The oral nerve plexus in amphioxus larvae: function, cell types and phylogenetic significance

The oral sensory organs in Bathochordaeus stygius (Tunicata Appendicularia) are unique in structure and homologous to the coronal organ

BACKGROUND

Appendicularia consists of approximately 70 purely marine species that belong to Tunicata the probable sister taxon to Craniota. Therefore, Appendicularia plays a pivotal role for our understanding of chordate evolution. In addition, appendicularians are an important part of the epipelagic marine plankton. Nevertheless, little is known about appendicularian species, especially from deeper water.

RESULTS

Using µCT, scanning electron microscopy, and digital 3D-reconstruction techniques we describe three pairs of complex oral sensory organs in the mesopelagic appendicularian Bathochordaeus stygius. The oral sensory organs are situated at the anterior and lateral margin of the mouth and inside the mouth cavity. A single organ consists of 22-90 secondary receptor cells that project apical cilia through a narrow hole in the epidermis. The receptor cells are innervated by branches of the second brain nerve.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on position, morphology, and innervation we suggest that the oral sensory organs are homologues of the coronal organs in other tunicates. We discuss the hypothesized homology of coronal organs and the lateral line system of primary aquatic vertebrates. The complex oral sensory organs of B. stygius are unique in tunicates and could be adaptations to the more muffled environment of the mesopelagic.

Optical Clearing and Light Sheet Microscopy Imaging of Amphioxus

Cephalochordates (amphioxi or lancelets) are representatives of the most basally divergent group of the chordate phylum. Studies of amphioxus development and anatomy hence provide a key insight into vertebrate evolution. More widespread use of amphioxus in the evo-devo field would be greatly facilitated by expanding the methodological toolbox available in this model system. For example, evo-devo research on amphioxus requires deep understanding of animal anatomy. Although conventional confocal microscopy can visualize transparent amphioxus embryos and early larvae, the imaging of later developmental stages is problematic because of the size and opaqueness of the animal. Here, we show that light sheet microscopy combined with tissue clearing methods enables exploration of large amphioxus specimens while keeping the surface and the internal structures intact. We took advantage of the phenomenon of autofluorescence of amphioxus larva to highlight anatomical details. In order to investigate molecular markers at the single-cell level, we performed antibody-based immunodetection of melanopsin and acetylated-α-tubulin to label rhabdomeric photoreceptors and the neuronal scaffold. Our approach that combines light sheet microscopy with the clearing protocol, autofluorescence properties of amphioxus, and antibody immunodetection allows visualizing anatomical structures and even individual cells in the 3D space of the entire animal body.

The evolutionary origins of the vertebrate olfactory system

Vertebrates develop an olfactory system that detects odorants and pheromones through their interaction with specialized cell surface receptors on olfactory sensory neurons. During development, the olfactory system forms from the olfactory placodes, specialized areas of the anterior ectoderm that share cellular and molecular properties with placodes involved in the development of other cranial senses. The early-diverging chordate lineages amphioxus, tunicates, lampreys and hagfishes give insight into how this system evolved. Here, we review olfactory system development and cell types in these lineages alongside chemosensory receptor gene evolution, integrating these data into a description of how the vertebrate olfactory system evolved. Some olfactory system cell types predate the vertebrates, as do some of the mechanisms specifying placodes, and it is likely these two were already connected in the common ancestor of vertebrates and tunicates. In stem vertebrates, this evolved into an organ system integrating additional tissues and morphogenetic processes defining distinct olfactory and adenohypophyseal components, followed by splitting of the ancestral placode to produce the characteristic paired olfactory organs of most modern vertebrates.

Neural anatomy of echinoid early juveniles and comparison of nervous system organization in echinoderms

The echinoderms are a phylum of marine deuterostomes characterized by the pentaradial (five fold) symmetry of their adult bodies. Due to this unusual body plan, adult echinoderms have long been excluded from comparative analyses aimed at understanding the origin and evolution of deuterostome nervous systems. Here, we investigated the neural anatomy of early juveniles of representatives of three of the five echinoderm classes: the echinoid Paracentrotus lividus, the asteroid Patiria miniata, and the holothuroid Parastichopus parvimensis. Using whole mount immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy, we found that the nervous system of echinoid early juveniles is composed of three main structures: a basiepidermal nerve plexus, five radial nerve cords connected by a circumoral nerve ring, and peripheral nerves innervating the appendages. Our whole mount preparations further allowed us to obtain thorough descriptions of these structures and of several innervation patterns, in particular at the level of the appendages. Detailed comparisons of the echinoid juvenile nervous system with those of asteroid and holothuroid juveniles moreover supported a general conservation of the main neural structures in all three species, including at the level of the appendages. Our results support the previously proposed hypotheses for the existence of two neural units in echinoderms: one consisting of the basiepidermal nerve plexus to process sensory stimuli locally and one composed of the radial nerve cords and the peripheral nerves constituting a centralized control system. This study provides the basis for more in-depth comparisons of the echinoderm adult nervous system with those of other animals, in particular hemichordates and chordates, to address the long-standing controversies about deuterostome nervous system evolution.

Diversity of cilia-based mechanosensory systems and their functions in marine animal behaviour

Sensory cells that detect mechanical forces usually have one or more specialized cilia. These mechanosensory cells underlie hearing, proprioception or gravity sensation. To date, it is unclear how cilia contribute to detecting mechanical forces and what is the relationship between mechanosensory ciliated cells in different animal groups and sensory systems. Here, we review examples of ciliated sensory cells with a focus on marine invertebrate animals. We discuss how various ciliated cells mediate mechanosensory responses during feeding, tactic responses or predator-prey interactions. We also highlight some of these systems as interesting and accessible models for future in-depth behavioural, functional and molecular studies. We envisage that embracing a broader diversity of organisms could lead to a more complete view of cilia-based mechanosensation. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Unity and diversity of cilia in locomotion and transport'.

