Long-lived zebrafish Rohon-Beard cells

Complete persistence of the primary somatosensory system in zebrafish

The somatosensory system detects peripheral stimuli that are translated into behaviors necessary for survival. Fishes and amphibians possess two somatosensory systems in the trunk: the primary somatosensory system, formed by the Rohon-Beard neurons, and the secondary somatosensory system, formed by the neural crest cell-derived neurons of the Dorsal Root Ganglia. Rohon-Beard neurons have been characterized as a transient population that mostly disappears during the first days of life and is functionally replaced by the Dorsal Root Ganglia. Here, I follow Rohon-Beard neurons in vivo and show that the entire repertoire remains present in zebrafish from 1-day post-fertilization until the juvenile stage, 15-days post-fertilization. These data indicate that zebrafish retain two complete somatosensory systems until at least a developmental stage when the animals display complex behavioral repertoires.

Rohon-beard neurons do not succumb to programmed cell death during zebrafish development

During neural development, sculpting of early formed circuits by cell death and synaptic pruning is necessary to generate a functional and efficient nervous system. This allows for the establishment of rudimentary circuits which necessitate early organism survival to later undergo subsequent refinement. These changes facilitate additional specificity to stimuli which can lead to increased behavioral complexity. In multiple species, Rohon-Beard neurons (RBs) are the earliest mechanosensory neurons specified and are critical in establishing a rudimentary motor response circuit. Sensory input from RBs gradually becomes redundant as dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons develop and integrate into motor circuits. Previous studies demonstrate that RBs undergo a dramatic wave of cell death concurrent with development of the DRG. However, contrary to these studies, we show that neurogenin1+ (ngn1) RBs do not undergo a widespread wave of programmed cell death during early zebrafish development and instead persist until at least 15 days post fertilization (dpf). Starting at 2 dpf, we also observed a dramatic medialization and shrinkage of ngn1+ RB somas along with a gradual downregulation of ngn1 in RBs. This alters a fundamental premise of early zebrafish neural development and opens new avenues to explore mechanisms of RB function, persistence, and circuit refinement.

Osteoblasts pattern endothelium and somatosensory axons during zebrafish caudal fin organogenesis

Skeletal elements frequently associate with vasculature and somatosensory nerves, which regulate bone development and homeostasis. However, the deep, internal location of bones in many vertebrates has limited in vivo exploration of the neurovascular-bone relationship. Here, we use the zebrafish caudal fin, an optically accessible organ formed of repeating bony ray skeletal units, to determine the cellular relationship between nerves, bones and endothelium. In adult zebrafish, we establish the presence of somatosensory axons running through the inside of the bony fin rays, juxtaposed with osteoblasts on the inner hemiray surface. During development we show that the caudal fin progresses through sequential stages of endothelial plexus formation, bony ray addition, ray innervation and endothelial remodeling. Surprisingly, the initial stages of fin morphogenesis proceed normally in animals lacking either fin endothelium or somatosensory nerves. Instead, we find that sp7+ osteoblasts are required for endothelial remodeling and somatosensory axon innervation in the developing fin. Overall, this study demonstrates that the proximal neurovascular-bone relationship in the adult caudal fin is established during fin organogenesis and suggests that ray-associated osteoblasts pattern axons and endothelium.

KLC4 shapes axon arbors during development and mediates adult behavior

Development of elaborate and polarized neuronal morphology requires precisely regulated transport of cellular cargos by motor proteins such as kinesin-1. Kinesin-1 has numerous cellular cargos which must be delivered to unique neuronal compartments. The process by which this motor selectively transports and delivers cargo to regulate neuronal morphogenesis is poorly understood, although the cargo-binding kinesin light chain (KLC) subunits contribute to specificity. Our work implicates one such subunit, KLC4, as an essential regulator of axon branching and arborization pattern of sensory neurons during development. Using live imaging approaches in klc4 mutant zebrafish, we show that KLC4 is required for stabilization of nascent axon branches, proper microtubule (MT) dynamics, and endosomal transport. Furthermore, KLC4 is required for proper tiling of peripheral axon arbors: in klc4 mutants, peripheral axons showed abnormal fasciculation, a behavior characteristic of central axons. This result suggests that KLC4 patterns axonal compartments and helps establish molecular differences between central and peripheral axons. Finally, we find that klc4 mutant larva are hypersensitive to touch and adults show anxiety-like behavior in a novel tank test, implicating klc4 as a new gene involved in stress response circuits.

