Phyletischem Museum, Ernst-Haeckel-Haus und Biologiedidaktik, 07743 Jena, Germany.,Institute for Materials Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany
| | - Florian Wolf
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Institut für Zoologie und Evolutionsforschung mit Phyletischem Museum, Ernst-Haeckel-Haus und Biologiedidaktik, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Cong Liang
- Center for Applied Mathematics, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Ana Hernández-Plaza
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), 28223 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos P Cantalapiedra
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), 28223 Madrid, Spain
| | - Kaia Achim
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nicole L Schieber
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Leslie Pan
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Fabian Ruperti
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.,Collaboration for joint Ph.D. degree between EMBL and Heidelberg University, Faculty of Biosciences 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Warren R Francis
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology & Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80333 München, Germany
| | - Sergio Vargas
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology & Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80333 München, Germany
| | - Svenja Kling
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.,Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maike Renkert
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maxim Polikarpov
- Hamburg Unit c/o DESY, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg, 22607 Germany.,Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, ETH Zurich, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gleb Bourenkov
- Hamburg Unit c/o DESY, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg, 22607 Germany
| | - Roberto Feuda
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Imre Gaspar
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.,Department of Totipotency, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Pawel Burkhardt
- Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, 5008 Bergen, Norway
| | - Bo Wang
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Peer Bork
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Martin Beck
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas R Schneider
- Hamburg Unit c/o DESY, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg, 22607 Germany
| | - Anna Kreshuk
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Gert Wörheide
- GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80333 München, Germany.,Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology & Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80333 München, Germany.,Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie (SNSB), 80333 München, Germany
| | - Jaime Huerta-Cepas
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), 28223 Madrid, Spain.,Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Yannick Schwab
- Electron Microscopy Core Facility, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.,Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Leonid L Moroz
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL 32080, USA.,Department of Neuroscience and Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.,McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Detlev Arendt
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.,Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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34
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Oteiza P, Baldwin MW. Evolution of sensory systems. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 71:52-59. [PMID: 34600187 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Sensory systems evolve and enable organisms to perceive their sensory Umwelt, the unique set of cues relevant for their survival. The multiple components that comprise sensory systems - the receptors, cells, organs, and dedicated high-order circuits - can vary greatly across species. Sensory receptor gene families can expand and contract across lineages, resulting in enormous sensory diversity. Comparative studies of sensory receptor function have uncovered the molecular basis of receptor properties and identified novel sensory receptor classes and noncanonical sensory strategies. Phylogenetically informed comparisons of sensory systems across multiple species can pinpoint when sensory changes evolve and highlight the role of contingency in sensory system evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Oteiza
- Flow Sensing Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany.
| | - Maude W Baldwin
- Evolution of Sensory Systems Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany.
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35
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Abstract
High-throughput single-cell transcriptomic approaches have revolutionized our view of gene expression at the level of individual cells, providing new insights into their heterogeneity, identities, and functions. Recently, technical challenges to the application of single-cell transcriptomics to plants have been overcome, and many plant organs and tissues have now been subjected to analyses at single-cell resolution. In this review, we describe these studies and their impact on our understanding of the diversity, differentiation, and activities of plant cells. We particularly highlight their impact on plant cell identity, including unprecedented views of cell transitions and definitions of rare and novel cell types. We also point out current challenges and future opportunities for the application and analyses of single-cell transcriptomics in plants. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Genetics, Volume 55 is November 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kook Hui Ryu
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA; , ,
| | - Yan Zhu
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA; , ,
| | - John Schiefelbein
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA; , ,
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36
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In Silico Analysis to Explore Lineage-Independent and -Dependent Transcriptional Programs Associated with the Process of Endothelial and Neural Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. J Clin Med 2021; 10:jcm10184161. [PMID: 34575270 PMCID: PMC8471316 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10184161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 09/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite a major interest in understanding how the endothelial cell phenotype is established, the underlying molecular basis of this process is not yet fully understood. We have previously reported the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) from human umbilical vein endothelial cells and differentiation of the resulting HiPS back to endothelial cells (Ec-Diff), as well as neural (Nn-Diff) cell lineage that contained both neurons and astrocytes. Furthermore, the identities of these cell lineages were established by gene array analysis. Here, we explored the same arrays to gain insight into the gene alteration processes that accompany the establishment of endothelial vs. non-endothelial neural cell phenotypes. We compared the expression of genes that code for transcription factors and epigenetic regulators when HiPS is differentiated into these endothelial and non-endothelial lineages. Our in silico analyses have identified cohorts of genes that are similarly up- or downregulated in both lineages, as well as those that exhibit lineage-specific alterations. Based on these results, we propose that genes that are similarly altered in both lineages participate in priming the stem cell for differentiation in a lineage-independent manner, whereas those that are differentially altered in endothelial compared to neural cells participate in a lineage-specific differentiation process. Specific GATA family members and their cofactors and epigenetic regulators (DNMT3B, PRDM14, HELLS) with a major role in regulating DNA methylation were among participants in priming HiPS for lineage-independent differentiation. In addition, we identified distinct cohorts of transcription factors and epigenetic regulators whose alterations correlated specifically with the establishment of endothelial vs. non-endothelial neural lineages.
