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Gautam S, Fenner JL, Wang B, Range RC. Evolutionarily conserved Wnt/Sp5 signaling is critical for anterior-posterior axis patterning in sea urchin embryos. iScience 2024; 27:108616. [PMID: 38179064 PMCID: PMC10765061 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Studies across a diverse group of metazoan embryos indicate that Wnt signaling often activates the transcription factor Sp5, forming a signaling 'cassette' that plays critical roles in many developmental processes. This study explores the role of Wnt/Sp5 signaling during the specification and patterning of the primary germ layers during early anterior-posterior axis formation in the deuterostome sea urchin embryo. Our functional analyses show that Sp5 is critical for endomesoderm specification downstream of Wnt/β-catenin in posterior cells as well as anterior neuroectoderm patterning downstream of non-canonical Wnt/JNK signaling in anterior cells. Interestingly, expression and functional data comparisons show that Wnt/Sp5 signaling often plays similar roles in posterior endomesoderm as well as neuroectoderm patterning along the AP axis of several deuterostome embryos, including vertebrates. Thus, our findings provide strong support for the idea that Wnt-Sp5 signaling cassettes were critical for the establishment of early germ layers in the common deuterostome ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sujan Gautam
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
| | - Jennifer L. Fenner
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
| | - Boyuan Wang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
| | - Ryan C. Range
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
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2
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Gilbert E, Craggs J, Modepalli V. Gene Regulatory Network that Shaped the Evolution of Larval Apical Organ in Cnidaria. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msad285. [PMID: 38152864 PMCID: PMC10781443 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad285] [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: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Among non-bilaterian animals, a larval apical sensory organ with integrated neurons is only found in cnidarians. Within cnidarians, an apical organ with a ciliary tuft is mainly found in Actiniaria. Whether this apical tuft has evolved independently in Actiniaria or alternatively originated in the common ancestor of Cnidaria and Bilateria and was lost in specific groups is uncertain. To test this hypothesis, we generated transcriptomes of the apical domain during the planula stage of four species representing three key groups of cnidarians: Aurelia aurita (Scyphozoa), Nematostella vectensis (Actiniaria), and Acropora millepora and Acropora tenuis (Scleractinia). We showed that the canonical genes implicated in patterning the apical domain of N. vectensis are largely absent in A. aurita. In contrast, the apical domain of the scleractinian planula shares gene expression pattern with N. vectensis. By comparing the larval single-cell transcriptomes, we revealed the apical organ cell type of Scleractinia and confirmed its homology to Actiniaria. However, Fgfa2, a vital regulator of the regionalization of the N. vectensis apical organ, is absent in the scleractinian genome. Likewise, we found that FoxJ1 and 245 genes associated with cilia are exclusively expressed in the N. vectensis apical domain, which is in line with the presence of ciliary apical tuft in Actiniaria and its absence in Scleractinia and Scyphozoa. Our findings suggest that the common ancestor of cnidarians lacked a ciliary apical tuft, and it could have evolved independently in the Actiniaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor Gilbert
- Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Jamie Craggs
- Horniman Museum and Gardens, London SE23 3PQ, UK
| | - Vengamanaidu Modepalli
- Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK
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3
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Formery L, Lowe CJ. Integrating Complex Life Cycles in Comparative Developmental Biology. Annu Rev Genet 2023; 57:321-339. [PMID: 37585618 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-071719-020641] [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] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
The goal of comparative developmental biology is identifying mechanistic differences in embryonic development between different taxa and how these evolutionary changes have led to morphological and organizational differences in adult body plans. Much of this work has focused on direct-developing species in which the adult forms straight from the embryo and embryonic modifications have direct effects on the adult. However, most animal lineages are defined by indirect development, in which the embryo gives rise to a larval body plan and the adult forms by transformation of the larva. Historically, much of our understanding of complex life cycles is viewed through the lenses of ecology and zoology. In this review, we discuss the importance of establishing developmental rather than morphological or ecological criteria for defining developmental mode and explicitly considering the evolutionary implications of incorporating complex life cycles into broad developmental comparisons of embryos across metazoans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Formery
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California, USA;
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Christopher J Lowe
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California, USA;
- Chan Zuckerberg BioHub, San Francisco, California, USA
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4
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Yamakawa S, Yamazaki A, Morino Y, Wada H. Early expression onset of tissue-specific effector genes during the specification process in sea urchin embryos. EvoDevo 2023; 14:7. [PMID: 37101206 PMCID: PMC10131483 DOI: 10.1186/s13227-023-00210-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the course of animal developmental processes, various tissues are differentiated through complex interactions within the gene regulatory network. As a general concept, differentiation has been considered to be the endpoint of specification processes. Previous works followed this view and provided a genetic control scheme of differentiation in sea urchin embryos: early specification genes generate distinct regulatory territories in an embryo to express a small set of differentiation driver genes; these genes eventually stimulate the expression of tissue-specific effector genes, which provide biological identity to differentiated cells, in each region. However, some tissue-specific effector genes begin to be expressed in parallel with the expression onset of early specification genes, raising questions about the simplistic regulatory scheme of tissue-specific effector gene expression and the current concept of differentiation itself. RESULTS Here, we examined the dynamics of effector gene expression patterns during sea urchin embryogenesis. Our transcriptome-based analysis indicated that many tissue-specific effector genes begin to be expressed and accumulated along with the advancing specification GRN in the distinct cell lineages of embryos. Moreover, we found that the expression of some of the tissue-specific effector genes commences before cell lineage segregation occurs. CONCLUSIONS Based on this finding, we propose that the expression onset of tissue-specific effector genes is controlled more dynamically than suggested in the previously proposed simplistic regulation scheme. Thus, we suggest that differentiation should be conceptualized as a seamless process of accumulation of effector expression along with the advancing specification GRN. This pattern of effector gene expression may have interesting implications for the evolution of novel cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shumpei Yamakawa
- Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, Friedrich-Shiller University Jena, Erbertstraße 1, 07747, Jena, Germany.
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan.
| | - Atsuko Yamazaki
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan
| | - Yoshiaki Morino
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Wada
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan
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5
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Formery L, Wakefield A, Gesson M, Toisoul L, Lhomond G, Gilletta L, Lasbleiz R, Schubert M, Croce JC. Developmental atlas of the indirect-developing sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus: From fertilization to juvenile stages. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:966408. [DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.966408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus has been used as a model system in biology for more than a century. Over the past decades, it has been at the center of a number of studies in cell, developmental, ecological, toxicological, evolutionary, and aquaculture research. Due to this previous work, a significant amount of information is already available on the development of this species. However, this information is fragmented and rather incomplete. Here, we propose a comprehensive developmental atlas for this sea urchin species, describing its ontogeny from fertilization to juvenile stages. Our staging scheme includes three periods divided into 33 stages, plus 15 independent stages focused on the development of the coeloms and the adult rudiment. For each stage, we provide a thorough description based on observations made on live specimens using light microscopy, and when needed on fixed specimens using confocal microscopy. Our descriptions include, for each stage, the main anatomical characteristics related, for instance, to cell division, tissue morphogenesis, and/or organogenesis. Altogether, this work is the first of its kind providing, in a single study, a comprehensive description of the development of P. lividus embryos, larvae, and juveniles, including details on skeletogenesis, ciliogenesis, myogenesis, coelomogenesis, and formation of the adult rudiment as well as on the process of metamorphosis in live specimens. Given the renewed interest for the use of sea urchins in ecotoxicological, developmental, and evolutionary studies as well as in using marine invertebrates as alternative model systems for biomedical investigations, this study will greatly benefit the scientific community and will serve as a reference for specialists and non-specialists interested in studying sea urchins.
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6
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Gilbert E, Teeling C, Lebedeva T, Pedersen S, Chrismas N, Genikhovich G, Modepalli V. Molecular and cellular architecture of the larval sensory organ in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis. Development 2022; 149:276422. [PMID: 36000354 PMCID: PMC9481973 DOI: 10.1242/dev.200833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Cnidarians are the only non-bilaterian group to evolve ciliated larvae with an apical sensory organ, which is possibly homologous to the apical organs of bilaterian primary larvae. Here, we generated transcriptomes of the apical tissue in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis and showed that it has a unique neuronal signature. By integrating previously published larval single-cell data with our apical transcriptomes, we discovered that the apical domain comprises a minimum of six distinct cell types. We show that the apical organ is compartmentalised into apical tuft cells (spot) and larval-specific neurons (ring). Finally, we identify ISX-like (NVE14554), a PRD class homeobox gene specifically expressed in apical tuft cells, as an FGF signalling-dependent transcription factor responsible for the formation of the apical tuft domain via repression of the neural ring fate in apical cells. With this study, we contribute a comparison of the molecular anatomy of apical organs, which must be carried out across phyla to determine whether this crucial larval structure evolved once or multiple times. Summary:ISX-like homeobox gene is an FGF signalling-dependent transcription factor responsible for the formation of the apical tuft in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor Gilbert
- Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory 1 , Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB , United Kingdom
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth 2 , Plymouth, PL4 8AA , UK
| | - Callum Teeling
- Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory 1 , Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB , United Kingdom
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth 2 , Plymouth, PL4 8AA , UK
| | - Tatiana Lebedeva
- University of Vienna 3 Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences , , Vienna, 1030 , Austria
- Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution, University of Vienna 4 , Vienna, 1030 , Austria
| | - Siffreya Pedersen
- Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory 1 , Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB , United Kingdom
| | - Nathan Chrismas
- Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory 1 , Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB , United Kingdom
| | - Grigory Genikhovich
- University of Vienna 3 Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences , , Vienna, 1030 , Austria
| | - Vengamanaidu Modepalli
- Marine Biological Association of the UK, The Laboratory 1 , Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB , United Kingdom
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7
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Bonaventura R, Costa C, Deidda I, Zito F, Russo R. Gene Expression Analysis of the Stress Response to Lithium, Nickel, and Zinc in Paracentrotus lividus Embryos. TOXICS 2022; 10:toxics10060325. [PMID: 35736933 PMCID: PMC9231221 DOI: 10.3390/toxics10060325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Many anthropogenic pollutants such as metals are discharged into the marine environment through modern sources. Among these, lithium (Li), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) can interfere with biological processes in many organisms when their concentration rises. These metals are toxic to sea urchin embryos, affecting their development. Indeed, animal/vegetal and dorso/ventral embryonic axes are differently perturbed: Li is a vegetalizing agent, Ni can disrupt dorso-ventral axis, Zn can be animalizing. To address the molecular response adopted by embryos to cope with these metals or involved in the gene networks regulating embryogenesis, and to detect new biomarkers for evaluating hazards in polluted environments in a well-known in vivo model, we applied a high-throughput screening approach to sea urchin embryos. After fertilization, Paracentrotus lividus embryos were exposed to Li, Ni, and Zn for 24/48 h. At both endpoints, RNAs were analyzed by NanoString nCounter technology. By in silico analyses, we selected a panel of 127 transcripts encoding for regulatory and structural proteins, ranked in categories: Apoptosis, Defense, Immune, Nervous, Development, and Biomineralization. The data analysis highlighted the dysregulation of many genes in a metal-dependent manner. A functional annotation analysis was performed by the KEEG Orthology database. This study provides a platform for research on metals biomarkers in sea urchins.