Evolution of the bilaterian mouth and anus

It is widely held that the bilaterian tubular gut with mouth and anus evolved from a simple gut with one major gastric opening. However, there is no consensus on how this happened. Did the single gastric opening evolve into a mouth, with the anus forming elsewhere in the body (protostomy), or did it evolve into an anus, with the mouth forming elsewhere (deuterostomy), or did it evolve into both mouth and anus (amphistomy)? These questions are addressed by the comparison of developmental fates of the blastopore, the opening of the embryonic gut, in diverse animals that live today. Here we review comparative data on the identity and fate of blastoporal tissue, investigate how the formation of the through-gut relates to the major body axes, and discuss to what extent evolutionary scenarios are consistent with these data. Available evidence indicates that stem bilaterians had a slit-like gastric opening that was partially closed in subsequent evolution, leaving open the anus and most likely also the mouth, which would favour amphistomy. We discuss remaining difficulties, and outline directions for future research.

Retinoic acid signaling and neurogenic niche regulation in the developing peripheral nervous system of the cephalochordate amphioxus

The retinoic acid (RA) signaling pathway regulates axial patterning and neurogenesis in the developing central nervous system (CNS) of chordates, but little is known about its roles during peripheral nervous system (PNS) formation and about how these roles might have evolved. This study assesses the requirement of RA signaling for establishing a functional PNS in the cephalochordate amphioxus, the best available stand-in for the ancestral chordate condition. Pharmacological manipulation of RA signaling levels during embryogenesis reduces the ability of amphioxus larvae to respond to sensory stimulation and alters the number and distribution of ectodermal sensory neurons (ESNs) in a stage- and context-dependent manner. Using gene expression assays combined with immunohistochemistry, we show that this is because RA signaling specifically acts on a small population of soxb1c-expressing ESN progenitors, which form a neurogenic niche in the trunk ectoderm, to modulate ESN production during elongation of the larval body. Our findings reveal an important role for RA signaling in regulating neurogenic niche activity in the larval amphioxus PNS. Although only few studies have addressed this issue so far, comparable RA signaling functions have been reported for neurogenic niches in the CNS and in certain neurogenic placode derivatives of vertebrates. Accordingly, the here-described mechanism is likely a conserved feature of chordate embryonic and adult neural development.

Roles of Retinoic Acid Signaling in Shaping the Neuronal Architecture of the Developing Amphioxus Nervous System

The morphogen retinoic acid (RA) patterns vertebrate nervous systems and drives neurogenesis, but how these functions evolved remains elusive. Here, we show that RA signaling plays stage- and tissue-specific roles during the formation of neural cell populations with serotonin, dopamine, and GABA neurotransmitter phenotypes in amphioxus, a proxy for the ancestral chordate. Our data suggest that RA signaling restricts the specification of dopamine-containing cells in the ectoderm and of GABA neurons in the neural tube, probably by regulating Hox1 and Hox3 gene expression, respectively. The two Hox genes thus appear to serve distinct functions rather than to participate in a combinatorial Hox code. We were further able to correlate the RA signaling-dependent mispatterning of hindbrain GABA neurons with concomitant motor impairments. Taken together, these data provide new insights into how RA signaling and Hox genes contribute to nervous system as well as to motor control development in amphioxus and hence shed light on the evolution of these functions within vertebrates.

Amphioxus mouth after dorso-ventral inversion

INTRODUCTION

Deuterostomes (animals with 'secondary mouths') are generally accepted to develop the mouth independently of the blastopore. However, it remains largely unknown whether mouths are homologous among all deuterostome groups. Unlike other bilaterians, in amphioxus the mouth initially opens on the left lateral side. This peculiar morphology has not been fully explained in the evolutionary developmental context. We studied the developmental process of the amphioxus mouth to understand whether amphioxus acquired a new mouth, and if so, how it is related to or differs from mouths in other deuterostomes.

RESULTS

The left first somite in amphioxus produces a coelomic vesicle between the epidermis and pharynx that plays a crucial role in the mouth opening. The vesicle develops in association with the amphioxus-specific Hatschek nephridium, and first opens into the pharynx and then into the exterior as a mouth. This asymmetrical development of the anterior-most somites depends on the Nodal-Pitx signaling unit, and the perturbation of laterality-determining Nodal signaling led to the disappearance of the vesicle, producing a symmetric pair of anterior-most somites that resulted in larvae lacking orobranchial structures. The vesicle expressed bmp2/4, as seen in ambulacrarian coelomic pore-canals, and the mouth did not open when Bmp2/4 signaling was blocked.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that the amphioxus mouth, which uniquely involves a mesodermal coelomic vesicle, shares its evolutionary origins with the ambulacrarian coelomic pore-canal. Our observations suggest that there are at least three types of mouths in deuterostomes, and that the new acquisition of chordate mouths was likely related to the dorso-ventral inversion that occurred in the last common ancestor of chordates.

Development of oral and branchial muscles in lancelet larvae of Branchiostoma japonicum

The perforated pharynx has generally been regarded as a shared characteristic of chordates. However, there still remains phylogenetic ambiguity between the cilia-driven system in invertebrate chordates and the muscle-driven system in vertebrates. Giant larvae of the genus Asymmetron were reported to develop an orobranchial musculature similar to that of vertebrates more than 100 years ago. This discovery might represent an evolutionary link for the chordate branchial system, but few investigations of the lancelet orobranchial musculature have been completed since. We studied staged larvae of a Japanese population of Branchiostoma japonicum to characterize the developmental property of the orobranchial musculature. The larval mouth and the unpaired primary gills develop well-organized muscles. These muscles function only as obturators of the openings without antagonistic system. As the larval mouth enlarged posteriorly to the level of the ninth myomere, the oral musculature was fortified accordingly without segmental patterning. In contrast, the iterated branchial muscles coincided with the dorsal myomeric pattern before metamorphosis, but the pharynx was remodeled dynamically irrespective of the myomeric pattern during metamorphosis. The orobranchial musculature disappeared completely during metamorphosis, and adult muscles in the oral hood and velum, as well as on the pterygial coeloms developed independently. The lancelet orobranchial musculature is apparently a larval adaptation to prevent harmful intake. However, vestigial muscles appeared transiently with the secondary gill formation suggest a bilateral ancestral state of muscular gills, and a segmental pattern of developing branchial muscles without neural crest and placodal contributions is suggestive of a precursor of vertebrate branchiomeric pattern.