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37
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Hobert O. Homeobox genes and the specification of neuronal identity. Nat Rev Neurosci 2021; 22:627-636. [PMID: 34446866 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-021-00497-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The enormous diversity of cell types that characterizes any animal nervous system is defined by neuron-type-specific gene batteries that endow cells with distinct anatomical and functional properties. To understand how such cellular diversity is genetically specified, one needs to understand the gene regulatory programmes that control the expression of cell-type-specific gene batteries. The small nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been comprehensively mapped at the cellular and molecular levels, which has enabled extensive, nervous system-wide explorations into whether there are common underlying mechanisms that specify neuronal cell-type diversity. One principle that emerged from these studies is that transcription factors termed 'terminal selectors' coordinate the expression of individual members of neuron-type-specific gene batteries, thereby assigning unique identities to individual neuron types. Systematic mutant analyses and recent nervous system-wide expression analyses have revealed that one transcription factor family, the homeobox gene family, is broadly used throughout the entire C. elegans nervous system to specify neuronal identity as terminal selectors. I propose that the preponderance of homeobox genes in neuronal identity control is a reflection of an evolutionary trajectory in which an ancestral neuron type was specified by one or more ancestral homeobox genes, and that this functional linkage then duplicated and diversified to generate distinct cell types in an evolving nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Hobert
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY, USA.
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38
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Revilla-i-Domingo R, Rajan VBV, Waldherr M, Prohaczka G, Musset H, Orel L, Gerrard E, Smolka M, Stockinger A, Farlik M, Lucas RJ, Raible F, Tessmar-Raible K. Characterization of cephalic and non-cephalic sensory cell types provides insight into joint photo- and mechanoreceptor evolution. eLife 2021; 10:e66144. [PMID: 34350831 PMCID: PMC8367381 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhabdomeric opsins (r-opsins) are light sensors in cephalic eye photoreceptors, but also function in additional sensory organs. This has prompted questions on the evolutionary relationship of these cell types, and if ancient r-opsins were non-photosensory. A molecular profiling approach in the marine bristleworm Platynereis dumerilii revealed shared and distinct features of cephalic and non-cephalic r-opsin1-expressing cells. Non-cephalic cells possess a full set of phototransduction components, but also a mechanosensory signature. Prompted by the latter, we investigated Platynereis putative mechanotransducer and found that nompc and pkd2.1 co-expressed with r-opsin1 in TRE cells by HCR RNA-FISH. To further assess the role of r-Opsin1 in these cells, we studied its signaling properties and unraveled that r-Opsin1 is a Gαq-coupled blue light receptor. Profiling of cells from r-opsin1 mutants versus wild-types, and a comparison under different light conditions reveals that in the non-cephalic cells light - mediated by r-Opsin1 - adjusts the expression level of a calcium transporter relevant for auditory mechanosensation in vertebrates. We establish a deep-learning-based quantitative behavioral analysis for animal trunk movements and identify a light- and r-Opsin-1-dependent fine-tuning of the worm's undulatory movements in headless trunks, which are known to require mechanosensory feedback. Our results provide new data on peripheral cell types of likely light sensory/mechanosensory nature. These results point towards a concept in which such a multisensory cell type evolved to allow for fine-tuning of mechanosensation by light. This implies that light-independent mechanosensory roles of r-opsins may have evolved secondarily.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Revilla-i-Domingo
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform "Single-Cell Regulation of Stem Cells", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Vinoth Babu Veedin Rajan
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Monika Waldherr
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Günther Prohaczka
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Hugo Musset
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Lukas Orel
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Elliot Gerrard
- Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, University of ManchesterManchesterUnited Kingdom
| | - Moritz Smolka
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Center for Integrative Bioinformatics Vienna, Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna and Medical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Alexander Stockinger
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform "Single-Cell Regulation of Stem Cells", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Matthias Farlik
- CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of SciencesViennaAustria
- Department of Dermatology, Medical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Robert J Lucas
- Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, University of ManchesterManchesterUnited Kingdom
| | - Florian Raible
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform "Single-Cell Regulation of Stem Cells", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Kristin Tessmar-Raible
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
