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S.S. Lopes C, Scarabino F, Carranza A, González Muñoz R, C. Morandini A, Nagata RM, Nascimento Stampar S. Description and life cycle of a new species of the genus Arachnanthus (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Ceriantharia) from the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15290. [PMID: 37250714 PMCID: PMC10211362 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Ceriantharia is a subclass of the phylum Cnidaria, which comprises tube-dwelling marine invertebrates. This subclass is composed of three families, including Arachnactidae, with two known genera. Currently, the genus Arachnanthus has five valid species recorded from Australia, the Mediterranean Sea and both the Southern and Northern Pacific Ocean. However, at the moment, there is no record of organisms of this family from the South Atlantic Ocean. Besides that, the life cycle of any species of the genus Arachnanthus is known. The present study describes a new species of the genus Arachnanthus and its life cycle, based on specimens from Uruguay and South of Brazil. Methods Larvae were collected by plankton net in Rio Grande-Brazil and the development and external morphology of these specimens were observed in the laboratory during two years, and subsequently described. Additionally, nine adult ceriantharians correspondent to the larvae from Rio Grande were collected in Uruguay and their external and internal anatomies, and cnidome were described. Results Arachnanthus errans sp. nov. exhibited a free-swimming, short-lived cerinula larvae that spent short-time on the plankton. The larva developed into small and translucent polyps with a short actinopharynx, one pair of mesenteries attached to a siphonoglyph, and a medium first pair of metamesenteries. Further, the adult polyp displayed an unprecedented locomotion behavior in Ceriantharia that is first reported here, it can crawl under and in between the sediment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celine S.S. Lopes
- Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Fabrizio Scarabino
- Centro Universitario Regional del Este (Universidad de la República), Maldonado/Rocha, Uruguay
- Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Alvar Carranza
- Centro Universitario Regional del Este (Universidad de la República), Maldonado/Rocha, Uruguay
- Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Ricardo González Muñoz
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), CONICET; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - André C. Morandini
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Centro de Biologia Marinha, Universidade de São Paulo, São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Renato Mitsuo Nagata
- Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Sérgio Nascimento Stampar
- Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil
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Hasegawa Y, Watanabe T, Otsuka R, Toné S, Kubota S, Hirakawa H. Genome assembly and transcriptomic analyses of the repeatedly rejuvenating jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii. DNA Res 2022; 30:6909006. [PMID: 36519838 PMCID: PMC9835754 DOI: 10.1093/dnares/dsac047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Only two hydromedusan species, Turritopsis dohrnii and T. sp., have exhibited experimental multiple-repeat life cycle reversion in the laboratory, which can be artificially induced by various means such as incubation with CsCl, heat shock, and mechanical damage with needles. In the present study, we constructed a genome assembly of T. dohrnii using Pacific Biosciences long-reads and Illumina short-reads, for which the genome DNA was extracted from 1,500 young medusae originated from a single clone. The total length of the draft genome sequence of T. dohrnii was 435.9 Mb (N50 length 747.2 kb). We identified 23,314 high-confidence genes and found the characteristics of RNA expression amongst developmental stages. Our genome assembly and transcriptome data provide a key model system resource that will be useful for understanding cyclical rejuvenation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshinori Hasegawa
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +81 438 52 3944. Fax: +81 438 52 3921. (Y.H); Tel: +81 438 52 3906. Fax: +81 438 52 3924. (H.H)
| | - Takashi Watanabe
- Department of Applied Genomics, Kazusa DNA Research Institute, Kisarazu, Chiba 292-0818, Japan
| | - Reo Otsuka
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Denki University, Hatoyama, Saitama 350-0394, Japan
| | - Shigenobu Toné
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Denki University, Hatoyama, Saitama 350-0394, Japan
| | - Shin Kubota
- Turritopsis Immortal Jellyfish Regenerative Biological Research/Experience Laboratory, Arita, Wakayama 643-0002, Japan
| | - Hideki Hirakawa
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +81 438 52 3944. Fax: +81 438 52 3921. (Y.H); Tel: +81 438 52 3906. Fax: +81 438 52 3924. (H.H)