Evolutionary diversification of secondary mechanoreceptor cells in tunicata

BACKGROUND

Hair cells are vertebrate secondary sensory cells located in the ear and in the lateral line organ. Until recently, these cells were considered to be mechanoreceptors exclusively found in vertebrates that evolved within this group. Evidence of secondary mechanoreceptors in some tunicates, the proposed sister group of vertebrates, has recently led to the hypothesis that vertebrate and tunicate secondary sensory cells share a common origin. Secondary sensory cells were described in detail in two tunicate groups, ascidians and thaliaceans, in which they constitute an oral sensory structure called the coronal organ. Among thaliaceans, the organ is absent in salps and it has been hypothesised that this condition is due to a different feeding system adopted by this group of animals. No information is available as to whether a comparable structure exists in the third group of tunicates, the appendicularians, although different sensory structures are known to be present in these animals.

RESULTS

We studied the detailed morphology of appendicularian oral mechanoreceptors. Using light and electron microscopy we could demonstrate that the mechanosensory organ called the circumoral ring is composed of secondary sensory cells. We described the ultrastructure of the circumoral organ in two appendicularian species, Oikopleura dioica and Oikopleura albicans, and thus taxonomically completed the data collection of tunicate secondary sensory cells. To understand the evolution of secondary sensory cells in tunicates, we performed a cladistic analysis using morphological data. We constructed a matrix consisting of 19 characters derived from detailed ultrastructural studies in 16 tunicate species and used a cephalochordate and three vertebrate species as outgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study clearly shows that the circumoral ring is the appendicularian homologue of the coronal organ of other tunicate taxa. The cladistic analysis enabled us to reconstruct the features of the putative ancestral hair cell in tunicates, represented by a simple monociliated cell. This cell successively differentiated into the current variety of oral mechanoreceptors in the various tunicate lineages. Finally, we demonstrated that the inferred evolutionary changes coincide with major transitions in the feeding strategies in each respective lineage.

Development of the nervous system in hatchlings of Spadella cephaloptera (Chaetognatha), and implications for nervous system evolution in Bilateria

Chaetognaths (arrow worms) play an important role as predators in planktonic food webs. Their phylogenetic position is unresolved, and among the numerous hypotheses, affinities to both protostomes and deuterostomes have been suggested. Many aspects of their life history, including ontogenesis, are poorly understood and, though some aspects of their embryonic and postembryonic development have been described, knowledge of early neural development is still limited. This study sets out to provide new insights into neurogenesis of newly hatched Spadella cephaloptera and their development during the following days, with attention to the two main nervous centers, the brain and the ventral nerve center. These were examined with immunohistological methods and confocal laser-scan microscopic analysis, using antibodies against tubulin, FMRFamide, and synapsin to trace the emergence of neuropils and the establishment of specific peptidergic subsystems. At hatching, the neuronal architecture of the ventral nerve center is already well established, whereas the brain and the associated vestibular ganglia are still rudimentary. The development of the brain proceeds rapidly over the next 6 days to a state that resembles the adult pattern. These data are discussed in relation to the larval life style and behaviors such as feeding. In addition, we compare the larval chaetognath nervous system and that of other bilaterian taxa in order to extract information with phylogenetic value. We conclude that larval neurogenesis in chaetognaths does not suggest an especially close relationship to either deuterostomes or protostomes, but instead displays many apomorphic features.

Variability of hair cells in the coronal organ of ascidians (Chordata, Tunicata)

The tunicate ascidians are nonvertebrate chordates that possess mechanoreceptor cells in the coronal organ in the oral siphon, which monitor the incoming water flow. Like vertebrate hair cells, the mechanoreceptor–coronal cells are secondary sensory (axonless) cells accompanied by supporting cells and they exhibit morphological diversities of apical specialisations: they are multiciliate in ascidians of the order Enterogona, whereas they are more complex and possess one or two cilia accompanied by stereovilli, also graded in length, in ascidians of the order Pleurogona. In morphology, embryonic origin, and arrangement, coronal sensory cells closely resemble vertebrate hair cells. We describe here the coronal organs of five ascidians ( Pyura haustor (Stimpson, 1864), Pyura stolonifera (Heller, 1878), Styela gibbsii (Stimpson, 1864), Styela montereyensis (Dall, 1872), and Polyandrocarpa zorritensis (Van Name, 1931)), belonging to Pleurogona, also comprising species of one family (Pyuridae), not yet considered, and thus completing our overview of the order. Each species possesses at least two kinds of secondary sensory cells, some of them characterized by stereovilli graded in length. In some species, the coronal sensory cells exhibit secretory activity; in P. haustor, a mitotic sensory cell has also been found. We compare the coronal organ in both ascidians and with other chordate sensory organs formed of secondary sensory cells, and discuss their possible homologies.