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39
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Evolution and medicine - The central role of anatomy. Ann Anat 2021; 239:151809. [PMID: 34324995 DOI: 10.1016/j.aanat.2021.151809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In medicine, there is an increasing number of publications that deal with or at least consider an evolutionary background. In zoology or comparative anatomy, work on evolutionary developments is taking on an ever-greater role in parallel. The pre-clinical (or pre-medical) phase in medical studies would be able to form a bridge between these related and yet so distant subjects but is currently completely evolution-free. This means that there is no consideration of the evolution of the healthy human being as a prerequisite for a systematic study of the evolutionary background in medicine. In this work the view is expressed that anatomy should be given a central, framework-giving and integrating role, which should urgently be actively pursued.
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40
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Neidhöfer C. On the Evolution of the Biological Framework for Insight. PHILOSOPHIES 2021; 6:43. [DOI: 10.3390/philosophies6020043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
The details of abiogenesis, to date, remain a matter of debate and constitute a key mystery in science and philosophy. The prevailing scientific hypothesis implies an evolutionary process of increasing complexity on Earth starting from (self-) replicating polymers. Defining the cut-off point where life begins is another moot point beyond the scope of this article. We will instead walk through the known evolutionary steps that led from these first exceptional polymers to the vast network of living biomatter that spans our world today, focusing in particular on perception, from simple biological feedback mechanisms to the complexity that allows for abstract thought. We will then project from the well-known to the unknown to gain a glimpse into what the universe aims to accomplish with living matter, just to find that if the universe had ever planned to be comprehended, evolution still has a long way to go.
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41
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Osseward PJ, Amin ND, Moore JD, Temple BA, Barriga BK, Bachmann LC, Beltran F, Gullo M, Clark RC, Driscoll SP, Pfaff SL, Hayashi M. Conserved genetic signatures parcellate cardinal spinal neuron classes into local and projection subsets. Science 2021; 372:385-393. [PMID: 33888637 DOI: 10.1126/science.abe0690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Motor and sensory functions of the spinal cord are mediated by populations of cardinal neurons arising from separate progenitor lineages. However, each cardinal class is composed of multiple neuronal types with distinct molecular, anatomical, and physiological features, and there is not a unifying logic that systematically accounts for this diversity. We reasoned that the expansion of new neuronal types occurred in a stepwise manner analogous to animal speciation, and we explored this by defining transcriptomic relationships using a top-down approach. We uncovered orderly genetic tiers that sequentially divide groups of neurons by their motor-sensory, local-long range, and excitatory-inhibitory features. The genetic signatures defining neuronal projections were tied to neuronal birth date and conserved across cardinal classes. Thus, the intersection of cardinal class with projection markers provides a unifying taxonomic solution for systematically identifying distinct functional subsets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Osseward
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.,Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Neal D Amin
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Moore
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Benjamin A Temple
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.,Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Bianca K Barriga
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.,Biological Sciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Lukas C Bachmann
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Fernando Beltran
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Miriam Gullo
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Robert C Clark
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Shawn P Driscoll
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Samuel L Pfaff
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
| | - Marito Hayashi
- Gene Expression Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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42
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Tarashansky AJ, Musser JM, Khariton M, Li P, Arendt D, Quake SR, Wang B. Mapping single-cell atlases throughout Metazoa unravels cell type evolution. eLife 2021; 10:e66747. [PMID: 33944782 PMCID: PMC8139856 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Comparing single-cell transcriptomic atlases from diverse organisms can elucidate the origins of cellular diversity and assist the annotation of new cell atlases. Yet, comparison between distant relatives is hindered by complex gene histories and diversifications in expression programs. Previously, we introduced the self-assembling manifold (SAM) algorithm to robustly reconstruct manifolds from single-cell data (Tarashansky et al., 2019). Here, we build on SAM to map cell atlas manifolds across species. This new method, SAMap, identifies homologous cell types with shared expression programs across distant species within phyla, even in complex examples where homologous tissues emerge from distinct germ layers. SAMap also finds many genes with more similar expression to their paralogs than their orthologs, suggesting paralog substitution may be more common in evolution than previously appreciated. Lastly, comparing species across animal phyla, spanning sponge to mouse, reveals ancient contractile and stem cell families, which may have arisen early in animal evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jacob M Musser