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Pascual-Torner M, Carrero D, Pérez-Silva JG, Álvarez-Puente D, Roiz-Valle D, Bretones G, Rodríguez D, Maeso D, Mateo-González E, Español Y, Mariño G, Acuña JL, Quesada V, López-Otín C. Comparative genomics of mortal and immortal cnidarians unveils novel keys behind rejuvenation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2118763119. [PMID: 36037356 PMCID: PMC9459311 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2118763119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Turritopsis dohrnii is the only metazoan able to rejuvenate repeatedly after its medusae reproduce, hinting at biological immortality and challenging our understanding of aging. We present and compare whole-genome assemblies of T. dohrnii and the nonimmortal Turritopsis rubra using automatic and manual annotations, together with the transcriptome of life cycle reversal (LCR) process of T. dohrnii. We have identified variants and expansions of genes associated with replication, DNA repair, telomere maintenance, redox environment, stem cell population, and intercellular communication. Moreover, we have found silencing of polycomb repressive complex 2 targets and activation of pluripotency targets during LCR, which points to these transcription factors as pluripotency inducers in T. dohrnii. Accordingly, we propose these factors as key elements in the ability of T. dohrnii to undergo rejuvenation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Pascual-Torner
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Ciberonc, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
- Observatorio Marino de Asturias, Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - Dido Carrero
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Ciberonc, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - José G. Pérez-Silva
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Ciberonc, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - Diana Álvarez-Puente
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Ciberonc, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - David Roiz-Valle
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Ciberonc, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - Gabriel Bretones
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Ciberonc, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - David Rodríguez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Ciberonc, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - Daniel Maeso
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Ciberonc, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - Elena Mateo-González
- Observatorio Marino de Asturias, Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - Yaiza Español
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Ciberonc, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - Guillermo Mariño
- Departamento de Biología Funcional, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
- Autophagy and Metabolism Lab, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, 33011, Spain
| | - José Luis Acuña
- Observatorio Marino de Asturias, Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - Víctor Quesada
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Ciberonc, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
| | - Carlos López-Otín
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Instituto Universitario de Oncología, Ciberonc, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, 33006, Spain
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Rinkevich B, Ballarin L, Martinez P, Somorjai I, Ben-Hamo O, Borisenko I, Berezikov E, Ereskovsky A, Gazave E, Khnykin D, Manni L, Petukhova O, Rosner A, Röttinger E, Spagnuolo A, Sugni M, Tiozzo S, Hobmayer B. A pan-metazoan concept for adult stem cells: the wobbling Penrose landscape. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 97:299-325. [PMID: 34617397 PMCID: PMC9292022 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Adult stem cells (ASCs) in vertebrates and model invertebrates (e.g. Drosophila melanogaster) are typically long‐lived, lineage‐restricted, clonogenic and quiescent cells with somatic descendants and tissue/organ‐restricted activities. Such ASCs are mostly rare, morphologically undifferentiated, and undergo asymmetric cell division. Characterized by ‘stemness’ gene expression, they can regulate tissue/organ homeostasis, repair and regeneration. By contrast, analysis of other animal phyla shows that ASCs emerge at different life stages, present both differentiated and undifferentiated phenotypes, and may possess amoeboid movement. Usually pluri/totipotent, they may express germ‐cell markers, but often lack germ‐line sequestering, and typically do not reside in discrete niches. ASCs may constitute up to 40% of animal cells, and participate in a range of biological phenomena, from whole‐body regeneration, dormancy, and agametic asexual reproduction, to indeterminate growth. They are considered legitimate units of selection. Conceptualizing this divergence, we present an alternative stemness metaphor to the Waddington landscape: the ‘wobbling Penrose’ landscape. Here, totipotent ASCs adopt ascending/descending courses of an ‘Escherian stairwell’, in a lifelong totipotency pathway. ASCs may also travel along lower stemness echelons to reach fully differentiated states. However, from any starting state, cells can change their stemness status, underscoring their dynamic cellular potencies. Thus, vertebrate ASCs may reflect just one metazoan ASC archetype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baruch Rinkevich
- Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, POB 9753, Tel Shikmona, Haifa, 3109701, Israel
| | - Loriano Ballarin
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, Padova, 35121, Italy
| | - Pedro Martinez
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, Barcelona, 08028, Spain.,Institut Català de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona, 08010, Spain
| | - Ildiko Somorjai
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9ST, Scotland, UK
| | - Oshrat Ben-Hamo
- Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, POB 9753, Tel Shikmona, Haifa, 3109701, Israel
| | - Ilya Borisenko
- Department of Embryology, Faculty of Biology, Saint-Petersburg State University, University Embankment, 7/9, Saint-Petersburg, 199034, Russia
| | - Eugene Berezikov
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Antonius Deusinglaan 1, Groningen, 9713 AV, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander Ereskovsky
- Department of Embryology, Faculty of Biology, Saint-Petersburg State University, University Embankment, 7/9, Saint-Petersburg, 199034, Russia.,Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Aix Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, Avignon University, Jardin du Pharo, 58 Boulevard Charles Livon, Marseille, 13007, France.,Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology of Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulitsa Vavilova, 26, Moscow, 119334, Russia
| | - Eve Gazave
- Université de Paris, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, F-75006, France
| | - Denis Khnykin
- Department of Pathology, Oslo University Hospital, Bygg 19, Gaustad Sykehus, Sognsvannsveien 21, Oslo, 0188, Norway
| | - Lucia Manni
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, Padova, 35121, Italy
| | - Olga Petukhova
- Collection of Vertebrate Cell Cultures, Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tikhoretsky Ave. 4, St. Petersburg, 194064, Russia
| | - Amalia Rosner
- Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, POB 9753, Tel Shikmona, Haifa, 3109701, Israel
| | - Eric Röttinger
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, INSERM, Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging, Nice (IRCAN), Nice, 06107, France.,Université Côte d'Azur, Federative Research Institute - Marine Resources (IFR MARRES), 28 Avenue de Valrose, Nice, 06103, France
| | - Antonietta Spagnuolo
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, Naples, 80121, Italy
| | - Michela Sugni
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy (ESP), Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, Milan, 20133, Italy
| | - Stefano Tiozzo
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement de Villefranche-sur-mer (LBDV), 06234 Villefranche-sur-Mer, Villefranche sur Mer, Cedex, France
| | - Bert Hobmayer
- Institute of Zoology and Center for Molecular Biosciences, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstr, Innsbruck, 256020, Austria
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A topological look into the evolution of developmental programs. Biophys J 2021; 120:4193-4201. [PMID: 34480926 PMCID: PMC8516677 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.08.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Rapid advance of experimental techniques provides an unprecedented in-depth view into complex developmental processes. Still, little is known on how the complexity of multicellular organisms evolved by elaborating developmental programs and inventing new cell types. A hurdle to understanding developmental evolution is the difficulty of even describing the intertwined network of spatiotemporal processes underlying the development of complex multicellular organisms. Nonetheless, an overview of developmental trajectories can be obtained from cell type lineage maps. Here, we propose that these lineage maps can also reveal how developmental programs evolve: the modes of evolving new cell types in an organism should be visible in its developmental trajectories and therefore in the geometry of its cell type lineage map. This idea is demonstrated using a parsimonious generative model of developmental programs, which allows us to reliably survey the universe of all possible programs and examine their topological features. We find that, contrary to belief, tree-like lineage maps are rare, and lineage maps of complex multicellular organisms are likely to be directed acyclic graphs in which multiple developmental routes can converge on the same cell type. Although cell type evolution prescribes what developmental programs come into existence, natural selection prunes those programs that produce low-functioning organisms. Our model indicates that additionally, lineage map topologies are correlated with such a functional property: the ability of organisms to regenerate.
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The Tentacular Spectacular: Evolution of Regeneration in Sea Anemones. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12071072. [PMID: 34356088 PMCID: PMC8306839 DOI: 10.3390/genes12071072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sea anemones vary immensely in life history strategies, environmental niches and their ability to regenerate. While the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is the starlet of many key regeneration studies, recent work is emerging on the diverse regeneration strategies employed by other sea anemones. This manuscript will explore current molecular mechanisms of regeneration employed by non-model sea anemones Exaiptasia diaphana (an emerging model species for coral symbiosis studies) and Calliactis polypus (a less well-studied species) and examine how these species compare to the model sea anemone N. vectensis. We summarize the field of regeneration within sea anemones, within the greater context of phylum Cnidaria and in other invertebrate models of regeneration. We also address the current knowledge on two key systems that may be implemented in regeneration: the innate immune system and developmental pathways, including future aspects of work and current limitations.