Microtubule organization of vertebrate sensory neurons in vivo

Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons are the predominant cell type that innervates the vertebrate skin. They are typically described as pseudounipolar cells that have central and peripheral axons branching from a single root exiting the cell body. The peripheral axon travels within a nerve to the skin, where free sensory endings can emerge and branch into an arbor that receives and integrates information. In some immature vertebrates, DRG neurons are preceded by Rohon-Beard (RB) neurons. While the sensory endings of RB and DRG neurons function like dendrites, we use live imaging in zebrafish to show that they have axonal plus-end-out microtubule polarity at all stages of maturity. Moreover, we show both cell types have central and peripheral axons with plus-end-out polarity. Surprisingly, in DRG neurons these emerge separately from the cell body, and most cells never acquire the signature pseudounipolar morphology. Like another recently characterized cell type that has multiple plus-end-out neurites, ganglion cells in Nematostella, RB and DRG neurons maintain a somatic microtubule organizing center even when mature. In summary, we characterize key cellular and subcellular features of vertebrate sensory neurons as a foundation for understanding their function and maintenance.

Transparent Touch: Insights From Model Systems on Epidermal Control of Somatosensory Innervation

Somatosensory neurons (SSNs) densely innervate our largest organ, the skin, and shape our experience of the world, mediating responses to sensory stimuli including touch, pressure, and temperature. Historically, epidermal contributions to somatosensation, including roles in shaping innervation patterns and responses to sensory stimuli, have been understudied. However, recent work demonstrates that epidermal signals dictate patterns of SSN skin innervation through a variety of mechanisms including targeting afferents to the epidermis, providing instructive cues for branching morphogenesis, growth control and structural stability of neurites, and facilitating neurite-neurite interactions. Here, we focus onstudies conducted in worms (Caenorhabditis elegans), fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), and zebrafish (Danio rerio): prominent model systems in which anatomical and genetic analyses have defined fundamental principles by which epidermal cells govern SSN development.

Hindbrain and Spinal Cord Contributions to the Cutaneous Sensory Innervation of the Larval Zebrafish Pectoral Fin

Vertebrate forelimbs contain arrays of sensory neuron fibers that transmit signals from the skin to the nervous system. We used the genetic toolkit and optical clarity of the larval zebrafish to conduct a live imaging study of the sensory neurons innervating the pectoral fin skin. Sensory neurons in both the hindbrain and the spinal cord innervate the fin, with most cells located in the hindbrain. The hindbrain somas are located in rhombomere seven/eight, laterally and dorsally displaced from the pectoral fin motor pool. The spinal cord somas are located in the most anterior part of the cord, aligned with myomere four. Single cell reconstructions were used to map afferent processes and compare the distributions of processes to soma locations. Reconstructions indicate that this sensory system breaks from the canonical somatotopic organization of sensory systems by lacking a clear organization with reference to fin region. Arborizations from a single cell branch widely over the skin, innervating the axial skin, lateral fin surface, and medial fin surface. The extensive branching over the fin and the surrounding axial surface suggests that these fin sensory neurons report on general conditions of the fin area rather than providing fine location specificity, as has been demonstrated in other vertebrate limbs. With neuron reconstructions that span the full primary afferent arborization from the soma to the peripheral cutaneous innervation, this neuroanatomical study describes a system of primary sensory neurons and lays the groundwork for future functional studies.