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8
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Zheng M, Zueva O, Hinman V. Regeneration of the larval sea star nervous system by wounding induced respecification to the sox2 lineage. eLife 2022; 11:72983. [PMID: 35029145 PMCID: PMC8809897 DOI: 10.7554/elife.72983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to restore lost body parts following traumatic injury is a fascinating area of biology that challenges current understanding of the ontogeny of differentiation. The origin of new cells needed to regenerate lost tissue, and whether they are pluripotent or have de- or trans-differentiated, remains one of the most important open questions . Additionally, it is not known whether developmental gene regulatory networks are reused or whether regeneration specific networks are deployed. Echinoderms, including sea stars, have extensive ability for regeneration, however, the technologies for obtaining transgenic echinoderms are limited and tracking cells involved in regeneration, and thus identifying the cellular sources and potencies has proven challenging. In this study, we develop new transgenic tools to follow the fate of populations of cells in the regenerating larva of the sea star Patiria miniata. We show that the larval serotonergic nervous system can regenerate following decapitation. Using a BAC-transgenesis approach we show that expression of the pan ectodermal marker, sox2, is induced in previously sox2 minus cells , even when cell division is inhibited. sox2+ cells give rise to new sox4+ neural precursors that then proceed along an embryonic neurogenesis pathway to reform the anterior nervous systems. sox2+ cells contribute to only neural and ectoderm lineages, indicating that these progenitors maintain their normal, embryonic lineage restriction. This indicates that sea star larval regeneration uses a combination of existing lineage restricted stem cells, as well as respecification of cells into neural lineages, and at least partial reuse of developmental GRNs to regenerate their nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minyan Zheng
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
| | - Olga Zueva
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, United States
| | - Veronica Hinman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, United States
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9
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Abstract
This review reports recent findings on the specification and patterning of neurons that establish the larval nervous system of the sea urchin embryo. Neurons originate in three regions of the embryo. Perturbation analyses enabled construction of gene regulatory networks controlling the several neural cell types. Many of the mechanisms described reflect shared features of all metazoans and others are conserved among deuterostomes. This nervous system with a very small number of neurons supports the feeding and swimming behaviors of the larva until metamorphosis when an adult nervous system replaces that system.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R McClay
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States.
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10
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Swartz SZ, Tan TH, Perillo M, Fakhri N, Wessel GM, Wikramanayake AH, Cheeseman IM. Polarized Dishevelled dissolution and reassembly drives embryonic axis specification in sea star oocytes. Curr Biol 2021; 31:5633-5641.e4. [PMID: 34739818 PMCID: PMC8692449 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The organismal body axes that are formed during embryogenesis are intimately linked to intrinsic asymmetries established at the cellular scale in oocytes.1 However, the mechanisms that generate cellular asymmetries within the oocyte and then transduce that polarity to organismal scale body axes are poorly understood outside of select model organisms. Here, we report an axis-defining event in meiotic oocytes of the sea star Patiria miniata. Dishevelled (Dvl) is a cytoplasmic Wnt pathway effector required for axis development in diverse species,2-4 but the mechanisms governing its function and distribution remain poorly defined. Using time-lapse imaging, we find that Dvl localizes uniformly to puncta throughout the cell cortex in Prophase I-arrested oocytes but becomes enriched at the vegetal pole following meiotic resumption through a dissolution-reassembly mechanism. This process is driven by an initial disassembly phase of Dvl puncta, followed by selective reformation of Dvl assemblies at the vegetal pole. Rather than being driven by Wnt signaling, this localization behavior is coupled to meiotic cell cycle progression and influenced by Lamp1+ endosome association and Frizzled receptors pre-localized within the oocyte cortex. Our results reveal a cell cycle-linked mechanism by which maternal cellular polarity is transduced to the embryo through spatially regulated Dvl dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Zachary Swartz
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Embryology Course: Concepts and Techniques in Modern Developmental Biology, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
| | - Tzer Han Tan
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Physics, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Nikta Fakhri
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Physics, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Gary M Wessel
- MCB Department, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Athula H Wikramanayake
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33134, USA; Embryology Course: Concepts and Techniques in Modern Developmental Biology, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Iain M Cheeseman
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
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11
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Massri AJ, Greenstreet L, Afanassiev A, Berrio A, Wray GA, Schiebinger G, McClay DR. Developmental single-cell transcriptomics in the Lytechinus variegatus sea urchin embryo. Development 2021; 148:271986. [PMID: 34463740 DOI: 10.1242/dev.198614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Using scRNA-seq coupled with computational approaches, we studied transcriptional changes in cell states of sea urchin embryos during development to the larval stage. Eighteen closely spaced time points were taken during the first 24 h of development of Lytechinus variegatus (Lv). Developmental trajectories were constructed using Waddington-OT, a computational approach to 'stitch' together developmental time points. Skeletogenic and primordial germ cell trajectories diverged early in cleavage. Ectodermal progenitors were distinct from other lineages by the 6th cleavage, although a small percentage of ectoderm cells briefly co-expressed endoderm markers that indicated an early ecto-endoderm cell state, likely in cells originating from the equatorial region of the egg. Endomesoderm cells also originated at the 6th cleavage and this state persisted for more than two cleavages, then diverged into distinct endoderm and mesoderm fates asynchronously, with some cells retaining an intermediate specification status until gastrulation. Seventy-nine out of 80 genes (99%) examined, and included in published developmental gene regulatory networks (dGRNs), are present in the Lv-scRNA-seq dataset and are expressed in the correct lineages in which the dGRN circuits operate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdull J Massri
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Laura Greenstreet
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, 121-1984 Mathematics Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada
| | - Anton Afanassiev
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, 121-1984 Mathematics Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada
| | | | - Gregory A Wray
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Geoffrey Schiebinger
- Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, 121-1984 Mathematics Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada
| | - David R McClay
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
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12
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Ka C, Gautam S, Marshall SR, Tice LP, Martinez-Bartolome M, Fenner JL, Range RC. Receptor Tyrosine Kinases ror1/2 and ryk Are Co-expressed with Multiple Wnt Signaling Components During Early Development of Sea Urchin Embryos. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2021; 241:140-157. [PMID: 34706206 DOI: 10.1086/715237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
AbstractA combination of receptors, co-receptors, and secreted Wnt modulators form protein complexes at the cell surface that activate one or more of the three different Wnt signaling pathways (Wnt/β-catenin, Wnt/JNK, and Wnt/Ca2+). Two or more of these pathways are often active in the same cellular territories, forming Wnt signaling networks; however, the molecular mechanisms necessary to integrate information from these pathways in these situations are unclear in any in vivo model system. Recent studies have implicated two Wnt binding receptor tyrosine kinases, receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor (Ror) and related-to-receptor tyrosine kinase (Ryk), in the regulation of canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling pathways, depending on the context; however, the spatiotemporal expression of these genes in relation to Wnt signaling components has not been well characterized in most deuterostome model systems. Here we use a combination of phylogenetic and spatiotemporal gene expression analyses to characterize Ror and Ryk orthologs in sea urchin embryos. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates that both ror1/2 and ryk originated as single genes from the metazoan ancestor. Expression analyses indicate that ror1/2 and ryk are expressed in the same domains of many Wnt ligands and Frizzled receptors essential for the specification and patterning of germ layers along the early anterior-posterior axis. In addition, both genes are co-expressed with Wnt signaling components in the gut, ventral ectoderm, and anterior neuroectoderm territories later in development. Together, our results indicate that Ror and Ryk have a complex evolutionary history and that their spatiotemporal expression suggests that they could contribute to the complexity of Wnt signaling in early sea urchin embryogenesis.
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13
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Wolff A, Hinman V. The Use of Larval Sea Stars and Sea Urchins in the Discovery of Shared Mechanisms of Metazoan Whole-Body Regeneration. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12071063. [PMID: 34356079 PMCID: PMC8303351 DOI: 10.3390/genes12071063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to regenerate is scattered among the metazoan tree of life. Further still, regenerative capacity varies widely within these specific organisms. Numerous organisms, all with different regenerative capabilities, have been studied at length and key similarities and disparities in how regeneration occurs have been identified. In order to get a better grasp on understanding regeneration as a whole, we must search for new models that are capable of extensive regeneration, as well as those that have been under sampled in the literature. As invertebrate deuterostomes, echinoderms fit both of these requirements. Multiple members regenerate various tissue types at all life stages, including examples of whole-body regeneration. Interrogations in two highly studied echinoderms, the sea urchin and the sea star, have provided knowledge of tissue and whole-body regeneration at various life stages. Work has begun to examine regeneration in echinoderm larvae, a potential new system for understanding regenerative mechanisms in a basal deuterostome. Here, we review the ways these two animals’ larvae have been utilized as a model of regeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Wolff
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA;
| | - Veronica Hinman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-412-268-9348
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14
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Lebedeva T, Aman AJ, Graf T, Niedermoser I, Zimmermann B, Kraus Y, Schatka M, Demilly A, Technau U, Genikhovich G. Cnidarian-bilaterian comparison reveals the ancestral regulatory logic of the β-catenin dependent axial patterning. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4032. [PMID: 34188050 PMCID: PMC8241978 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24346-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In animals, body axis patterning is based on the concentration-dependent interpretation of graded morphogen signals, which enables correct positioning of the anatomical structures. The most ancient axis patterning system acting across animal phyla relies on β-catenin signaling, which directs gastrulation, and patterns the main body axis. However, within Bilateria, the patterning logic varies significantly between protostomes and deuterostomes. To deduce the ancestral principles of β-catenin-dependent axial patterning, we investigate the oral–aboral axis patterning in the sea anemone Nematostella—a member of the bilaterian sister group Cnidaria. Here we elucidate the regulatory logic by which more orally expressed β-catenin targets repress more aborally expressed β-catenin targets, and progressively restrict the initially global, maternally provided aboral identity. Similar regulatory logic of β-catenin-dependent patterning in Nematostella and deuterostomes suggests a common evolutionary origin of these processes and the equivalence of the cnidarian oral–aboral and the bilaterian posterior–anterior body axes. The authors show in Nematostella that the more orally expressed β-catenin targets repress the more aborally expressed β-catenin targets, thus patterning the oral-aboral axis. This likely represents the common mechanism of β-catenin-dependent axial patterning shared by Cnidaria and Bilateria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana Lebedeva
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andrew J Aman
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Graf
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria
| | - Isabell Niedermoser
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria
| | - Bob Zimmermann
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria
| | - Yulia Kraus
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria.,Department of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskiye gory 1/12, Moscow, Russia
| | - Magdalena Schatka
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria
| | - Adrien Demilly
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrich Technau
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria
| | - Grigory Genikhovich
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna, Austria.