Dynamic modification of oral innervation during metamorphosis in Branchiostoma belcheri, the oriental lancelet

The oral apparatus in lancelets undergoes a remarkable modification during larval development, especially during metamorphosis, when the oral innervation is radically altered. The larval mouth opens on the left side at the early larval stage, and a peripheral nerve network, the oral nerve ring (ONR), develops around it. The ONR enlarges as the mouth expands caudally, eventually receiving fibers from nerves as far back as the tenth on the left side. The mouth shrinks during metamorphosis, and with this change the ONR regresses; the posterior sixth to tenth nerves become freed from the connection with the ONR, whereas the fourth and fifth nerves retain their connections. This modification is the basis for the asymmetric innervation to the velum. There is no mesodermal or mesenchymal restriction for guiding nerve patterning as typically found in vertebrate cranial nerves. Rather, it seems to be the ONR, which has no counterpart in vertebrates, that plays pivotal roles for patterning the nervous system in the oral region. The oral innervation pattern in lancelets represents a derived character state that may be related to the asymmetry of the ancestral body and head.

The lancelet and ammocoete mouths

The evolutionary history of the vertebrate mouth has long been an intriguing issue in comparative zoology. When the prevertebrate state was considered, the oral structure in adult lancelets (amphioxus) was traditionally referred to because of its general similarity to that of the ammocoete larva of lampreys. The larval mouth in lancelets, however, shows a peculiar developmental mode. Reflecting this, the affinity of the lancelet mouth has long been argued, but is still far from a consensus. The increase in available data from molecular biology, comparative developmental biology, paleontology, and other related fields makes it prudent to discuss morphological homology and homoplasy. Here, we review how the lancelet mouth has been interpreted in the study of evolution of the vertebrate mouth, as well as recent advances in chordate studies. With this background of increased knowledge, our innervation analysis supports the interpretation that the morphological similarity in the oral apparatus between ammocoetes and lancelets is a homoplasy caused by their similar food habits.

Neurochemical characterization of sea lamprey taste buds and afferent gustatory fibers: presence of serotonin, calretinin, and CGRP immunoreactivity in taste bud bi-ciliated cells of the earliest vertebrates

Neuroactive substances such as serotonin and other monoamines have been suggested to be involved in the transmission of gustatory signals from taste bud cells to afferent fibers. Lampreys are the earliest vertebrates that possess taste buds, although these differ in structure from taste buds in jawed vertebrates, and their neurochemistry remains unknown. We used immunofluorescence methods with antibodies raised against serotonin, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), calretinin, and acetylated alpha-tubulin to characterize the neurochemistry and innervation of taste buds in the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus L. For localization of proliferative cells in taste buds we used bromodeoxyuridine labeling and proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunohistochemistry. Results with both markers indicate that proliferating cells are restricted to a few basal cells and that almost all cells in taste buds are nonproliferating. A large number of serotonin-, calretinin-, and CGRP-immunoreactive bi-ciliated cells were revealed in lamprey taste buds. This suggests that serotonin participates in the transmission of gustatory signals and indicates that this substance appeared early on in vertebrate evolution. The basal surface of the bi-ciliated taste bud cells was contacted by tubulin-immunoreactive fibers. Some of the fibers surrounding the taste bud were calretinin immunoreactive. Lamprey taste bud cells or afferent fibers did not exhibit TH, GABA, glutamate, or NPY immunoreactivity, which suggests that expression of these substances evolved in taste buds of some gnathostomes lines after the separation of gnathostomes and lampreys.

Larval development of the oriental lancelet, Branchiostoma belcheri, in laboratory mass culture

We are successfully maintaining a laboratory colony of the lancelet Branchiostoma belcheri bred in the laboratory. Based on living individuals in this mass culture, morphological characteristics from the seven-day larval to benthic juvenile stages have been studied. Most striking was that later larval development of B. belcheri showed great individual variation even in a rather stable culture environment. Metamorphosis first occurred on 60 days post fertilization (dpf) and was continuously observed throughout the present study up to 100 dpf. Morphological traits such as the number of primary gill slits and body size at the start of metamorphosis are apparently affected by culture condition. Body size measured in the largest individuals showed nearly linear growth at 0.087 mm/day. The variability found in larval development calls for caution when developmental stages and chronological ages are compared between populations. However, the developmental flexibility of this animal also raises the possibility that growth and sexual maturation could be controlled artificially in captivity.

Hair cells in an ascidian (Tunicata) and their evolution in chordates

In ascidians, mechanoreceptors of the oral area are involved in monitoring the incoming water flow. Sensory cells are represented by scattered, ciliated primary cells (sending their own axons to the cerebral ganglion) or secondary sensory cells (axonless cells forming afferent and efferent synapses with neurons, whose somata are located in the ganglion) of the coronal organ. Coronal cells have varying morphologies: in species of the Enterogona order, they are multiciliate, whereas those of Pleurogona possess an apical apparatus composed of one or two cilia accompanied by stereovilli, in some cases also graded in length. The coronal organ has been proposed as a homologue to the vertebrate octavo-lateralis system, because coronal cells resemble vertebrate hair cells for morphology, embryonic origin and arrangement. In the ascidian Molgula socialis (Pleurogona), we now describe the morphology of the coronal organ, which contains a few associated rows of sensory cells that run the whole length of the oral velum and the branched tentacles. Three kinds of sensory cells, accompanied by specialised supporting cells, are present. Comparisons between the coronal organ and other chordate mechanosensory structures suggest that hair cells originated in the common ancestor of chordates.

Expression of AmphiPOU-IV in the developing neural tube and epidermal sensory neural precursors in amphioxus supports a conserved role of class IV POU genes in the sensory cells development

POU genes play a prominent role in the nervous system differentiation of several organism models, and in particular, they are involved in the differentiation of sensory neurons in numerous invertebrate and vertebrate species. In the present report, cloning and expression profile of a class IV POU gene in amphioxus was assessed for understanding its role in the sensory systems development. A single class IV gene, AmphiPOU-IV was isolated from the amphioxus Branchiostoma floridae. From a phylogenetic point of view, AmphiPOU-IV appears to be strictly related to the vertebrate one, sharing a high homology ratio especially with all vertebrate POU-IV proteins Brn-3a, Brn-3b, and Brn-3c. AmphiPOU-IV was found in the most anterior neural plate and in scattered ectodermic cells on the flanks of neurula, such ectodermic cells resemble the characteristic morphology and position of AmphiCoe and AmphiTrk developing sensory cells. Later on, the expression was confined in some motoneurons at level of the PMC and in some segmental arranged motoneurons in the hindbrain. Such expression is also maintained in larvae, and a new site of AmphiPOU-IV expression was also found in rostrum and mouth edge epidermal sensory cells of the larva. In conclusion, our data suggest an evolutionary conserved role of POU-IV transcription factors in the specification and differentiation of the sensory system in both vertebrates and invertebrates and underline the importance of amphioxus as linking step between them.

