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Newman SA. Form, function, mind: What doesn't compute (and what might). Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2024; 721:150141. [PMID: 38781663 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.150141] [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: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
The applicability of computational and dynamical systems models to organisms is scrutinized, using examples from developmental biology and cognition. Developmental morphogenesis is dependent on the inherent material properties of developing animal (metazoan) tissues, a non-computational modality, but cell differentiation, which utilizes chromatin-based revisable memory banks and program-like function-calling, via the developmental gene co-expression system unique to the metazoans, has a quasi-computational basis. Multi-attractor dynamical models are argued to be misapplied to global properties of development, and it is suggested that along with computationalism, classic forms of dynamicism are similarly unsuitable to accounting for cognitive phenomena. Proposals are made for treating brains and other nervous tissues as novel forms of excitable matter with inherent properties which enable the intensification of cell-based basal cognition capabilities present throughout the tree of life. Finally, some connections are drawn between the viewpoint described here and active inference models of cognition, such as the Free Energy Principle.
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2
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Moreno-Oñate M, Gallardo-Fuentes L, Martínez-García PM, Naranjo S, Jiménez-Gancedo S, Tena JJ, Santos-Pereira JM. Rewiring of the epigenome and chromatin architecture by exogenously induced retinoic acid signaling during zebrafish embryonic development. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:3682-3701. [PMID: 38321954 PMCID: PMC11040003 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae065] [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] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Retinoic acid (RA) is the ligand of RA receptors (RARs), transcription factors that bind to RA response elements. RA signaling is required for multiple processes during embryonic development, including body axis extension, hindbrain antero-posterior patterning and forelimb bud initiation. Although some RA target genes have been identified, little is known about the genome-wide effects of RA signaling during in vivo embryonic development. Here, we stimulate the RA pathway by treating zebrafish embryos with all-trans-RA (atRA) and use a combination of RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq and HiChIP to gain insight into the molecular mechanisms by which exogenously induced RA signaling controls gene expression. We find that RA signaling is involved in anterior/posterior patterning, central nervous system development, and the transition from pluripotency to differentiation. AtRA treatment also alters chromatin accessibility during early development and promotes chromatin binding of RARαa and the RA targets Hoxb1b, Meis2b and Sox3, which cooperate in central nervous system development. Finally, we show that exogenous RA induces a rewiring of chromatin architecture, with alterations in chromatin 3D interactions involving target genes. Altogether, our findings identify genome-wide targets of RA signaling and provide a molecular mechanism by which developmental signaling pathways regulate target gene expression by altering chromatin topology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Moreno-Oñate
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Lourdes Gallardo-Fuentes
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Pedro M Martínez-García
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Silvia Naranjo
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Sandra Jiménez-Gancedo
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Juan J Tena
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (CABD), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas/Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - José M Santos-Pereira
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío/CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
- Departamento de Biología Celular, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, 41012 Sevilla, Spain
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Bedois AMH, Parker HJ, Price AJ, Morrison JA, Bronner ME, Krumlauf R. Sea lamprey enlightens the origin of the coupling of retinoic acid signaling to vertebrate hindbrain segmentation. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1538. [PMID: 38378737 PMCID: PMC10879103 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45911-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: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Retinoic acid (RA) is involved in antero-posterior patterning of the chordate body axis and, in jawed vertebrates, has been shown to play a major role at multiple levels of the gene regulatory network (GRN) regulating hindbrain segmentation. Knowing when and how RA became coupled to the core hindbrain GRN is important for understanding how ancient signaling pathways and patterning genes can evolve and generate diversity. Hence, we investigated the link between RA signaling and hindbrain segmentation in the sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus, an important jawless vertebrate model providing clues to decipher ancestral vertebrate features. Combining genomics, gene expression, and functional analyses of major components involved in RA synthesis (Aldh1as) and degradation (Cyp26s), we demonstrate that RA signaling is coupled to hindbrain segmentation in lamprey. Thus, the link between RA signaling and hindbrain segmentation is a pan vertebrate feature of the hindbrain and likely evolved at the base of vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice M H Bedois
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
| | - Hugo J Parker
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
| | - Andrew J Price
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
| | - Jason A Morrison
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
| | - Marianne E Bronner
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Robb Krumlauf
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA.