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15
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Krasovec G, Pottin K, Rosello M, Quéinnec É, Chambon JP. Apoptosis and cell proliferation during metamorphosis of the planula larva of Clytia hemisphaerica (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria). Dev Dyn 2021; 250:1739-1758. [PMID: 34036636 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Metamorphosis in marine species is characterized by profound changes at the ecophysiological, morphological, and cellular levels. The cnidarian Clytia hemisphaerica exhibits a triphasic life cycle that includes a planula larva, a colonial polyp, and a sexually reproductive medusa. Most studies so far have focused on the embryogenesis of this species, whereas its metamorphosis has been only partially studied. RESULTS We investigated the main morphological changes of the planula larva of Clytia during the metamorphosis, and the associated cell proliferation and apoptosis. Based on our observations of planulae at successive times following artificial metamorphosis induction using GLWamide, we subdivided the Clytia's metamorphosis into a series of eight morphological stages occurring during a pre-settlement phase (from metamorphosis induction to planula ready for settlement) and the post-settlement phase (from planula settlement to primary polyp). Drastic morphological changes prior to definitive adhesion to the substrate were accompanied by specific patterns of stem-cell proliferation as well as apoptosis in both ectoderm and endoderm. Further waves of apoptosis occurring once the larva has settled were associated with morphogenesis of the primary polyp. CONCLUSION Clytia larval metamorphosis is characterized by distinct patterns of apoptosis and cell proliferation during the pre-settlement phase and the settled planula-to-polyp transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Krasovec
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, IBPS, Evolution Paris Seine, Paris, France
| | - Karen Pottin
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, IBPS, Evolution Paris Seine, Paris, France
| | - Marion Rosello
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, IBPS, Evolution Paris Seine, Paris, France
| | - Éric Quéinnec
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, IBPS, Evolution Paris Seine, Paris, France.,Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, Sorbonne Université, Muséum National d'histoire Naturelle, Paris Cedex, France
| | - Jean-Philippe Chambon
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, IBPS, Evolution Paris Seine, Paris, France.,Centre de Recherche de Biologie Cellulaire de Montpellier (CRBM), Montpellier University, CNRS, Montpellier, France
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16
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Yaguchi J, Yaguchi S. Sea urchin larvae utilize light for regulating the pyloric opening. BMC Biol 2021; 19:64. [PMID: 33820528 PMCID: PMC8022552 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-00999-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Light is essential for various biological activities. In particular, visual information through eyes or eyespots is very important for most of animals, and thus, the functions and developmental mechanisms of visual systems have been well studied to date. In addition, light-dependent non-visual systems expressing photoreceptor Opsins have been used to study the effects of light on diverse animal behaviors. However, it remains unclear how light-dependent systems were acquired and diversified during deuterostome evolution due to an almost complete lack of knowledge on the light-response signaling pathway in Ambulacraria, one of the major groups of deuterostomes and a sister group of chordates. RESULTS Here, we show that sea urchin larvae utilize light for digestive tract activity. We found that photoirradiation of larvae induces pyloric opening even without addition of food stimuli. Micro-surgical and knockdown experiments revealed that this stimulating light is received and mediated by Go(/RGR)-Opsin (Opsin3.2 in sea urchin genomes) cells around the anterior neuroectoderm. Furthermore, we found that the anterior neuroectodermal serotoninergic neurons near Go-Opsin-expressing cells are essential for mediating light stimuli-induced nitric oxide (NO) release at the pylorus. Our results demonstrate that the light>Go-Opsin>serotonin>NO pathway functions in pyloric opening during larval stages. CONCLUSIONS The results shown here will lead us to understand how light-dependent systems of pyloric opening functioning via neurotransmitters were acquired and established during animal evolution. Based on the similarity of nervous system patterns and the gut proportions among Ambulacraria, we suggest the light>pyloric opening pathway may be conserved in the clade, although the light signaling pathway has so far not been reported in other members of the group. In light of brain-gut interactions previously found in vertebrates, we speculate that one primitive function of anterior neuroectodermal neurons (brain neurons) may have been to regulate the function of the digestive tract in the common ancestor of deuterostomes. Given that food consumption and nutrient absorption are essential for animals, the acquirement and development of brain-based sophisticated gut regulatory system might have been important for deuterostome evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junko Yaguchi
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, 5-10-1 Shimoda, Shizuoka, 415-0025, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Yaguchi
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, 5-10-1 Shimoda, Shizuoka, 415-0025, Japan.
- PRESTO, JST, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, 332-0012, Japan.
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17
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Sampilo NF, Stepicheva NA, Song JL. microRNA-31 regulates skeletogenesis by direct suppression of Eve and Wnt1. Dev Biol 2021; 472:98-114. [PMID: 33484703 PMCID: PMC7956219 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2021.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2020] [Revised: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in a variety of biological processes, including embryogenesis and the physiological functions of cells. Evolutionarily conserved microRNA-31 (miR-31) has been found to be involved in cancer, bone formation, and lymphatic development. We previously discovered that, in the sea urchin, miR-31 knockdown (KD) embryos have shortened dorsoventral connecting rods, mispatterned skeletogenic primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs) and shifted and expanded Vegf3 expression domain. Vegf3 itself does not contain miR-31 binding sites; however, we identified its upstream regulators Eve and Wnt1 to be directly suppressed by miR-31. Removal of miR-31's suppression of Eve and Wnt1 resulted in skeletal and PMC patterning defects, similar to miR-31 KD phenotypes. Additionally, removal of miR-31's suppression of Eve and Wnt1 results in an expansion and anterior shift in expression of Veg1 ectodermal genes, including Vegf3 in the blastulae. This indicates that miR-31 indirectly regulates Vegf3 expression through directly suppressing Eve and Wnt1. Furthermore, removing miR-31 suppression of Eve is sufficient to cause skeletogenic defects, revealing a novel regulatory role of Eve in skeletogenesis and PMC patterning. Overall, this study provides a proposed molecular mechanism of miR-31's regulation of skeletogenesis and PMC patterning through its cross-regulation of a Wnt signaling ligand and a transcription factor of the endodermal and ectodermal gene regulatory network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Faye Sampilo
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Nadezda A Stepicheva
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA
| | - Jia L Song
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA.