Coronal organ of ascidians and the evolutionary significance of secondary sensory cells in chordates

A new mechanoreceptor organ, the coronal organ, in the oral siphon of some ascidians belonging to the order Pleurogona has recently been described. In contrast to the known mechanoreceptor organs of ascidian atrium that consist of sensory neurons sending their own axons to the cerebral ganglion, coronal sensory cells are secondary mechanoreceptors, i.e., axonless cells forming afferent and efferent synapses with neurites of neurons located in the ganglion. Moreover, coronal cells exhibit an apical apparatus composed of a cilium accompanied or flanked by rod-like microvilli (stereovilli). Because of the resemblance of these cells to vertebrate hair cells, their ectodermal origin and location in a linear array bordering the bases of the oral tentacles and velum, the coronal organ has been proposed as a homologue to the vertebrate acousticolateralis system. Here we describe the morphology of the coronal organs of six ascidians belonging to the suborders Phlebobranchia and Aplousobranchia (order Enterogona). The sensory cells are ciliated, lack typical stereovilli, and at their bases form synapses with neurites. In two species, the sensory cells are accompanied by large cells involved in synthesis and secretion of protein. We hypothesize that the coronal organ with its secondary sensory cells represents a plesiomorphic feature of ascidians. We compare the coronal organ with other chordate sensory organs formed of secondary sensory cells, i.e., the ventral lip receptors of appendicularians, the oral secondary sensory cells of cephalochordates, and the acousticolateralis system of vertebrates, and we discuss their homologies at different levels of organization.

Stomodeal and neurohypophysial placodes in Ciona intestinalis: insights into the origin of the pituitary gland

The ascidian larva has a central nervous system which shares basic characteristics with craniates, such as tripartite organisation and many developmental genes. One difference, at metamorphosis, is that this chordate-like nervous system regresses and the adult's neural complex, composed of the cerebral ganglion and associated neural gland, forms. It is known that neural complex differentiation involves two ectodermal structures, the neurohypophysial duct, derived from the embryonic neural tube, and the stomodeum, i.e. the rudiment of the oral siphon; nevertheless, their precise role remains to be clarified. We have shown that in Ciona intestinalis, the neural complex primordium is the neurohypophysial duct, which in the early larva is a short tube, blind anteriorly, with its lumen in continuity with that of the central nervous system, i.e. the sensory vesicle. The tube grows forwards and fuses with the posterior wall of the stomodeum, a dorsal ectodermal invagination of the larva. The duct then loses posterior communication with the sensory vesicle and begins to grow on the roof of the vesicle itself. The neurohypophysial duct differentiates into the neural gland rudiment; its dorsal wall begins to proliferate neuroblasts, which migrate and converge to build up the cerebral ganglion. The most anterior part of the neural gland organizes into the ciliated duct and funnel, whereas the most posterior part elongates and gives rise to the dorsal strand. The hypothesis that the neurohypophysial duct/stomodeum complex possesses cell populations homologous to the craniate olfactory and adenohypophysial placodes and hypothalamus is discussed.

Evolutionary origins of vertebrate placodes: insights from developmental studies and from comparisons with other deuterostomes

Ectodermal placodes comprise the adenohypophyseal, olfactory, lens, profundal, trigeminal, otic, lateral line, and epibranchial placodes. The first part of this review presents a brief overview of placode development. Placodes give rise to a variety of cell types and contribute to many sensory organs and ganglia of the vertebrate head. While different placodes differ with respect to location and derivative cell types, all appear to originate from a common panplacodal primordium, induced at the anterior neural plate border by a combination of mesodermal and neural signals and defined by the expression of Six1, Six4, and Eya genes. Evidence from mouse and zebrafish mutants suggests that these genes promote generic placodal properties such as cell proliferation, cell shape changes, and specification of neurons. The common developmental origin of placodes suggests that all placodes may have evolved in several steps from a common precursor. The second part of this review summarizes our current knowledge of placode evolution. Although placodes (like neural crest cells) have been proposed to be evolutionary novelties of vertebrates, recent studies in ascidians and amphioxus have proposed that some placodes originated earlier in the chordate lineage. However, while the origin of several cellular and molecular components of placodes (e.g., regionalized expression domains of transcription factors and some neuronal or neurosecretory cell types) clearly predates the origin of vertebrates, there is presently little evidence that these components are integrated into placodes in protochordates. A scenario is presented according to which all placodes evolved from an adenohypophyseal-olfactory protoplacode, which may have originated in the vertebrate ancestor from the anlage of a rostral neurosecretory organ (surviving as Hatschek's pit in present-day amphioxus).

Characterization of novel GPCR gene coding locus in amphioxus genome: gene structure, expression, and phylogenetic analysis with implications for its involvement in chemoreception

Chemosensation is the primary sensory modality in almost all metazoans. The vertebrate olfactory receptor genes exist as tandem clusters in the genome, so that identifying their evolutionary origin would be useful for understanding the expansion of the sensory world in relation to a large-scale genomic duplication event in a lineage leading to the vertebrates. In this study, I characterized a novel GPCR (G-protein-coupled receptor) gene-coding locus from the amphioxus genome. The genomic DNA contains an intronless ORF whose deduced amino acid sequence encodes a seven-transmembrane protein with some amino acid residues characteristic of vertebrate olfactory receptors (ORs). Surveying counterparts in the Ciona intestinalis (Asidiacea, Urochordata) genome by querying BLAST programs against the Ciona genomic DNA sequence database resulted in the identification of a remotely related gene. In situ hybridization analysis labeled primary sensory neurons in the rostral epithelium of amphioxus adults. Based on these findings, together with comparison of the developmental gene expression between amphioxus and vertebrates, I postulate that chemoreceptive primary sensory neurons in the rostrum are an ancient cell population traceable at least as far back in phylogeny as the common ancestor of amphioxus and vertebrates.