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas City, MO, 66160, USA.
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D'Aniello S, Bertrand S, Escriva H. Amphioxus as a model to study the evolution of development in chordates. eLife 2023; 12:e87028. [PMID: 37721204 PMCID: PMC10506793 DOI: 10.7554/elife.87028] [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: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Cephalochordates and tunicates represent the only two groups of invertebrate chordates, and extant cephalochordates - commonly known as amphioxus or lancelets - are considered the best proxy for the chordate ancestor, from which they split around 520 million years ago. Amphioxus has been an important organism in the fields of zoology and embryology since the 18th century, and the morphological and genomic simplicity of cephalochordates (compared to vertebrates) makes amphioxus an attractive model for studying chordate biology at the cellular and molecular levels. Here we describe the life cycle of amphioxus, and discuss the natural histories and habitats of the different species of amphioxus. We also describe their use as laboratory animal models, and discuss the techniques that have been developed to study different aspects of amphioxus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salvatore D'Aniello
- Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms (BEOM), Stazione Zoologica Anton DohrnNapoliItaly
| | - Stephanie Bertrand
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Biologie Intégrative des Organismes Marins (BIOM), Observatoire OcéanologiqueBanyuls-sur-MerFrance
| | - Hector Escriva
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Biologie Intégrative des Organismes Marins (BIOM), Observatoire OcéanologiqueBanyuls-sur-MerFrance
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Bedois AMH, Parker HJ, Bronner ME, Krumlauf R. Sea lamprey enlightens the origin of the coupling of retinoic acid signaling to vertebrate hindbrain segmentation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.07.548143. [PMID: 37461675 PMCID: PMC10350081 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.07.548143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Retinoic acid (RA) is involved in antero-posterior patterning of the chordate body axis and, in jawed vertebrates, has been shown to play a major role at multiple levels of the gene regulatory network (GRN) regulating hindbrain segmentation. Knowing when and how RA became coupled to the core hindbrain GRN is important for understanding how ancient signaling pathways and patterning genes can evolve and generate diversity. Hence, we investigated the link between RA signaling and hindbrain segmentation in the sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus, an important jawless vertebrate model providing clues to decipher ancestral vertebrate features. Combining genomics, gene expression, and functional analyses of major components involved in RA synthesis (Aldh1as) and degradation (Cyp26s), we demonstrate that RA signaling is coupled to hindbrain segmentation in lamprey. Thus, the link between RA signaling and hindbrain segmentation is a pan vertebrate feature of the hindbrain and likely evolved at the base of vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice M. H. Bedois
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri 64110, USA
| | - Hugo J. Parker
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri 64110, USA
| | - Marianne E. Bronner
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Robb Krumlauf
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri 64110, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, USA
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Newman SA. Inherency and agency in the origin and evolution of biological functions. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blac109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Although discussed by 20th century philosophers in terms drawn from the sciences of non-living systems, in recent decades biological function has been considered in relationship to organismal capability and purpose. Bringing two phenomena generally neglected in evolutionary theory (i.e. inherency and agency) to bear on questions of function leads to a rejection of the adaptationist ‘selected effects’ notion of biological function. I review work showing that organisms such as the placozoans can thrive with almost no functional embellishments beyond those of their constituent cells and physical properties of their simple tissues. I also discuss work showing that individual tissue cells and their artificial aggregates exhibit agential behaviours that are unprecedented in the histories of their respective lineages. I review findings on the unique metazoan mechanism of developmental gene expression that has recruited, during evolution, inherent ancestral cellular functionalities into specialized cell types and organs of the different animal groups. I conclude that most essential functions in animal species are inherent to the cells from which they evolved, not selected effects, and that many of the others are optional ‘add-ons’, a status inimical to fitness-based models of evolution positing that traits emerge from stringent cycles of selection to meet external challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart A Newman
- Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy, New York Medical College , Valhalla, NY 10595 , USA
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