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18
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Sun H, Peng CFJ, Wang L, Feng H, Wikramanayake AH. An early global role for Axin is required for correct patterning of the anterior-posterior axis in the sea urchin embryo. Development 2021; 148:dev.191197. [PMID: 33688076 PMCID: PMC8034878 DOI: 10.1242/dev.191197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Activation of Wnt/β-catenin (cWnt) signaling at the future posterior end of early bilaterian embryos is a highly conserved mechanism for establishing the anterior-posterior (AP) axis. Moreover, inhibition of cWnt at the anterior end is required for development of anterior structures in many deuterostome taxa. This phenomenon, which occurs around the time of gastrulation, has been fairly well characterized, but the significance of intracellular inhibition of cWnt signaling in cleavage-stage deuterostome embryos for normal AP patterning is less well understood. To investigate this process in an invertebrate deuterostome, we defined Axin function in early sea urchin embryos. Axin is ubiquitously expressed at relatively high levels in early embryos and functional analysis revealed that Axin suppresses posterior cell fates in anterior blastomeres by blocking ectopic cWnt activation in these cells. Structure-function analysis of sea urchin Axin demonstrated that only its GSK-3β-binding domain is required for cWnt inhibition. These observations and results in other deuterostomes suggest that Axin plays a crucial conserved role in embryonic AP patterning by preventing cWnt activation in multipotent early blastomeres, thus protecting them from assuming ectopic cell fates. Summary: Axin function is required in the early sea urchin embryo to regulate nuclear β-catenin levels and prevent ectopic cell fates in multipotent early blastomeres, and to ensure correct anterior-posterior axis patterning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongyan Sun
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | | | - Lingyu Wang
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Honglin Feng
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
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19
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Tsironis I, Paganos P, Gouvi G, Tsimpos P, Stamopoulou A, Arnone MI, Flytzanis CN. Coup-TF: A maternal factor essential for differentiation along the embryonic axes in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. Dev Biol 2021; 475:131-144. [PMID: 33484706 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2020.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2020] [Revised: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Coup-TF, a member of the nuclear receptor super-family, is present in the pool of maternal mRNAs and proteins in the sea urchin egg. The presence of this protein seems to be essential for the execution of the early developmental program, leading to all three embryonic layers. Our results demonstrate that Pl-Coup-TF morphants, i.e. Pl-Coup-TF morpholino knockdown embryos, resemble blastulae that lack archenteron at 24 hpf (hours post fertilization), a stage at which normal embryos reach the end of gastrulation in Paracentrotus lividus. At 48 hpf, when normal embryos reach the pluteus larva stage, the morphants are seemingly underdeveloped and lack the characteristic skeletal rods. Nevertheless, the morphant embryos express vegetal endomesodermal marker genes, such as Pl-Blimp1, Pl-Endo16, Pl-Alx1 and Pl-Tbr as judged by in situ hybridization experiments. The anterior neuroectoderm genes, Pl-FoxQ2, Pl-Six3 and Pl-Pax6, are also expressed in the morphant embryos, but Pl-Hbn and Pl-Fez mRNAs, which encode proteins significant for the differentiation of serotonergic neurons, are not detected. Consequently, Pl-Coup-TF morphants at 48 hpf lack serotonergic neurons, whereas normal 48 hpf plutei exhibit the formation of two bilateral pairs of such neurons in the apical organ. Furthermore, genes indicative of the ciliary band formation, Pl-Hnf6, Pl-Dri, Pl-FoxG and Pl-Otx, are not expressed in Pl-Coup-TF morphants, suggesting the disruption of this neurogenic territory as well. In addition, the Pl-SynB gene, a marker of differentiated neurons, is silent leading to the hypothesis that Pl-Coup-TF morphants might lack all types of neurons. On the contrary, the genes expressing signaling molecules, which establish the ventral/dorsal axis, Pl-Nodal and Pl-Lefty show the characteristic ventral lateral expression pattern, Pl-Bmp2/4, which activates the dorsal ectoderm GRN is down-regulated and Pl-Chordin is aberrantly over-expressed in the entire ectoderm. The identity of ectodermal cells in Pl-Coup-TF morphant embryos, was probed for expression of the ventral marker Pl-Gsc which was over-expressed and dorsal markers, Pl-IrxA and Pl-Hox7, which were silent. Therefore, we propose that maternal Pl-Coup-TF is essential for correct dissemination of the early embryonic signaling along both animal/vegetal and ventral/dorsal axes. Limiting Pl-Coup-TF's quantity, results in an embryo without digestive and nervous systems, skeleton and ciliary band that cannot survive past the initial 48 h of development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis Tsironis
- Department of Biology, University of Patras, Patras, 26500, Greece
| | - Periklis Paganos
- Department of Biology, University of Patras, Patras, 26500, Greece; Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121, Naples, Italy
| | - Georgia Gouvi
- Department of Biology, University of Patras, Patras, 26500, Greece
| | | | | | - Maria Ina Arnone
- Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121, Naples, Italy
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20
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Abstract
Hemichordates, along with echinoderms and chordates, belong to the lineage of bilaterians called the deuterostomes. Their phylogenetic position as an outgroup to chordates provides an opportunity to investigate the evolutionary origins of the chordate body plan and reconstruct ancestral deuterostome characters. The body plans of the hemichordates and chordates are organizationally divergent making anatomical comparisons very challenging. The developmental underpinnings of animal body plans are often more conservative than the body plans they regulate, and offer a novel data set for making comparisons between morphologically divergent body architectures. Here I review the hemichordate developmental data generated over the past 20 years that further test hypotheses of proposed morphological affinities between the two taxa, but also compare the conserved anteroposterior, dorsoventral axial patterning programs and germ layer specification programs. These data provide an opportunity to determine which developmental programs are ancestral deuterostome or bilaterian innovations, and which ones occurred in stem chordates or vertebrates representing developmental novelties of the chordate body plan.
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21
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Fodor A, Liu J, Turner L, Swalla BJ. Transitional chordates and vertebrate origins: Tunicates. Curr Top Dev Biol 2021; 141:149-171. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2020.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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22
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D’Aniello E, Paganos P, Anishchenko E, D’Aniello S, Arnone MI. Comparative Neurobiology of Biogenic Amines in Animal Models in Deuterostomes. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.587036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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23
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Fenner J, Benson C, Rodriguez-Caro L, Ren A, Papa R, Martin A, Hoffmann F, Range R, Counterman BA. Wnt Genes in Wing Pattern Development of Coliadinae Butterflies. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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24
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Kipryushina YO, Yakovlev KV. Maternal control of early patterning in sea urchin embryos. Differentiation 2020; 113:28-37. [PMID: 32371341 DOI: 10.1016/j.diff.2020.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Sea urchin development has been studied extensively for more than a century and considered regulative since the first experimental evidence. Further investigations have repeatedly supported this standpoint by revealing the presence of inductive mechanisms that alter cell fate decisions at early cleavage stages and flexibility of development in response to environmental conditions. Some features indicate that sea urchin development is not completely regulative, but actually includes determinative events. In 16-cell embryos, mesomeres and macromeres represent multipotency, while the cell fate of most vegetal micromeres is restricted. It is known that the mature sea urchin eggs are polarized by the asymmetrical distribution of some maternal mRNAs and proteins. Spatially-distributed maternal factors are necessary for the orientation of the primary animal-vegetal axis, which is established by both maternal and zygotic mechanisms later in development. The secondary dorsal-ventral axis is conditionally specified later in development. Dorsal-ventral polarity is very liable during the early cleavages, though more recent data argue that its direction may be oriented by maternal asymmetry. In this review, we focus on the role of maternal factors in initial embryonic patterning during the first cleavages of sea urchin embryos before activation of the embryonic genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulia O Kipryushina
- Laboratory of Cytotechnology, National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Palchevsky St. 17, 690041, Vladivostok, Russia
| | - Konstantin V Yakovlev
- Laboratory of Cytotechnology, National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Palchevsky St. 17, 690041, Vladivostok, Russia; Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation in Development, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
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25
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Retinoic Acid Signaling Regulates the Metamorphosis of Feather Stars (Crinoidea, Echinodermata): Insight into the Evolution of the Animal Life Cycle. Biomolecules 2019; 10:biom10010037. [PMID: 31881787 PMCID: PMC7023313 DOI: 10.3390/biom10010037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Many marine invertebrates have a life cycle with planktonic larvae, although the evolution of this type of life cycle remains enigmatic. We recently proposed that the regulatory mechanism of life cycle transition is conserved between jellyfish (Cnidaria) and starfish (Echinoderm); retinoic acid (RA) signaling regulates strobilation and metamorphosis, respectively. However, the function of RA signaling in other animal groups is poorly understood in this context. Here, to determine the ancestral function of RA signaling in echinoderms, we investigated the role of RA signaling during the metamorphosis of the feather star, Antedon serrata (Crinoidea, Echinodermata). Although feather stars have different larval forms from starfish, we found that exogenous RA treatment on doliolaria larvae induced metamorphosis, like in starfish. Furthermore, blocking RA synthesis or binding to the RA receptor suppressed metamorphosis. These results suggested that RA signaling functions as a regulator of metamorphosis in the ancestor of echinoderms. Our data provides insight into the evolution of the animal life cycle from the viewpoint of RA signaling.
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26
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Martínez-Bartolomé M, Range RC. A biphasic role of non-canonical Wnt16 signaling during early anterior-posterior patterning and morphogenesis of the sea urchin embryo. Development 2019; 146:dev168799. [PMID: 31822478 PMCID: PMC6955209 DOI: 10.1242/dev.168799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
A Wnt signaling network governs early anterior-posterior (AP) specification and patterning of the deuterostome sea urchin embryo. We have previously shown that non-canonical Fzl1/2/7 signaling antagonizes the progressive posterior-to-anterior downregulation of the anterior neuroectoderm (ANE) gene regulatory network (GRN) by canonical Wnt/β-catenin and non-canonical Wnt1/Wnt8-Fzl5/8-JNK signaling. This study focuses on the non-canonical function of the Wnt16 ligand during early AP specification and patterning. Maternally supplied wnt16 is expressed ubiquitously during cleavage and zygotic wnt16 expression is concentrated in the endoderm/mesoderm beginning at mid-blastula stage. Wnt16 antagonizes the ANE restriction mechanism and this activity depends on a functional Fzl1/2/7 receptor. Our results also show that zygotic wnt16 expression depends on both Fzl5/8 and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Furthermore, Wnt16 is necessary for the activation and/or maintenance of key regulatory endoderm/mesoderm genes and is essential for gastrulation. Together, our data show that Wnt16 has two functions during early AP specification and patterning: (1) an initial role activating the Fzl1/2/7 pathway that antagonizes the ANE restriction mechanism; and (2) a subsequent function in activating key endoderm GRN factors and the morphogenetic movements of gastrulation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ryan C Range
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
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27
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Hogan JD, Keenan JL, Luo L, Ibn-Salem J, Lamba A, Schatzberg D, Piacentino ML, Zuch DT, Core AB, Blumberg C, Timmermann B, Grau JH, Speranza E, Andrade-Navarro MA, Irie N, Poustka AJ, Bradham CA. The developmental transcriptome for Lytechinus variegatus exhibits temporally punctuated gene expression changes. Dev Biol 2019; 460:139-154. [PMID: 31816285 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2019.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2019] [Revised: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Embryonic development is arguably the most complex process an organism undergoes during its lifetime, and understanding this complexity is best approached with a systems-level perspective. The sea urchin has become a highly valuable model organism for understanding developmental specification, morphogenesis, and evolution. As a non-chordate deuterostome, the sea urchin occupies an important evolutionary niche between protostomes and vertebrates. Lytechinus variegatus (Lv) is an Atlantic species that has been well studied, and which has provided important insights into signal transduction, patterning, and morphogenetic changes during embryonic and larval development. The Pacific species, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (Sp), is another well-studied sea urchin, particularly for gene regulatory networks (GRNs) and cis-regulatory analyses. A well-annotated genome and transcriptome for Sp are available, but similar resources have not been developed for Lv. Here, we provide an analysis of the Lv transcriptome at 11 timepoints during embryonic and larval development. Temporal analysis suggests that the gene regulatory networks that underlie specification are well-conserved among sea urchin species. We show that the major transitions in variation of embryonic transcription divide the developmental time series into four distinct, temporally sequential phases. Our work shows that sea urchin development occurs via sequential intervals of relatively stable gene expression states that are punctuated by abrupt transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Hogan
- Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Lingqi Luo
- Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jonas Ibn-Salem
- Evolution and Development Group, Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany; Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Arjun Lamba
- Biology Department, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Michael L Piacentino
- Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Biochemistry, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Daniel T Zuch
- Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Biochemistry, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Amanda B Core
- Biology Department, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Bernd Timmermann
- Sequencing Core Facility, Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
| | - José Horacio Grau
- Dahlem Centre for Genome Research and Medical Systems Biology, Environmental and Phylogenomics Group, Berlin, Germany; Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Berlin, Germany
| | - Emily Speranza
- Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Naoki Irie
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Albert J Poustka
- Evolution and Development Group, Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany; Dahlem Centre for Genome Research and Medical Systems Biology, Environmental and Phylogenomics Group, Berlin, Germany
| | - Cynthia A Bradham
- Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Biology Department, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Biochemistry, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
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28
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Oulhen N, Swartz SZ, Wang L, Wikramanayake A, Wessel GM. Distinct transcriptional regulation of Nanos2 in the germ line and soma by the Wnt and delta/notch pathways. Dev Biol 2019; 452:34-42. [PMID: 31075220 PMCID: PMC6848975 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2019.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Revised: 04/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Specification of the primordial germ cells (PGCs) is essential for sexually reproducing animals. Although the mechanisms of PGC specification are diverse between organisms, the RNA binding protein Nanos is consistently required in the germ line in all species tested. How Nanos is selectively expressed in the germ line, however, remains largely elusive. We report that in sea urchin embryos, the early expression of Nanos2 in the PGCs requires the maternal Wnt pathway. During gastrulation, however, Nanos2 expression expands into adjacent somatic mesodermal cells and this secondary Nanos expression instead requires Delta/Notch signaling through the forkhead family member FoxY. Each of these transcriptional regulators were tested by chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis and found to directly interact with a DNA locus upstream of Nanos2. Given the conserved importance of Nanos in germ line specification, and the derived character of the micromeres and small micromeres in the sea urchin, we propose that the ancestral mechanism of Nanos2 expression in echinoderms was by induction in mesodermal cells during gastrulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Oulhen
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, 185 Meeting Street, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
| | - S Zachary Swartz
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 455 Main Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Lingyu Wang
- Department of Biology and Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Gary M Wessel
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, 185 Meeting Street, Providence, RI, 02912, USA.