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Developmental Biology UnitHeidelbergGermany
| | | | - Pengyang Li
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
| | - Detlev Arendt
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Developmental Biology UnitHeidelbergGermany
- Centre for Organismal Studies, University of HeidelbergHeidelbergGermany
| | - Stephen R Quake
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
- Chan Zuckerberg BiohubSan FranciscoUnited States
| | - Bo Wang
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of MedicineStanfordUnited States
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43
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Transcription factor encoding of neuron subtype: Strategies that specify arbor pattern. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 69:149-158. [PMID: 33895620 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 03/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Dendrite and axon arbors form scaffolds that connect a neuron to its partners; they are patterned to support the specific connectivity and computational requirements of each neuron subtype. Transcription factor networks control the specification of neuron subtypes, and the consequent diversification of their stereotyped arbor patterns during differentiation. We outline how the differentiation trajectories of stereotyped arbors are shaped by hierarchical deployment of precursor cell and postmitotic transcription factors. These transcription factors exert modular control over the dendrite and axon features of a single neuron, create spatial and functional compartmentalization of an arbor, instruct implementation of developmental patterning rules, and exert operational control over the cell biological processes that construct an arbor.
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44
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Moreno-Ayala R, Junker JP. Single-cell genomics to study developmental cell fate decisions in zebrafish. Brief Funct Genomics 2021:elab018. [PMID: 33782691 DOI: 10.1093/bfgp/elab018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
New developments in single-cell genomics have transformed developmental biology in recent years by enabling systematic analysis of embryonic cell types and differentiation trajectories. Ongoing efforts in experimental and computational method development aim to reveal gene-regulatory mechanisms and to provide additional spatio-temporal information about developmental cell fate decisions. Here, we discuss recent technological developments as well as biological applications of single-cell genomics, with a particular focus on analysis of developmental cell fate decisions. Although the approaches described here are generally applicable to a broad range of model systems, we focus our discussion on applications in zebrafish, which has proven to be a particularly powerful model organism for establishing novel methods in single-cell genomics.
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45
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Tournière O, Dolan D, Richards GS, Sunagar K, Columbus-Shenkar YY, Moran Y, Rentzsch F. NvPOU4/Brain3 Functions as a Terminal Selector Gene in the Nervous System of the Cnidarian Nematostella vectensis. Cell Rep 2021; 30:4473-4489.e5. [PMID: 32234481 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.03.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Revised: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Terminal selectors are transcription factors that control the morphological, physiological, and molecular features that characterize distinct cell types. Here, we show that, in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, NvPOU4 is expressed in post-mitotic cells that give rise to a diverse set of neural cell types, including cnidocytes and NvElav1-expressing neurons. Morphological analyses of NvPOU4 mutants crossed to transgenic reporter lines show that the loss of NvPOU4 does not affect the initial specification of neural cells. Transcriptomes derived from the mutants and from different neural cell populations reveal that NvPOU4 is required for the execution of the terminal differentiation program of these neural cells. These findings suggest that POU4 genes have ancient functions as terminal selectors for morphologically and functionally disparate types of neurons and they provide experimental support for the relevance of terminal selectors for understanding the evolution of cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Océane Tournière
- Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, 5006 Bergen, Norway
| | - David Dolan
- Computational Biology Unit, Department for Informatics, University of Bergen, 5006 Bergen, Norway
| | - Gemma Sian Richards
- Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, 5006 Bergen, Norway
| | - Kartik Sunagar
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 9190401 Jerusalem, Israel; Evolutionary Venomics Lab, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Yaara Y Columbus-Shenkar
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 9190401 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yehu Moran
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 9190401 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Fabian Rentzsch
- Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, 5006 Bergen, Norway; Department for Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, 5006 Bergen, Norway.