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Matsumoto Y, Miglietta MP. Cellular Reprogramming and Immortality: Expression Profiling Reveals Putative Genes Involved in Turritopsis dohrnii's Life Cycle Reversal. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:6300523. [PMID: 34132809 PMCID: PMC8480191 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
To gather insight on the genetic network of cell reprogramming and reverse development in a nonmodel cnidarian system, we produced and annotated a transcriptome of the hydrozoan Turritopsis dohrnii, whose medusae respond to damage or senescence by metamorphosing into a juvenile stage (the polyp), briefly passing through an intermediate and uncharacterized stage (the cyst), where cellular transdifferentiation occurs. We conducted sequential and pairwise differential gene expression (DGE) analyses of the major life cycle stages involved in the ontogenetic reversal of T. dohrnii. Our DGE analyses of sequential stages of T. dohrnii’s life cycle stages show that novel and characterized genes associated with aging/lifespan, regulation of transposable elements, DNA repair, and damage response, and Ubiquitin-related processes, among others, were enriched in the cyst stage. Our pairwise DGE analyses show that, when compared with the colonial polyp, the medusa is enriched with genes involved in membrane transport, the nervous system, components of the mesoglea, and muscle contraction, whereas genes involved in chitin metabolism and the formation of the primary germ layers are suppressed. The colonial polyp and reversed polyp (from cyst) show significant differences in gene expression. The reversed polyp is enriched with genes involved in processes such as chromatin remodeling and organization, matrix metalloproteinases, and embryonic development whereas suppressing genes involved in RAC G-protein signaling pathways. In summary, we identify genetic networks potentially involved in the reverse development of T. dohrnii and produce a transcriptome profile of all its life cycle stages, and paving the way for its use as a system for research on cell reprogramming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yui Matsumoto
- Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Texas, USA
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Larocca D, Lee J, West MD, Labat I, Sternberg H. No Time to Age: Uncoupling Aging from Chronological Time. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:611. [PMID: 33919082 PMCID: PMC8143125 DOI: 10.3390/genes12050611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Multicellular life evolved from simple unicellular organisms that could replicate indefinitely, being essentially ageless. At this point, life split into two fundamentally different cell types: the immortal germline representing an unbroken lineage of cell division with no intrinsic endpoint and the mortal soma, which ages and dies. In this review, we describe the germline as clock-free and the soma as clock-bound and discuss aging with respect to three DNA-based cellular clocks (telomeric, DNA methylation, and transposable element). The ticking of these clocks corresponds to the stepwise progressive limitation of growth and regeneration of somatic cells that we term somatic restriction. Somatic restriction acts in opposition to strategies that ensure continued germline replication and regeneration. We thus consider the plasticity of aging as a process not fixed to the pace of chronological time but one that can speed up or slow down depending on the rate of intrinsic cellular clocks. We further describe how germline factor reprogramming might be used to slow the rate of aging and potentially reverse it by causing the clocks to tick backward. Therefore, reprogramming may eventually lead to therapeutic strategies to treat degenerative diseases by altering aging itself, the one condition common to us all.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jieun Lee
- AgeX Therapeutics Inc., Alameda, CA 94501, USA; (J.L.); (M.D.W.); (I.L.); (H.S.)
| | - Michael D. West
- AgeX Therapeutics Inc., Alameda, CA 94501, USA; (J.L.); (M.D.W.); (I.L.); (H.S.)
| | - Ivan Labat
- AgeX Therapeutics Inc., Alameda, CA 94501, USA; (J.L.); (M.D.W.); (I.L.); (H.S.)
| | - Hal Sternberg
- AgeX Therapeutics Inc., Alameda, CA 94501, USA; (J.L.); (M.D.W.); (I.L.); (H.S.)