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29
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Foster S, Teo YV, Neretti N, Oulhen N, Wessel GM. Single cell RNA-seq in the sea urchin embryo show marked cell-type specificity in the Delta/Notch pathway. Mol Reprod Dev 2019; 86:931-934. [PMID: 31199038 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.23181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Sea urchin embryos are excellent for in vivo functional studies because of their transparency and tractability in manipulation. They are also favorites for pharmacological approaches since they develop in an aquatic environment and addition of test substances is straightforward. A concern in many pharmacological tests though is the potential for pleiotropic effects that confound the conclusions drawn from the results. Precise cellular interpretations are often not feasible because the impact of the perturbant is not known. Here we use single-cell mRNA (messenger RNA) sequencing as a metric of cell types in the embryo and to determine the selectivity of two commonly used inhibitors, one each for the Wnt and the Delta-Notch pathways, on these nascent cell types. We identified 11 distinct cell types based on mRNA profiling, and that the cell lineages affected by Wnt and Delta/Notch inhibition were distinct from each other. These data support specificity and distinct effects of these signaling pathways in the embryo and illuminate how these conserved pathways selectively regulate cell lineages at a single cell level. Overall, we conclude that single cell RNA-seq analysis in this embryo is revealing of the cell types present during development, of the changes in the gene regulatory network resulting from inhibition of various signaling pathways, and of the selectivity of these pathways in influencing developmental trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephany Foster
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - Yee Voan Teo
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - Nicola Neretti
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - Nathalie Oulhen
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - Gary M Wessel
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
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Yamazaki A, Yamamoto A, Yaguchi J, Yaguchi S. cis-Regulatory analysis for later phase of anterior neuroectoderm-specific foxQ2 expression in sea urchin embryos. Genesis 2019; 57:e23302. [PMID: 31025827 DOI: 10.1002/dvg.23302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2019] [Revised: 04/09/2019] [Accepted: 04/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
The specification of anterior neuroectoderm is controlled by a highly conserved molecular mechanism in bilaterians. A forkhead family gene, foxQ2, is known to be one of the pivotal regulators, which is zygotically expressed in this region during embryogenesis of a broad range of bilaterians. However, what controls the expression of this essential factor has remained unclear to date. To reveal the regulatory mechanism of foxQ2, we performed cis-regulatory analysis of two foxQ2 genes, foxQ2a and foxQ2b, in a sea urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus. In sea urchin embryos, foxQ2 is initially expressed in the entire animal hemisphere and subsequently shows narrower expression restricted to the anterior pole region. In this study, as a first step to understand the foxQ2 regulation, we focused on the later restricted expression and analyzed the upstream cis-regulatory sequences of foxQ2a and foxQ2b by using the constructs fused to short half-life green fluorescent protein. Based on deletion and mutation analyses of both foxQ2, we identified each of the five regulatory sequences, which were 4-9 bp long. Neither of the regulatory sequences contains any motifs for ectopic activation or spatial repression, suggesting that later mRNA localization is regulated in situ. We also suggest that the three amino acid loop extension-class homeobox gene Meis is involved in the maintenance of foxQ2b, the expression of which is dominant during embryogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsuko Yamazaki
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Akane Yamamoto
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Junko Yaguchi
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Yaguchi
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan
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Antero-posterior ectoderm patterning by canonical Wnt signaling during ascidian development. PLoS Genet 2019; 15:e1008054. [PMID: 30925162 PMCID: PMC6457572 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2018] [Revised: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Wnt/β-catenin signaling is an ancient pathway in metazoans and controls various developmental processes, in particular the establishment and patterning of the embryonic primary axis. In vertebrates, a graded Wnt activity from posterior to anterior endows cells with positional information in the central nervous system. Recent studies in hemichordates support a conserved role for Wnt/β-catenin in ectoderm antero-posterior patterning at the base of the deuterostomes. Ascidians are marine invertebrates and the closest relatives of vertebrates. By combining gain- and loss-of-function approaches, we have determined the role of Wnt/β-catenin in patterning the three ectoderm derivatives of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis, central nervous system, peripheral nervous system and epidermis. Activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling from gastrulation led to a dramatic transformation of the ectoderm with a loss of anterior identities and a reciprocal anterior extension of posterior identities, consistent with studies in other metazoans. Surprisingly, inhibiting Wnt signaling did not produce a reciprocal anteriorization of the embryo with a loss of more posterior identities like in vertebrates and hemichordate. Epidermis patterning was overall unchanged. Only the identity of two discrete regions of the central nervous system, the anteriormost and the posteriormost regions, were under the control of Wnt. Finally, the caudal peripheral nervous system, while being initially Wnt dependent, formed normally. Our results show that the Ciona embryonic ectoderm responds to Wnt activation in a manner that is compatible with the proposed function for this pathway at the base of the deuterostomes. However, possibly because of its fast and divergent mode of development that includes extensive use of maternal determinants, the overall antero-posterior patterning of the Ciona ectoderm is Wnt independent, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling controls the formation of some sub-domains. Our results thus indicate that there has likely been a drift in the developmental systems controlling ectoderm patterning in the lineage leading to ascidians. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is a system of cell-cell communication. It has an ancient origin in animals and plays multiple roles during embryogenesis and adult life. In particular, it is involved in determining, in the vertebrate embryo, the identity of the different parts of the body and their relative positions along the antero-posterior axis. We have investigated in an ascidian (or sea squirt) species, a marine invertebrate that is closely related to vertebrates, whether this pathway had a similar role. Like in vertebrates, activating Wnt/β-catenin led to a posteriorization of the embryo with a loss of anterior structures. By contrast, unlike vertebrates, ascidian embryos formed rather normally following Wnt/β-catenin inactivation. Since hemichordates (or acorn worms), earlier divergent invertebrates, use Wnt/β-catenin in a manner comparable to vertebrates, it is in the ascidian lineage that changes have occurred. Consequently, ascidians build an antero-posterior axis, very similarly organized to that of vertebrates, but in a different way.
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Molina MD, Gache C, Lepage T. Expression of exogenous mRNAs to study gene function in echinoderm embryos. Methods Cell Biol 2019; 151:239-282. [PMID: 30948011 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mcb.2018.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
With the completion of the genome sequencing projects, a new challenge for developmental biologists is to assign a function to the thousands of genes identified. Expression of exogenous mRNAs is a powerful, versatile and rapid technique that can be used to study gene function during development of the sea urchin. This chapter describes how this technique can be used to analyze gene function in echinoderm embryos, how it can be combined with cell transplantation to perform mosaic analysis and how it can be applied to identify downstream targets genes of transcription factors and signaling pathways. We describe specific examples of the use of overexpression of mRNA to analyze gene function, mention the benefits and current limitations of the technique and emphasize the importance of using different controls to assess the specificity of the effects observed. Finally, this chapter details the different steps, vectors and protocols for in vitro production of mRNA and phenotypic analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christian Gache
- Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Observatoire Océanologique de Villefranche sur Mer, UMR7009 CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Thierry Lepage
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, INSERM, iBV, Nice, France.
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Formery L, Schubert M, Croce JC. Ambulacrarians and the Ancestry of Deuterostome Nervous Systems. Results Probl Cell Differ 2019; 68:31-59. [PMID: 31598852 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-23459-1_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The evolutionary origin and history of metazoan nervous systems has been at the heart of numerous scientific debates for well over a century. This has been a particularly difficult issue to resolve within the deuterostomes, chiefly due to the distinct neural architectures observed within this group of animals. Indeed, deuterosomes feature central nervous systems, apical organs, nerve cords, and basiepidermal nerve nets. Comparative analyses investigating the anatomy and molecular composition of deuterostome nervous systems have nonetheless succeeded in identifying a number of shared and derived features. These analyses have led to the elaboration of diverse theories about the origin and evolutionary history of deuterostome nervous systems. Here, we provide an overview of these distinct theories. Further, we argue that deciphering the adult nervous systems of representatives of all deuterostome phyla, including echinoderms, which have long been neglected in this type of surveys, will ultimately provide answers to the questions concerning the ancestry and evolution of deuterostome nervous systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Formery
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement de Villefranche-sur-Mer (LBDV), Evolution of Intercellular Signaling in Development (EvoInSiDe) Team, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France
| | - Michael Schubert
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement de Villefranche-sur-Mer (LBDV), Evolution of Intercellular Signaling in Development (EvoInSiDe) Team, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France
| | - Jenifer C Croce
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement de Villefranche-sur-Mer (LBDV), Evolution of Intercellular Signaling in Development (EvoInSiDe) Team, Villefranche-sur-Mer, France.