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46
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Farmer A, Thibivilliers S, Ryu KH, Schiefelbein J, Libault M. Single-nucleus RNA and ATAC sequencing reveals the impact of chromatin accessibility on gene expression in Arabidopsis roots at the single-cell level. MOLECULAR PLANT 2021; 14:372-383. [PMID: 33422696 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2021.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Similar to other complex organisms, plants consist of diverse and specialized cell types. The gain of unique biological functions of these different cell types is the consequence of the establishment of cell-type-specific transcriptional programs. As a necessary step in gaining a deeper understanding of the regulatory mechanisms controlling plant gene expression, we report the use of single-nucleus RNA sequencing (sNucRNA-seq) and single-nucleus assay for transposase accessible chromatin sequencing (sNucATAC-seq) technologies on Arabidopsis roots. The comparison of our single-nucleus transcriptomes to the published protoplast transcriptomes validated the use of nuclei as biological entities to establish plant cell-type-specific transcriptomes. Furthermore, our sNucRNA-seq results uncovered the transcriptomes of additional cell subtypes not identified by single-cell RNA-seq. Similar to our transcriptomic approach, the sNucATAC-seq approach led to the distribution of the Arabidopsis nuclei into distinct clusters, suggesting the differential accessibility of chromatin between groups of cells according to their identity. To reveal the impact of chromatin accessibility on gene expression, we integrated sNucRNA-seq and sNucATAC-seq data and demonstrated that cell-type-specific marker genes display cell-type-specific patterns of chromatin accessibility. Our data suggest that the differential chromatin accessibility is a critical mechanism to regulate gene activity at the cell-type level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Farmer
- National Center for Genome Resources, Santa Fe, NM 87505, USA
| | - Sandra Thibivilliers
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Beadle Center, Lincoln, NE 68503, USA
| | - Kook Hui Ryu
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - John Schiefelbein
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Marc Libault
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Beadle Center, Lincoln, NE 68503, USA.
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47
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Wang J, Sun H, Jiang M, Li J, Zhang P, Chen H, Mei Y, Fei L, Lai S, Han X, Song X, Xu S, Chen M, Ouyang H, Zhang D, Yuan GC, Guo G. Tracing cell-type evolution by cross-species comparison of cell atlases. Cell Rep 2021; 34:108803. [PMID: 33657376 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell types are the basic building units of multicellular life, with extensive diversities. The evolution of cell types is a crucial layer of comparative cell biology but is thus far not comprehensively studied. We define a compendium of cell atlases using single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) data from seven animal species and construct a cross-species cell-type evolutionary hierarchy. We present a roadmap for the origin and diversity of major cell categories and find that muscle and neuron cells are conserved cell types. Furthermore, we identify a cross-species transcription factor (TF) repertoire that specifies major cell categories. Overall, our study reveals conservation and divergence of cell types during animal evolution, which will further expand the landscape of comparative genomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Wang
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University Medical Center, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Li Dak Sum & Yip Yio Chin Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Huiyu Sun
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Mengmeng Jiang
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University Medical Center, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Jiaqi Li
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Peijing Zhang
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University Medical Center, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Haide Chen
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Li Dak Sum & Yip Yio Chin Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yuqing Mei
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Lijiang Fei
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Shujing Lai
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Xiaoping Han
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Li Dak Sum & Yip Yio Chin Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Xinhui Song
- Core Facilities, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Suhong Xu
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Li Dak Sum & Yip Yio Chin Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Ming Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Hongwei Ouyang
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Li Dak Sum & Yip Yio Chin Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Dan Zhang
- Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.