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Life, death, and self: Fundamental questions of primitive cognition viewed through the lens of body plasticity and synthetic organisms. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2020; 564:114-133. [PMID: 33162026 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.10.077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2020] [Revised: 10/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Central to the study of cognition is being able to specify the Subject that is making decisions and owning memories and preferences. However, all real cognitive agents are made of parts (such as brains made of cells). The integration of many active subunits into a coherent Self appearing at a larger scale of organization is one of the fundamental questions of evolutionary cognitive science. Typical biological model systems, whether basal or advanced, have a static anatomical structure which obscures important aspects of the mind-body relationship. Recent advances in bioengineering now make it possible to assemble, disassemble, and recombine biological structures at the cell, organ, and whole organism levels. Regenerative biology and controlled chimerism reveal that studies of cognition in intact, "standard", evolved animal bodies are just a narrow slice of a much bigger and as-yet largely unexplored reality: the incredible plasticity of dynamic morphogenesis of biological forms that house and support diverse types of cognition. The ability to produce living organisms in novel configurations makes clear that traditional concepts, such as body, organism, genetic lineage, death, and memory are not as well-defined as commonly thought, and need considerable revision to account for the possible spectrum of living entities. Here, I review fascinating examples of experimental biology illustrating that the boundaries demarcating somatic and cognitive Selves are fluid, providing an opportunity to sharpen inquiries about how evolution exploits physical forces for multi-scale cognition. Developmental (pre-neural) bioelectricity contributes a novel perspective on how the dynamic control of growth and form of the body evolved into sophisticated cognitive capabilities. Most importantly, the development of functional biobots - synthetic living machines with behavioral capacity - provides a roadmap for greatly expanding our understanding of the origin and capacities of cognition in all of its possible material implementations, especially those that emerge de novo, with no lengthy evolutionary history of matching behavioral programs to bodyplan. Viewing fundamental questions through the lens of new, constructed living forms will have diverse impacts, not only in basic evolutionary biology and cognitive science, but also in regenerative medicine of the brain and in artificial intelligence.
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Mikuła-Pietrasik J, Pakuła M, Markowska M, Uruski P, Szczepaniak-Chicheł L, Tykarski A, Książek K. Nontraditional systems in aging research: an update. Cell Mol Life Sci 2020; 78:1275-1304. [PMID: 33034696 PMCID: PMC7904725 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-020-03658-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Research on the evolutionary and mechanistic aspects of aging and longevity has a reductionist nature, as the majority of knowledge originates from experiments on a relatively small number of systems and species. Good examples are the studies on the cellular, molecular, and genetic attributes of aging (senescence) that are primarily based on a narrow group of somatic cells, especially fibroblasts. Research on aging and/or longevity at the organismal level is dominated, in turn, by experiments on Drosophila melanogaster, worms (Caenorhabditis elegans), yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and higher organisms such as mice and humans. Other systems of aging, though numerous, constitute the minority. In this review, we collected and discussed a plethora of up-to-date findings about studies of aging, longevity, and sometimes even immortality in several valuable but less frequently used systems, including bacteria (Caulobacter crescentus, Escherichia coli), invertebrates (Turritopsis dohrnii, Hydra sp., Arctica islandica), fishes (Nothobranchius sp., Greenland shark), reptiles (giant tortoise), mammals (blind mole rats, naked mole rats, bats, elephants, killer whale), and even 3D organoids, to prove that they offer biogerontologists as much as the more conventional tools. At the same time, the diversified knowledge gained owing to research on those species may help to reconsider aging from a broader perspective, which should translate into a better understanding of this tremendously complex and clearly system-specific phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justyna Mikuła-Pietrasik
- Department of Pathophysiology of Ageing and Civilization Diseases, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Długa 1/2 Str., 61-848 Poznań, Poland
| | - Martyna Pakuła
- Department of Hypertensiology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Długa 1/2 Str., 61-848 Poznań, Poland
| | - Małgorzata Markowska
- Department of Hypertensiology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Długa 1/2 Str., 61-848 Poznań, Poland
| | - Paweł Uruski
- Department of Hypertensiology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Długa 1/2 Str., 61-848 Poznań, Poland
| | | | - Andrzej Tykarski
- Department of Hypertensiology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Długa 1/2 Str., 61-848 Poznań, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Książek
- Department of Pathophysiology of Ageing and Civilization Diseases, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Długa 1/2 Str., 61-848 Poznań, Poland
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