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Yaguchi J, Yamazaki A, Yaguchi S. Meis transcription factor maintains the neurogenic ectoderm and regulates the anterior-posterior patterning in embryos of a sea urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus. Dev Biol 2018; 444:1-8. [PMID: 30266259 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2018.09.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Revised: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Precise body axis formation is an essential step in the development of multicellular organisms, for most of which the molecular gradient and/or specifically biased localization of cell-fate determinants in eggs play important roles. In sea urchins, however, any biased proteins and mRNAs have not yet been identified in the egg except for vegetal cortex molecules, suggesting that sea urchin development is mostly regulated by uniformly distributed maternal molecules with contributions to axis formation that are not well characterized. Here, we describe that the maternal Meis transcription factor regulates anterior-posterior axis formation through maintenance of the most anterior territory in embryos of a sea urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus. Loss-of-function experiments revealed that Meis is intrinsically required for maintenance of the anterior neuroectoderm specifier foxQ2 after hatching and, consequently, the morphant lost anterior neuroectoderm characteristics. In addition, the expression patterns of univin and VEGF, the lateral ectoderm markers, and the mesenchyme-cell pattern shifted toward the anterior side in Meis morphants more than they did in control embryos, indicating that Meis contributes to the precise anteroposterior patterning by regulating the anterior neuroectodermal fate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junko Yaguchi
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, 5-10-1, Shimoda, Shizuoka 415-0025, Japan
| | - Atsuko Yamazaki
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, 5-10-1, Shimoda, Shizuoka 415-0025, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Yaguchi
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, 5-10-1, Shimoda, Shizuoka 415-0025, Japan.
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Sampilo NF, Stepicheva NA, Zaidi SAM, Wang L, Wu W, Wikramanayake A, Song JL. Inhibition of microRNA suppression of Dishevelled results in Wnt pathway-associated developmental defects in sea urchin. Development 2018; 145:dev167130. [PMID: 30389855 PMCID: PMC6288383 DOI: 10.1242/dev.167130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are highly conserved, small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expressions by binding to the 3' untranslated region of target mRNAs thereby silencing translation. Some miRNAs are key regulators of the Wnt signaling pathways, which impact developmental processes. This study investigates miRNA regulation of different isoforms of Dishevelled (Dvl/Dsh), which encode a key component in the Wnt signaling pathway. The sea urchin Dvl mRNA isoforms have similar spatial distribution in early development, but one isoform is distinctively expressed in the larval ciliary band. We demonstrated that Dvl isoforms are directly suppressed by miRNAs. By blocking miRNA suppression of Dvl isoforms, we observed dose-dependent defects in spicule length, patterning of the primary mesenchyme cells, gut morphology, and cilia. These defects likely result from increased Dvl protein levels, leading to perturbation of Wnt-dependent signaling pathways and additional Dvl-mediated processes. We further demonstrated that overexpression of Dvl isoforms recapitulated some of the Dvl miRNATP-induced phenotypes. Overall, our results indicate that miRNA suppression of Dvl isoforms plays an important role in ensuring proper development and function of primary mesenchyme cells and cilia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Faye Sampilo
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Nadezda A Stepicheva
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
| | | | - Lingyu Wang
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA
| | - Wei Wu
- Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA
| | | | - Jia L Song
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
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McClay DR, Miranda E, Feinberg SL. Neurogenesis in the sea urchin embryo is initiated uniquely in three domains. Development 2018; 145:dev167742. [PMID: 30413529 PMCID: PMC6240313 DOI: 10.1242/dev.167742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Many marine larvae begin feeding within a day of fertilization, thus requiring rapid development of a nervous system to coordinate feeding activities. Here, we examine the patterning and specification of early neurogenesis in sea urchin embryos. Lineage analysis indicates that neurons arise locally in three regions of the embryo. Perturbation analyses showed that when patterning is disrupted, neurogenesis in the three regions is differentially affected, indicating distinct patterning requirements for each neural domain. Six transcription factors that function during proneural specification were identified and studied in detail. Perturbations of these proneural transcription factors showed that specification occurs differently in each neural domain prior to the Delta-Notch restriction signal. Though gene regulatory network state changes beyond the proneural restriction are largely unresolved, the data here show that the three neural regions already differ from each other significantly early in specification. Future studies that define the larval nervous system in the sea urchin must therefore separately characterize the three populations of neurons that enable the larva to feed, to navigate, and to move food particles through the gut.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R McClay
- Department of Biology, 124 Science Drive, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Esther Miranda
- Department of Biology, 124 Science Drive, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Stacy L Feinberg
- Department of Biology, 124 Science Drive, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
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Canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling pathways define the expression domains of Frizzled 5/8 and Frizzled 1/2/7 along the early anterior-posterior axis in sea urchin embryos. Dev Biol 2018; 444:83-92. [PMID: 30332609 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2018.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2018] [Revised: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
The spatiotemporal expression of Frizzled receptors is critical for patterning along the early anterior-posterior axis during embryonic development in many animal species. However, the molecular mechanisms that regulate the expression of Frizzled receptors are incompletely understood in any species. In this study, I examine how the expression of two Frizzled receptors, Fzl1/2/7 and Fzl5/8, is controlled by the Wnt signaling network which directs specification and positioning of early regulatory states along the anterior-posterior (AP) axis of sea urchin embryos. I used a combination of morpholino- and dominant negative-mediated interference to knock down each Wnt signaling pathway involved in the AP Wnt signaling network. I found that the expression of zygotic fzl5/8 as well as that of the anterior neuroectoderm gene regulatory network (ANE GRN) is activated by an unknown broadly expressed regulatory state and that posterior Wnt/β-catenin signaling is necessary to down regulate fzl5/8's expression in posterior blastomeres. I show that zygotic expression of fzl1/2/7 in the equatorial ectodermal belt is dependent on an uncharacterized regulatory mechanism that works in the same cells receiving the TGF-β signals patterning this territory along the dorsal-ventral axis. In addition, my data indicate that Fzl1/2/7 signaling represses its own expression in a negative feedback mechanism. Finally, we discovered that a balance between the activities of posterior Wnt8 and anterior Dkk1 is necessary to establish the correct spatial expression of zygotic fzl12/7 expression in the equatorial ectodermal domain during blastula and gastrula stages. Together, these studies lead to a better understanding of the complex interactions among the three Wnt signaling pathway governing AP axis specification and patterning in sea urchin embryos.
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Molina MD, Quirin M, Haillot E, De Crozé N, Range R, Rouel M, Jimenez F, Amrouche R, Chessel A, Lepage T. MAPK and GSK3/ß-TRCP-mediated degradation of the maternal Ets domain transcriptional repressor Yan/Tel controls the spatial expression of nodal in the sea urchin embryo. PLoS Genet 2018; 14:e1007621. [PMID: 30222786 PMCID: PMC6160229 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Revised: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In the sea urchin embryo, specification of the dorsal-ventral axis critically relies on the spatially restricted expression of nodal in the presumptive ventral ectoderm. The ventral restriction of nodal expression requires the activity of the maternal TGF-β ligand Panda but the mechanism by which Panda restricts nodal expression is unknown. Similarly, what initiates expression of nodal in the ectoderm and what are the mechanisms that link patterning along the primary and secondary axes is not well understood. We report that in Paracentrotus lividus, the activity of the maternally expressed ETS-domain transcription factor Yan/Tel is essential for the spatial restriction of nodal. Inhibiting translation of maternal yan/tel mRNA disrupted dorsal-ventral patterning in all germ layers by causing a massive ectopic expression of nodal starting from cleavage stages, mimicking the phenotype caused by inactivation of the maternal Nodal antagonist Panda. We show that like in the fly or in vertebrates, the activity of sea urchin Yan/Tel is regulated by phosphorylation by MAP kinases. However, unlike in the fly or in vertebrates, phosphorylation by GSK3 plays a central role in the regulation Yan/Tel stability in the sea urchin. We show that GSK3 phosphorylates Yan/Tel in vitro at two different sites including a β-TRCP ubiquitin ligase degradation motif and a C-terminal Ser/Thr rich cluster and that phosphorylation of Yan/Tel by GSK3 triggers its degradation by a β-TRCP/proteasome pathway. Finally, we show that, Yan is epistatic to Panda and that the activity of Yan/Tel is required downstream of Panda to restrict nodal expression. Our results identify Yan/Tel as a central regulator of the spatial expression of nodal in Paracentrotus lividus and uncover a key interaction between the gene regulatory networks responsible for patterning the embryo along the dorsal-ventral and animal-vegetal axes. Specification of the embryonic axes is an essential step during early development of metazoa. In the sea urchin embryo, specification of the dorsal-ventral axis critically relies on the spatial restriction of the expression of the TGF-ß family member Nodal in ventral cells, a process that requires the activity of the maternal determinant Panda. How the spatially restricted expression of nodal is established downstream of Panda is not well understood. We have discovered that, in the Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, the spatial restriction of nodal on the ventral side of the embryo requires the inhibitory activity of a transcriptional repressor named Yan/Tel. This finding suggests a molecular mechanism for the control of nodal expression by the release of a repression. We found that this release requires the activity of two families of kinases that we identified as the MAP kinases and GSK3, a kinase which, intriguingly, was previously known as a key regulator of patterning along the animal-vegetal axis. We discovered that phosphorylation by MAPK and GSK3 triggers degradation of Yan/Tel by a β-TRCP proteasome pathway. Finally, we find that Yan/Tel likely acts downstream of Panda in the hierarchy of genes required for nodal restriction. Our study therefore identifies Yan/Tel as a new essential regulator of nodal expression downstream of Panda and identifies a novel key interaction between the gene regulatory networks responsible for patterning along the primary and secondary axis of polarity.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Dolores Molina
- Department of Natural Sciences, Institut Biologie Valrose, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
| | - Magali Quirin
- Department of Natural Sciences, Institut Biologie Valrose, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
| | - Emmanuel Haillot
- Department of Natural Sciences, Institut Biologie Valrose, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
| | - Noémie De Crozé
- Department of Natural Sciences, Institut Biologie Valrose, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
| | - Ryan Range
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Mathieu Rouel
- Department of Natural Sciences, Institut Biologie Valrose, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
| | - Felipe Jimenez
- Department of Natural Sciences, Institut Biologie Valrose, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
| | - Radja Amrouche
- Department of Natural Sciences, Institut Biologie Valrose, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
| | - Aline Chessel
- Department of Natural Sciences, Institut Biologie Valrose, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
| | - Thierry Lepage
- Department of Natural Sciences, Institut Biologie Valrose, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
- * E-mail:
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Hinman VF, Burke RD. Embryonic neurogenesis in echinoderms. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 2018; 7:e316. [PMID: 29470839 DOI: 10.1002/wdev.316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2017] [Revised: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 12/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The phylogenetic position of echinoderms is well suited to revealing shared features of deuterostomes that distinguish them from other bilaterians. Although echinoderm neurobiology remains understudied, genomic resources, molecular methods, and systems approaches have enabled progress in understanding mechanisms of embryonic neurogenesis. Even though the morphology of echinoderm larvae is diverse, larval nervous systems, which arise during gastrulation, have numerous similarities in their organization. Diverse neural subtypes and specialized sensory neurons have been identified and details of neuroanatomy using neuron-specific labels provide hypotheses for neural function. The early patterning of ectoderm and specification of axes has been well studied in several species and underlying gene regulatory networks have been established. The cells giving rise to central and peripheral neural components have been identified in urchins and sea stars. Neurogenesis includes typical metazoan features of asymmetric division of neural progenitors and in some cases limited proliferation of neural precursors. Delta/Notch signaling has been identified as having critical roles in regulating neural patterning and differentiation. Several transcription factors functioning in pro-neural phases of specification, neural differentiation, and sub-type specification have been identified and structural or functional components of neurons are used as differentiation markers. Several methods for altering expression in embryos have revealed aspects of a regulatory hierarchy of transcription factors in neurogenesis. Interfacing neurogenic gene regulatory networks to the networks regulating ectodermal domains and identifying the spatial and temporal inputs that pattern the larval nervous system is a major challenge that will contribute substantially to our understanding of the evolution of metazoan nervous systems. This article is categorized under: Comparative Development and Evolution > Model Systems Comparative Development and Evolution > Body Plan Evolution Early Embryonic Development > Gastrulation and Neurulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica F Hinman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Robert D Burke
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
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Khadka A, Martínez-Bartolomé M, Burr SD, Range RC. A novel gene's role in an ancient mechanism: secreted Frizzled-related protein 1 is a critical component in the anterior-posterior Wnt signaling network that governs the establishment of the anterior neuroectoderm in sea urchin embryos. EvoDevo 2018; 9:1. [PMID: 29387332 PMCID: PMC5778778 DOI: 10.1186/s13227-017-0089-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The anterior neuroectoderm (ANE) in many deuterostome embryos (echinoderms, hemichordates, urochordates, cephalochordates, and vertebrates) is progressively restricted along the anterior-posterior axis to a domain around the anterior pole. In the sea urchin embryo, three integrated Wnt signaling branches (Wnt/β-catenin, Wnt/JNK, and Wnt/PKC) govern this progressive restriction process, which begins around the 32- to 60-cell stage and terminates by the early gastrula stage. We previously have established that several secreted Wnt modulators of the Dickkopf and secreted Frizzled-related protein families (Dkk1, Dkk3, and sFRP-1/5) are expressed within the ANE and play important roles in modulating the Wnt signaling network during this process. In this study, we use morpholino and dominant-negative interference approaches to characterize the function of a novel Frizzled-related protein, secreted Frizzled-related protein 1 (sFRP-1), during ANE restriction. sFRP-1 appears to be related to a secreted Wnt modulator, sFRP3/4, that is essential to block Wnt signaling and establish the ANE in vertebrates. Here, we show that the sea urchin sFRP3/4 orthologue is not expressed during ANE restriction in the sea urchin embryo. Instead, our results indicate that ubiquitously expressed maternal sFRP-1 and Fzl1/2/7 signaling act together as early as the 32- to 60-cell stage to antagonize the ANE restriction mechanism mediated by Wnt/β-catenin and Wnt/JNK signaling. Then, starting from the blastula stage, Fzl5/8 signaling activates zygotic sFRP-1 within the ANE territory, where it works with the secreted Wnt antagonist Dkk1 (also activated by Fzl5/8 signaling) to antagonize Wnt1/Wnt8-Fzl5/8-JNK signaling in a negative feedback mechanism that defines the outer ANE territory boundary. Together, these data indicate that maternal and zygotic sFRP-1 protects the ANE territory by antagonizing the Wnt1/Wnt8-Fzl5/8-JNK signaling pathway throughout ANE restriction, providing precise spatiotemporal control of the mechanism responsible for the establishment of the ANE territory around the anterior pole of the sea urchin embryo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Khadka
- 1Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762 USA
| | | | - Stephanie D Burr
- 1Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762 USA.,2School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS USA
| | - Ryan C Range
- 1Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762 USA
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Cui Y, Han J, Xiao Z, Qi Y, Zhao Y, Chen B, Fang Y, Liu S, Wu X, Dai J. Systematic Analysis of mRNA and miRNA Expression of 3D-Cultured Neural Stem Cells (NSCs) in Spaceflight. Front Cell Neurosci 2018; 11:434. [PMID: 29375320 PMCID: PMC5768636 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2017.00434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Accepted: 12/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, with the development of the space program there are growing concerns about the influence of spaceflight on tissue engineering. The purpose of this study was thus to determine the variations of neural stem cells (NSCs) during spaceflight. RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) based transcriptomic profiling of NSCs identified many differentially expressed mRNAs and miRNAs between space and earth groups. Subsequently, those genes with differential expression were subjected to bioinformatic evaluation using gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway (KEGG) and miRNA-mRNA network analyses. The results showed that NSCs maintain greater stemness ability during spaceflight although the growth rate of NSCs was slowed down. Furthermore, the results indicated that NSCs tended to differentiate into neuron in outer space conditions. Detailed genomic analyses of NSCs during spaceflight will help us to elucidate the molecular mechanisms behind their differentiation and proliferation when they are in outer space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Cui
- Reproductive and Genetic Center of National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, China
| | - Jin Han
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhifeng Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yiduo Qi
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yannan Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bing Chen
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yongxiang Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health of Ministry of Agriculture, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, China
| | - Sumei Liu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xianming Wu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jianwu Dai
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Darras S, Fritzenwanker JH, Uhlinger KR, Farrelly E, Pani AM, Hurley IA, Norris RP, Osovitz M, Terasaki M, Wu M, Aronowicz J, Kirschner M, Gerhart JC, Lowe CJ. Anteroposterior axis patterning by early canonical Wnt signaling during hemichordate development. PLoS Biol 2018; 16:e2003698. [PMID: 29337984 PMCID: PMC5786327 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2003698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Revised: 01/26/2018] [Accepted: 12/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The Wnt family of secreted proteins has been proposed to play a conserved role in early specification of the bilaterian anteroposterior (A/P) axis. This hypothesis is based predominantly on data from vertebrate embryogenesis as well as planarian regeneration and homeostasis, indicating that canonical Wnt (cWnt) signaling endows cells with positional information along the A/P axis. Outside of these phyla, there is strong support for a conserved role of cWnt signaling in the repression of anterior fates, but little comparative support for a conserved role in promotion of posterior fates. We further test the hypothesis by investigating the role of cWnt signaling during early patterning along the A/P axis of the hemichordate Saccoglossus kowalevskii. We have cloned and investigated the expression of the complete Wnt ligand and Frizzled receptor complement of S. kowalevskii during early development along with many secreted Wnt modifiers. Eleven of the 13 Wnt ligands are ectodermally expressed in overlapping domains, predominantly in the posterior, and Wnt antagonists are localized predominantly to the anterior ectoderm in a pattern reminiscent of their distribution in vertebrate embryos. Overexpression and knockdown experiments, in combination with embryological manipulations, establish the importance of cWnt signaling for repression of anterior fates and activation of mid-axial ectodermal fates during the early development of S. kowalevskii. However, surprisingly, terminal posterior fates, defined by posterior Hox genes, are unresponsive to manipulation of cWnt levels during the early establishment of the A/P axis at late blastula and early gastrula. We establish experimental support for a conserved role of Wnt signaling in the early specification of the A/P axis during deuterostome body plan diversification, and further build support for an ancestral role of this pathway in early evolution of the bilaterian A/P axis. We find strong support for a role of cWnt in suppression of anterior fates and promotion of mid-axial fates, but we find no evidence that cWnt signaling plays a role in the early specification of the most posterior axial fates in S. kowalevskii. This posterior autonomy may be a conserved feature of early deuterostome axis specification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien Darras
- Institut de Biologie du Développement de Marseille, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS UMR 7288, Marseille, France
| | - Jens H. Fritzenwanker
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California
| | - Kevin R. Uhlinger
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California
| | - Ellyn Farrelly
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Ariel M. Pani
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Imogen A. Hurley
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Rachael P. Norris
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut
| | - Michelle Osovitz
- Department of Natural Sciences, St. Petersburg College, Clearwater, Florida
| | - Mark Terasaki
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut
| | - Mike Wu
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California
| | - Jochanan Aronowicz
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Marc Kirschner
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - John C. Gerhart
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California
| | - Christopher J. Lowe
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California
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43
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Range RC, Martinez-Bartolomé M, Burr SD. The Power of Simplicity: Sea Urchin Embryos as in Vivo Developmental Models for Studying Complex Cell-to-cell Signaling Network Interactions. J Vis Exp 2017. [PMID: 28287557 DOI: 10.3791/55113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Remarkably few cell-to-cell signal transduction pathways are necessary during embryonic development to generate the large variety of cell types and tissues in the adult body form. Yet, each year more components of individual signaling pathways are discovered, and studies indicate that depending on the context there is significant cross-talk among most of these pathways. This complexity makes studying cell-to-cell signaling in any in vivo developmental model system a difficult task. In addition, efficient functional analyses are required to characterize molecules associated with signaling pathways identified from the large data sets generated by next generation differential screens. Here, we illustrate a straightforward method to efficiently identify components of signal transduction pathways governing cell fate and axis specification in sea urchin embryos. The genomic and morphological simplicity of embryos similar to those of the sea urchin make them powerful in vivo developmental models for understanding complex signaling interactions. The methodology described here can be used as a template for identifying novel signal transduction molecules in individual pathways as well as the interactions among the molecules in the various pathways in many other organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan C Range
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University;
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44
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An Intronic cis-Regulatory Element Is Crucial for the Alpha Tubulin Pl-Tuba1a Gene Activation in the Ciliary Band and Animal Pole Neurogenic Domains during Sea Urchin Development. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0170969. [PMID: 28141828 PMCID: PMC5283682 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Accepted: 01/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In sea urchin development, structures derived from neurogenic territory control the swimming and feeding responses of the pluteus as well as the process of metamorphosis. We have previously isolated an alpha tubulin family member of Paracentrotus lividus (Pl-Tuba1a, formerly known as Pl-Talpha2) that is specifically expressed in the ciliary band and animal pole neurogenic domains of the sea urchin embryo. In order to identify cis-regulatory elements controlling its spatio-temporal expression, we conducted gene transfer experiments, transgene deletions and site specific mutagenesis. Thus, a genomic region of about 2.6 Kb of Pl-Tuba1a, containing four Interspecifically Conserved Regions (ICRs), was identified as responsible for proper gene expression. An enhancer role was ascribed to ICR1 and ICR2, while ICR3 exerted a pivotal role in basal expression, restricting Tuba1a expression to the proper territories of the embryo. Additionally, the mutation of the forkhead box consensus sequence binding site in ICR3 prevented Pl-Tuba1a expression.