Neurogenic and non-neurogenic placodes in ascidians

The late differentiation of the ectodermal layer is analysed in the ascidians Ciona intestinalis and Botryllus schlosseri, by means of light and electron microscopy, in order to verify the possible presence of placodal structures. Cranial placodes, ectodermal regions giving rise to nonepidermal cell types, are classically found exclusively in vertebrates; however, data are accumulating to demonstrate that the nonvertebrate chordates possess both the genetic machinery involved in placode differentiation, and ectodermal structures that are possible homologues of vertebrate placodes. Here, the term "placode" is used in a broad sense and defines thickenings of the ectodermal layer that can exhibit an interruption of the basal lamina where cells delaminate, and so are able to acquire a nonepidermal fate. A number of neurogenic placodes, ones capable of producing neurons, have been recognised; their derivatives have been analysed and their possible homologies with vertebrate placodes are discussed. In particular, the stomodeal placode may be considered a multiple placode, being composed of different sorts of placodes: part of it, which differentiates hair cells, is discussed as homologous to the octavo-lateralis placodes, while the remaining portion, giving rise to the ciliated duct of the neural gland, is considered homologous to the adenohypophyseal placode. The neurohypophyseal placode may include the homologues of the hypothalamus and vertebrate olfactory placode; the rostral placode, producing the sensorial papillae, may possibly be homologous to the placodes of the adhesive gland of vertebrates.

Non-neural ectoderm is really neural: evolution of developmental patterning mechanisms in the non-neural ectoderm of chordates and the problem of sensory cell homologies

In chordates, the ectoderm is divided into the neuroectoderm and the so-called non-neural ectoderm. In spite of its name, however, the non-neural ectoderm contains numerous sensory cells. Therefore, the term "non-neural" ectoderm should be replaced by "general ectoderm." At least in amphioxus and tunicates and possibly in vertebrates as well, both the neuroectoderm and the general ectoderm are patterned anterior/posteriorly by mechanisms involving retinoic acid and Hox genes. In amphioxus and tunicates the ectodermal sensory cells, which have a wide range of ciliary and microvillar configurations, are mostly primary neurons sending axons to the CNS, although a minority lack axons. In contrast, vertebrate mechanosensory cells, called hair cells, are all secondary neurons that lack axons and have a characteristic eccentric cilium adjacent to a group of microvilli of graded lengths. It has been highly controversial whether the ectodermal sensory cells in the oral siphons of adult tunicates are homologous to vertebrate hair cells. In some species of tunicates, these cells appear to be secondary neurons, and microvillar and ciliary configurations of some of these cells approach those of vertebrate hair cells. However, none of the tunicate cells has all the characteristics of a hair cell, and there is a high degree of variation among ectodermal sensory cells within and between different species. Thus, similarities between the ectodermal sensory cells of any one species of tunicate and craniate hair cells may well represent convergent evolution rather than homology.

The nervous system of amphioxus: structure, development, and evolutionary significance

Amphioxus neuroanatomy is important not just in its own right but also for the insights it provides regarding the evolutionary origin and basic organization of the vertebrate nervous system. This review summarizes the overall layout of the central nervous system (CNS), peripheral nerves, and nerve plexuses in amphioxus, and what is currently known of their histology and cell types, with special attention to new information on the anterior nerve cord. The intercalated region (IR) is of special functional and evolutionary interest. It extends caudally to the end of somite 4, traditionally considered the limit of the brain-like region of the amphioxus CNS, and is notable for the presence of a number of migrated cell groups. Unlike most other neurons in the cord, these migrated cells detach from the ventricular lumen and move into the adjacent neuropile, much as developing neurons do in vertebrates. The larval nervous system is also considered, as there is a wealth of new data on the organization and cell types of the anterior nerve cord in young larvae, based on detailed electron microscopical analyses and nerve tracing studies, and an emerging consensus regarding how this region relates to the vertebrate brain. Much less is known about the intervening period of the life history, i.e., the period between the young larva and the adult, but a great deal of neural development must occur during this time to generate a fully mature nervous system. It is especially interesting that the vertebrate counterparts of at least some postembryonic events of amphioxus neurogenesis occur, in vertebrates, in the embryo. The implication is that the whole of the postembryonic phase of neural development in amphioxus needs to be considered when making phylogenetic comparisons. Yet this is a period about which almost nothing is known. Considering this, plus the number of new molecular and immunocytochemical techniques now available to researchers, there is no shortage of worthwhile research topics using amphioxus, of whatever stage, as a subject.

Sensory Systems in Amphioxus: A Window on the Ancestral Chordate Condition

Amphioxus has an assortment of cells and organs for sensing light and mechanical stimuli. Vertebrate counterparts of these structures are not always apparent, and a strong case can be made for homology in only a few instances. For example, amphioxus has anatomically simple but plausible homologs of both the pineal and paired eyes of vertebrates. Placodal and neural crest derivatives are, however, more problematic: the evidence for an olfactory system in amphioxus is only circumstantial and, despite the variety of secondary sensory cell types that occur on the body surface in amphioxus, none are obvious homologs of vertebrate taste buds, neuromasts or acoustic hair cells. A useful perspective can nevertheless be gained by examining differences in amphioxus and vertebrate development, specifically how each specifies and positions sensory precursors, controls their proliferation, and deploys them through the body. The much larger size of vertebrate embryos and the need to cope developmentally with increased scale and cell numbers may account for some key vertebrate innovations, including placodes and neural crest. The presence or absence of specific structural adaptations, like the latter, is therefore less useful for judging homology between amphioxus and vertebrates than shared features of specific cell types. It is also clear that the duration of embryogenesis in vertebrates has been significantly extended in comparison with ancestral chordates so as to incorporate events that would originally have occurred during the post-embryonic growth period, including events of neurogenesis. Consequently, no scenario for the origin of vertebrates can be considered complete unless it deals explicitly with the whole of the life history and changes to it.