| | - Guo-Cheng Yuan
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Guoji Guo
- Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University Medical Center, 1369 West Wenyi Road, Hangzhou 311121, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Dr. Li Dak Sum & Yip Yio Chin Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; Institute of Hematology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Stem Cell Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
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48
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Ros-Rocher N, Pérez-Posada A, Leger MM, Ruiz-Trillo I. The origin of animals: an ancestral reconstruction of the unicellular-to-multicellular transition. Open Biol 2021; 11:200359. [PMID: 33622103 PMCID: PMC8061703 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.200359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
How animals evolved from a single-celled ancestor, transitioning from a unicellular lifestyle to a coordinated multicellular entity, remains a fascinating question. Key events in this transition involved the emergence of processes related to cell adhesion, cell–cell communication and gene regulation. To understand how these capacities evolved, we need to reconstruct the features of both the last common multicellular ancestor of animals and the last unicellular ancestor of animals. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the characterization of these ancestors, inferred by comparative genomic analyses between the earliest branching animals and those radiating later, and between animals and their closest unicellular relatives. We also provide an updated hypothesis regarding the transition to animal multicellularity, which was likely gradual and involved the use of gene regulatory mechanisms in the emergence of early developmental and morphogenetic plans. Finally, we discuss some new avenues of research that will complement these studies in the coming years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Núria Ros-Rocher
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Alberto Pérez-Posada
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.,Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide), Carretera de Utrera Km 1, 41013 Sevilla, Andalusia, Spain
| | - Michelle M Leger
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.,Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat, Universitat de Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.,ICREA, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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49
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Abstract
The Ediacara Biota preserves the oldest fossil evidence of abundant, complex metazoans. Despite their significance, assigning individual taxa to specific phylogenetic groups has proved problematic. To better understand these forms, we identify developmentally controlled characters in representative taxa from the Ediacaran White Sea assemblage and compare them with the regulatory tools underlying similar traits in modern organisms. This analysis demonstrates that the genetic pathways for multicellularity, axial polarity, musculature, and a nervous system were likely present in some of these early animals. Equally meaningful is the absence of evidence for major differentiation of macroscopic body units, including distinct organs, localized sensory machinery or appendages. Together these traits help to better constrain the phylogenetic position of several key Ediacara taxa and inform our views of early metazoan evolution. An apparent lack of heads with concentrated sensory machinery or ventral nerve cords in such taxa supports the hypothesis that these evolved independently in disparate bilaterian clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott D Evans
- Department of Paleobiology MRC-121, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA
| | - Mary L Droser
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
| | - Douglas H Erwin
- Department of Paleobiology MRC-121, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA
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Ginsburg S, Jablonka E. Evolutionary transitions in learning and cognition. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20190766. [PMID: 33550955 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We define a cognitive system as a system that can learn, and adopt an evolutionary-transition-oriented framework for analysing different types of neural cognition. This enables us to classify types of cognition and point to the continuities and discontinuities among them. The framework we use for studying evolutionary transitions in learning capacities focuses on qualitative changes in the integration, storage and use of neurally processed information. Although there are always grey areas around evolutionary transitions, we recognize five major neural transitions, the first two of which involve animals at the base of the phylogenetic tree: (i) the evolutionary transition from learning in non-neural animals to learning in the first neural animals; (ii) the transition to animals showing limited, elemental associative learning, entailing neural centralization and primary brain differentiation; (iii) the transition to animals capable of unlimited associative learning, which, on our account, constitutes sentience and entails hierarchical brain organization and dedicated memory and value networks; (iv) the transition to imaginative animals that can plan and learn through selection among virtual events; and (v) the transition to human symbol-based cognition and cultural learning. The focus on learning provides a unifying framework for experimental and theoretical studies of cognition in the living world. This article is part of the theme issue 'Basal cognition: multicellularity, neurons and the cognitive lens'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Ginsburg
- Natural Science Department, The Open University of Israel, 1 University Road, POB 808, Raanana 4353701, Israel
| | - Eva Jablonka
- The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, 6934525 Ramat Aviv, Israel.,CPNSS, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK
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