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45
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Sun Z, Ettensohn CA. TGF-β sensu stricto signaling regulates skeletal morphogenesis in the sea urchin embryo. Dev Biol 2016; 421:149-160. [PMID: 27955944 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2016.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2016] [Revised: 12/05/2016] [Accepted: 12/05/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Cell-cell signaling plays a prominent role in the formation of the embryonic skeleton of sea urchins, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. In the present study, we uncover an essential role for TGF-β sensu stricto signaling in this process. We show that TgfbrtII, a type II receptor dedicated to signaling through TGF-β sensu stricto, is expressed selectively in skeletogenic primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs) during skeleton formation. Morpholino (MO) knockdowns and studies with a specific TgfbrtII inhibitor (ITD-1) in both S. purpuratus and Lytechinus variegatus embryos show that this receptor is required for biomineral deposition. We provide pharmacological evidence that Alk4/5/7 is the cognate TGF-β type I receptor that pairs with TgfbrtII and show by inhibitor treatments of isolated micromeres cultured in vitro that both Alk4/5/7 and TgfbrtII function cell-autonomously in PMCs. Gene expression and gene knockdown studies suggest that TGF-β sensu stricto may be the ligand that interacts with TgfbrtII and support the view that this TGF-β superfamily ligand provides an essential, permissive cue for skeletogenesis, although it is unlikely to provide spatial patterning information. Taken together, our findings reveal that this model morphogenetic process involves an even more diverse suite of cell signaling pathways than previously appreciated and show that PMCs integrate a complex set of both generalized and spatially localized cues in assembling the endoskeleton.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongling Sun
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States
| | - Charles A Ettensohn
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States.
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46
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Arnone MI, Andrikou C, Annunziata R. Echinoderm systems for gene regulatory studies in evolution and development. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2016; 39:129-137. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2016.05.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2016] [Revised: 04/07/2016] [Accepted: 05/30/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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47
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Wnt, Frizzled, and sFRP gene expression patterns during gastrulation in the starfish Patiria (Asterina) pectinifera. Gene Expr Patterns 2016; 21:19-27. [PMID: 27346542 DOI: 10.1016/j.gep.2016.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Revised: 06/14/2016] [Accepted: 06/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
By the initial phase of gastrulation, Wnt pathway regulation mediates endomesoderm specification and establishes the animal-vegetal axis, thereby leading to proper gastrulation in starfish. To provide insight into the ancestral mechanism regulating deuterostome gastrulation, we identified the gene expression patterns of Wnt, Frizzled (Fz), and secreted frizzled-related protein (sFRP) family genes, which play a role in the initial stage of the Wnt pathway, in starfish Patiria (Asterina) pectinifera embryos using whole mount in situ hybridization. We identified ten Wnt, four Fz, and two sFRP paralogues. From the hatching blastula to the late gastrula stage, the majority of the Wnt genes and both Fz5/8 and sFRP1/5 were expressed in the posterior and anterior half of the embryo, respectively. Wnt8, Fz1, and Fz4 showed restricted expression in the lateral ectoderm. On the other hand, several genes were expressed de novo in the restricted domain of the archenteron at the late gastrula stage. These results suggest that the canonical and/or non-canonical Wnt pathway might implicate endomesoderm specification, anterior-posterior axis establishment, anterior-posterior patterning, and archenteron morphogenesis in the developmental context of starfish embryos. From comparison with the expression patterns observed in Patria miniata, we consider that the Wnt pathway is conserved among starfishes.
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48
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Leclère L, Bause M, Sinigaglia C, Steger J, Rentzsch F. Development of the aboral domain in Nematostella requires β-catenin and the opposing activities of Six3/6 and Frizzled5/8. Development 2016; 143:1766-77. [PMID: 26989171 PMCID: PMC4874479 DOI: 10.1242/dev.120931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2014] [Accepted: 03/08/2016] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The development of the oral pole in cnidarians and the posterior pole in bilaterians is regulated by canonical Wnt signaling, whereas a set of transcription factors, including Six3/6 and FoxQ2, controls aboral development in cnidarians and anterior identity in bilaterians. However, it is poorly understood how these two patterning systems are initially set up in order to generate correct patterning along the primary body axis. Investigating the early steps of aboral pole formation in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, we found that, at blastula stage, oral genes are expressed before aboral genes and that Nvβ-catenin regulates both oral and aboral development. In the oral hemisphere, Nvβ-catenin specifies all subdomains except the oral-most, NvSnailA-expressing domain, which is expanded upon Nvβ-catenin knockdown. In addition, Nvβ-catenin establishes the aboral patterning system by promoting the expression of NvSix3/6 at the aboral pole and suppressing the Wnt receptor NvFrizzled5/8 at the oral pole. NvFrizzled5/8 expression thereby gets restricted to the aboral domain. At gastrula stage, NvSix3/6 and NvFrizzled5/8 are both expressed in the aboral domain, but they have opposing activities, with NvSix3/6 maintaining and NvFrizzled5/8 restricting the size of the aboral domain. At planula stage, NvFrizzled5/8 is required for patterning within the aboral domain and for regulating the size of the apical organ by modulation of a previously characterized FGF feedback loop. Our findings suggest conserved roles for Six3/6 and Frizzled5/8 in aboral/anterior development and reveal key functions for Nvβ-catenin in the patterning of the entire oral-aboral axis of Nematostella.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Leclère
- Sars Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgt 55, Bergen 5008, Norway Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement de Villefranche-sur-mer (LBDV), 181 chemin du Lazaret, Villefranche-sur-mer 06230, France
| | - Markus Bause
- Sars Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgt 55, Bergen 5008, Norway
| | - Chiara Sinigaglia
- Sars Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgt 55, Bergen 5008, Norway
| | - Julia Steger
- Sars Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgt 55, Bergen 5008, Norway
| | - Fabian Rentzsch
- Sars Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgt 55, Bergen 5008, Norway
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49
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Range RC, Wei Z. An anterior signaling center patterns and sizes the anterior neuroectoderm of the sea urchin embryo. Development 2016; 143:1523-33. [PMID: 26952978 PMCID: PMC4909856 DOI: 10.1242/dev.128165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2015] [Accepted: 02/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Anterior signaling centers help specify and pattern the early anterior neuroectoderm (ANE) in many deuterostomes. In sea urchin the ANE is restricted to the anterior of the late blastula stage embryo, where it forms a simple neural territory comprising several types of neurons as well as the apical tuft. Here, we show that during early development, the sea urchin ANE territory separates into inner and outer regulatory domains that express the cardinal ANE transcriptional regulators FoxQ2 and Six3, respectively. FoxQ2 drives this patterning process, which is required to eliminate six3 expression from the inner domain and activate the expression of Dkk3 and sFRP1/5, two secreted Wnt modulators. Dkk3 and low expression levels of sFRP1/5 act additively to potentiate the Wnt/JNK signaling pathway governing the positioning of the ANE territory around the anterior pole, whereas high expression levels of sFRP1/5 antagonize Wnt/JNK signaling. sFRP1/5 and Dkk3 levels are rigidly maintained via autorepressive and cross-repressive interactions with Wnt signaling components and additional ANE transcription factors. Together, these data support a model in which FoxQ2 initiates an anterior patterning center that implements correct size and positions of ANE structures. Comparisons of functional and expression studies in sea urchin, hemichordate and chordate embryos reveal striking similarities among deuterostome ANE regulatory networks and the molecular mechanism that positions and defines ANE borders. These data strongly support the idea that the sea urchin embryo uses an ancient anterior patterning system that was present in the common ambulacrarian/chordate ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan C Range
- National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Zheng Wei
- National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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50
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Yaguchi J, Takeda N, Inaba K, Yaguchi S. Cooperative Wnt-Nodal Signals Regulate the Patterning of Anterior Neuroectoderm. PLoS Genet 2016; 12:e1006001. [PMID: 27101101 PMCID: PMC4839626 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2015] [Accepted: 03/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
When early canonical Wnt is experimentally inhibited, sea urchin embryos embody the concept of a Default Model in vivo because most of the ectodermal cell fates are specified as anterior neuroectoderm. Using this model, we describe here how the combination of orthogonally functioning anteroposterior Wnt and dorsoventral Nodal signals and their targeting transcription factors, FoxQ2 and Homeobrain, regulates the precise patterning of normal neuroectoderm, of which serotonergic neurons are differentiated only at the dorsal/lateral edge. Loss-of-function experiments revealed that ventral Nodal is required for suppressing the serotonergic neural fate in the ventral side of the neuroectoderm through the maintenance of foxQ2 and the repression of homeobrain expression. In addition, non-canonical Wnt suppressed homeobrain in the anterior end of the neuroectoderm, where serotonergic neurons are not differentiated. Canonical Wnt, however, suppresses foxQ2 to promote neural differentiation. Therefore, the three-dimensionally complex patterning of the neuroectoderm is created by cooperative signals, which are essential for the formation of primary and secondary body axes during embryogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junko Yaguchi
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Noriyo Takeda
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Kazuo Inaba
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Yaguchi
- Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shizuoka, Japan
- * E-mail:
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