Novel, secondary sensory cell organ in ascidians: in search of the ancestor of the vertebrate lateral line

A new mechanoreceptor organ, the "coronal organ," located in the oral siphon, is described by light and electron microscopy in the colonial ascidians Botryllus schlosseri and Botrylloides violaceus. It is composed of a line of sensory cells (hair cells), accompanied by supporting cells, that runs continuously along the margin of the velum and tentacles of the siphon. These hair cells resemble those of the vertebrate lateral line or, in general, the acoustico-lateralis system, because they bear a single cilium, located centrally or eccentrically to a hair bundle of numerous stereovilli. In contrast to other sensory cells of ascidians, the coronal hair cells are secondary sensory cells, since they lack axonal processes directed towards the cerebral ganglion. Moreover, at their base they form synapses with nerve fibers, most of which exhibit acetylcholinesterase activity. The absence of axonal extensions was confirmed by experiments with lipophilic dyes. Different kinds of synapses were recognized: usually, each hair cell forms a few afferent synapses with dendrites of neurons located in the ganglion; efferent synapses, both axo-somatic (between an axon coming from the ganglion and the hair cell) and axo-dendritic (between an axon coming from the ganglion and an afferent fiber) were occasionally found. The presence of secondary sensory cells in ascidians is discussed in relation to the evolution of sensory cells and placodes in vertebrates. It is proposed that the coronal organ in urochordates is homologous to the vertebrate acoustico-lateralis system.

Early development of amphioxus nervous system with special reference to segmental cell organization and putative sensory cell precursors: a study based on the expression of pan-neuronal marker gene Hu/elav

The development of the nervous system of amphioxus was investigated at the cellular level based on the expression of the pan-neuronal marker gene Hu/elav. In situ hybridization analysis showed that an amphioxus Hu/elav homolog (AmphiHu/Hel) was expressed in individual cells within the neural plate, but the cells exhibited no obvious arrangements in early embryos without distinct somites. However, in neurulae with somites, AmphiHu/Hel-positive cells were clustered along the D-V axis in close register with the boundaries of somites, resulting in reiterated cell arrangements that became evident along the neuraxis. Furthermore, AmphiHu/Hel-positive cell clusters appeared one by one along with the development of underlying somites. Double-staining in situ hybridization analysis with the islet gene revealed that the cell clusters contain presumptive motoneurons. In addition, AmphiHu/Hel expression was also observed outside the CNS, probably in the epithelial ectoderm, suggesting that amphioxus has a large number of putative sensory cell precursors as early as the early neurula stage. Taking recent gene expression studies and anatomical studies into consideration, we discuss ontogenetic and phylogenetic features of the amphioxus nervous system.

New perspectives on the evolution of protochordate sensory and locomotory systems, and the origin of brains and heads

Cladistic analyses generally place tunicates close to the base of the chordate lineage, consistent with the assumption that the tunicate tail is primitively simple, not secondarily reduced from a segmented trunk. Cephalochordates (i.e. amphioxus) are segmented and resemble vertebrates in having two distinct locomotory modes, slow for distance swimming and fast for escape, that depend on separate sets of motor neurons and muscle cells. The sense organs of both amphioxus and tunicate larvae serve essentially as navigational aids and, despite some uncertainty as to homologies, current molecular and ultrastructural data imply a close relationship between them. There are far fewer signs of modification and reduction in the amphioxus central nervous system (CNS), however, so it is arguably the closer to the ancestral condition. Similarities between amphioxus and tunicate sense organs are then most easily explained if distance swimming evolved before and escape behaviour after the two lineages diverged, leaving tunicates to adopt more passive means of avoiding predation. Neither group has the kind of sense organs or sensory integration centres an organism would need to monitor predators, yet mobile predators with eyes were probably important in the early Palaeozoic. For a predator, improvements in vision and locomotion are mutually reinforcing. Both features probably evolved rapidly and together, in an 'arms race' of eyes, brains and segments that left protochordates behind, and ultimately produced the vertebrate head.

Evolution and development of the vertebrate ear

This review outlines major aspects of development and evolution of the ear, specifically addressing issues of cell fate commitment and the emerging molecular governance of these decisions. Available data support the notion of homology of subsets of mechanosensors across phyla (proprioreceptive mechanosensory neurons in insects, hair cells in vertebrates). It is argued that this conservation is primarily related to the specific transducing environment needed to achieve mechanosensation. Achieving this requires highly conserved transcription factors that regulate the expression of the relevant structural genes for mechanosensory transduction. While conserved at the level of some cell fate assignment genes (atonal and its mammalian homologue), the ear has also radically reorganized its development by implementing genes used for cell fate assignment in other parts of the developing nervous systems (e.g., neurogenin 1) and by evolving novel sets of genes specifically associated with the novel formation of sensory neurons that contact hair cells (neurotrophins and their receptors). Numerous genes have been identified that regulate morphogenesis, but there is only one common feature that emerges at the moment: the ear appears to have co-opted genes from a large variety of other parts of the developing body (forebrain, limbs, kidneys) and establishes, in combination with existing transcription factors, an environment in which those genes govern novel, ear-related morphogenetic aspects. The ear thus represents a unique mix of highly conserved developmental elements combined with co-opted and newly evolved developmental elements.

