1
|
McIlroy D, Pasinetti G, Pérez-Pinedo D, McKean C, Dufour SC, Matthews JJ, Menon LR, Nicholls R, Taylor RS. The Palaeobiology of Two Crown Group Cnidarians: Haootia quadriformis and Mamsetia manunis gen. et sp. nov. from the Ediacaran of Newfoundland, Canada. Life (Basel) 2024; 14:1096. [PMID: 39337880 PMCID: PMC11432848 DOI: 10.3390/life14091096] [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: 07/18/2024] [Revised: 08/05/2024] [Accepted: 08/07/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024] Open
Abstract
The Ediacaran of eastern Newfoundland preserves the world's oldest known eumetazoan body fossils, as well as the earliest known record of fossilized muscular tissue. Re-examination of the holotype of the eight-armed Haootia quadriformis in terms of its morphology, the arrangement of its muscle filament bundles, and hitherto undescribed aspects of its anatomy support its interpretation as a crown staurozoan. We also document several new fossils preserving muscle tissue with a different muscular architecture to Haootia, but with only four arms. This new material allows us to describe a new crown group staurozoan, Mamsetia manunis gen. et sp. nov. This work confirms the presence of crown group medusozoan cnidarians of the Staurozoa in the Ediacaran of Newfoundland circa 565 Ma.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- D McIlroy
- Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - G Pasinetti
- Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - D Pérez-Pinedo
- Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - C McKean
- Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - S C Dufour
- Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - J J Matthews
- Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - L R Menon
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
| | | | - R S Taylor
- Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Holzem M, Boutros M, Holstein TW. The origin and evolution of Wnt signalling. Nat Rev Genet 2024; 25:500-512. [PMID: 38374446 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-024-00699-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
The Wnt signal transduction pathway has essential roles in the formation of the primary body axis during development, cellular differentiation and tissue homeostasis. This animal-specific pathway has been studied extensively in contexts ranging from developmental biology to medicine for more than 40 years. Despite its physiological importance, an understanding of the evolutionary origin and primary function of Wnt signalling has begun to emerge only recently. Recent studies on very basal metazoan species have shown high levels of conservation of components of both canonical and non-canonical Wnt signalling pathways. Furthermore, some pathway proteins have been described also in non-animal species, suggesting that recruitment and functional adaptation of these factors has occurred in metazoans. In this Review, we summarize the current state of research regarding the evolutionary origin of Wnt signalling, its ancestral function and the characteristics of the primal Wnt ligand, with emphasis on the importance of genomic studies in various pre-metazoan and basal metazoan species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Holzem
- Division of Signalling and Functional Genomics, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology & BioQuant, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Faculty of Medicine Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Institute for Human Genetics, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Michael Boutros
- Division of Signalling and Functional Genomics, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology & BioQuant, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- Institute for Human Genetics, Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas W Holstein
- Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Steenwyk JL, King N. The promise and pitfalls of synteny in phylogenomics. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002632. [PMID: 38768403 PMCID: PMC11105162 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Reconstructing the tree of life remains a central goal in biology. Early methods, which relied on small numbers of morphological or genetic characters, often yielded conflicting evolutionary histories, undermining confidence in the results. Investigations based on phylogenomics, which use hundreds to thousands of loci for phylogenetic inquiry, have provided a clearer picture of life's history, but certain branches remain problematic. To resolve difficult nodes on the tree of life, 2 recent studies tested the utility of synteny, the conserved collinearity of orthologous genetic loci in 2 or more organisms, for phylogenetics. Synteny exhibits compelling phylogenomic potential while also raising new challenges. This Essay identifies and discusses specific opportunities and challenges that bear on the value of synteny data and other rare genomic changes for phylogenomic studies. Synteny-based analyses of highly contiguous genome assemblies mark a new chapter in the phylogenomic era and the quest to reconstruct the tree of life.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob L. Steenwyk
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Nicole King
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Moroz LL. Syncytial nets vs. chemical signaling: emerging properties of alternative integrative systems. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1320209. [PMID: 38125877 PMCID: PMC10730927 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1320209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Leonid L. Moroz
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL, United States
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Steenwyk JL, Li Y, Zhou X, Shen XX, Rokas A. Incongruence in the phylogenomics era. Nat Rev Genet 2023; 24:834-850. [PMID: 37369847 PMCID: PMC11499941 DOI: 10.1038/s41576-023-00620-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
Genome-scale data and the development of novel statistical phylogenetic approaches have greatly aided the reconstruction of a broad sketch of the tree of life and resolved many of its branches. However, incongruence - the inference of conflicting evolutionary histories - remains pervasive in phylogenomic data, hampering our ability to reconstruct and interpret the tree of life. Biological factors, such as incomplete lineage sorting, horizontal gene transfer, hybridization, introgression, recombination and convergent molecular evolution, can lead to gene phylogenies that differ from the species tree. In addition, analytical factors, including stochastic, systematic and treatment errors, can drive incongruence. Here, we review these factors, discuss methodological advances to identify and handle incongruence, and highlight avenues for future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob L Steenwyk
- Howards Hughes Medical Institute and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Yuanning Li
- Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Xiaofan Zhou
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xing-Xing Shen
- Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Antonis Rokas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
- Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
- Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Moroz LL, Romanova DY. Chemical cognition: chemoconnectomics and convergent evolution of integrative systems in animals. Anim Cogn 2023; 26:1851-1864. [PMID: 38015282 PMCID: PMC11106658 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-023-01833-7] [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] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Neurons underpin cognition in animals. However, the roots of animal cognition are elusive from both mechanistic and evolutionary standpoints. Two conceptual frameworks both highlight and promise to address these challenges. First, we discuss evidence that animal neural and other integrative systems evolved more than once (convergent evolution) within basal metazoan lineages, giving us unique experiments by Nature for future studies. The most remarkable examples are neural systems in ctenophores and neuroid-like systems in placozoans and sponges. Second, in addition to classical synaptic wiring, a chemical connectome mediated by hundreds of signal molecules operates in tandem with neurons and is the most information-rich source of emerging properties and adaptability. The major gap-dynamic, multifunctional chemical micro-environments in nervous systems-is not understood well. Thus, novel tools and information are needed to establish mechanistic links between orchestrated, yet cell-specific, volume transmission and behaviors. Uniting what we call chemoconnectomics and analyses of the cellular bases of behavior in basal metazoan lineages arguably would form the foundation for deciphering the origins and early evolution of elementary cognition and intelligence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Leonid L Moroz
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
- Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, Saint Augustine, USA.
| | - Daria Y Romanova
- Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of RAS, Moscow, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Reply to: Available data do not rule out Ctenophora as the sister group to all other Metazoa. Nat Commun 2023; 14:710. [PMID: 36765060 PMCID: PMC9918546 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36152-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
|