Establishment of left-right asymmetric innervation in the lancelet oral region

Lancelets (amphioxus) exhibit a remarkable asymmetric development in the anterior body region, which is reflected in the peripheral nervous system even at adulthood. Not all of the anterior nerves are involved, but the left third to fifth nerves are clearly asymmetric. To trace the developmental process responsible for asymmetric innervation, the peripheral nerves in the anterior region were studied in pre- and mid-metamorphic larvae, 1-cm-long juveniles, and in adults by using whole-mount immunostaining. The mouth changes in size and location during larval life before moving ventrally and, in conjunction with this change, nerves in the oral region are also modified. The left second nerve initially innervates the oral region, but this connection is secondarily lost. As the mouth expands and shifts posteriorly, the left fifth to ninth nerves join the left third and fourth in the innervation of the oral region. The left third to sixth nerves anastomose with the oral nerve ring, which encircles the mouth on the left side. In the juveniles and adults, there are two nerve plexuses that run parallel to the margin of the oral hood. The innermost of these, the "inner oral-hood nerve plexus", is asymmetrically connected with the left third to fifth nerves on both sides. The other, the "outer oral-hood nerve plexus", is ipsilaterally connected with the third to seventh nerves on both sides. The velar nerve ring is also innervated asymmetrically by the left fourth and fifth nerves. From these observations, we suggest that the oral nerve ring is the precursor of both the inner oral-hood nerve plexus and the velar nerve ring, and that the asymmetric innervation retained in adult lancelets is related to the early anastomosis of the left nerves with the oral nerve ring. We also show that, contrary to the persistent asymmetric innervation, the axonal patterns of the anterior peripheral nervous system in developing lancelets can change.

Developmental evolutionary biology of the vertebrate ear: conserving mechanoelectric transduction and developmental pathways in diverging morphologies

This brief overview shows that a start has been made to molecularly dissect vertebrate ear development and its evolutionary conservation to the development of the insect hearing organ. However, neither the patterning process of the ear nor the patterning process of insect sensory organs is sufficiently known at the moment to provide more than a first glimpse. Moreover, hardly anything is known about otocyst development of the cephalopod molluscs, another triploblast lineage that evolved complex 'ears'. We hope that the apparent conserved functional and cellular components present in the ciliated sensory neurons/hair cells will also be found in the genes required for vertebrate ear and insect sensory organ morphogenesis (Fig. 3). Likewise, we expect that homologous pre-patterning genes will soon be identified for the non-sensory cell development, which is more than a blocking of neuronal development through the Delta/Notch signaling system. Generation of the apparently unique ear could thus represent a multiplication of non-sensory cells by asymmetric and symmetric divisions as well as modification of existing patterning process by implementing novel developmental modules. In the final analysis, the vertebrate ear may come about by increasing the level of gene interactions in an already existing and highly conserved interactive cascade of bHLH genes. Since this was apparently achieved in all three lineages of triploblasts independently (Fig. 3), we now need to understand how much of the morphogenetic cascades are equally conserved across phyla to generate complex ears. The existing mutations in humans and mice may be able to point the direction of future research to understand the development of specific cell types and morphologies in the formation of complex arthropod, cephalopod, and vertebrate 'ears'.

Evolutionary conservation of the presumptive neural plate markers AmphiSox1/2/3 and AmphiNeurogenin in the invertebrate chordate amphioxus

Amphioxus, as the closest living invertebrate relative of the vertebrates, can give insights into the evolutionary origin of the vertebrate body plan. Therefore, to investigate the evolution of genetic mechanisms for establishing and patterning the neuroectoderm, we cloned and determined the embryonic expression of two amphioxus transcription factors, AmphiSox1/2/3 and AmphiNeurogenin. These genes are the earliest known markers for presumptive neuroectoderm in amphioxus. By the early neurula stage, AmphiNeurogenin expression becomes restricted to two bilateral columns of segmentally arranged neural plate cells, which probably include precursors of motor neurons. This is the earliest indication of segmentation in the amphioxus nerve cord. Later, expression extends to dorsal cells in the nerve cord, which may include precursors of sensory neurons. By the midneurula, AmphiSox1/2/3 expression becomes limited to the dorsal part of the forming neural tube. These patterns resemble those of their vertebrate and Drosophila homologs. Taken together with the evolutionarily conserved expression of the dorsoventral patterning genes, BMP2/4 and chordin, in nonneural and neural ectoderm, respectively, of chordates and Drosophila, our results are consistent with the evolution of the chordate dorsal nerve cord and the insect ventral nerve cord from a longitudinal nerve cord in a common bilaterian ancestor. However, AmphiSox1/2/3 differs from its vertebrate homologs in not being expressed outside the CNS, suggesting that additional roles for this gene have evolved in connection with gene duplication in the vertebrate lineage. In contrast, expression in the midgut of AmphiNeurogenin together with the gene encoding the insulin-like peptide suggests that amphioxus may have homologs of vertebrate pancreatic islet cells, which express neurogenin3. In addition, AmphiNeurogenin, like its vertebrate and Drosophila homologs, is expressed in apparent precursors of epidermal chemosensory and possibly mechanosensory cells, suggesting a common origin for protostome and deuterostome epidermal sensory cells in the ancestral bilaterian.

Chordate origins of the vertebrate central nervous system

Fine structural, computerized three-dimensional (3D) mapping of cell connectivity in the amphioxus nervous system and comparative molecular genetic studies of amphioxus and tunicates have provided recent insights into the phylogenetic origin of the vertebrate nervous system. The results suggest that several of the genetic mechanisms for establishing and patterning the vertebrate nervous system already operated in the ancestral chordate and that the nerve cord of the proximate invertebrate ancestor of the vertebrates included a diencephalon, midbrain, hindbrain, and spinal cord. In contrast, the telencephalon, a midbrain-hindbrain boundary region with organizer properties, and the definitive neural crest appear to be vertebrate innovations.