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Ye Z, Wei Y, Zhang G, Ge L, Wu C, Ren Y, Wang J, Xu X, Yang J, Wang T. Circadian rhythm regulation in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus: Insights into clock gene expression, photoperiod susceptibility, and neurohormone signaling. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2024; 270:110930. [PMID: 38065309 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2023.110930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
Sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus displays the typical circadian rhythms. This present study investigated the molecular regulation of clock genes, as well as monoamines and melatonin, in multiple tissues of A. japonicus, responding to the photoperiod. In order to determine their pivotal role in circadian rhythms, the crucial clock genes, namely AjClock, AjArnt1, AjCry1, and AjTimeless, were identified and a comprehensive analysis of their expressions across various tissues in adult A. japonicus was conducted, revealing the potential existence of central and peripheral oscillators. Results demonstrated that the tissues of polian vesicle and nerve ring exhibited significant clock gene expression associated with the orchestration of circadian regulation, and that environmental light fluctuations exerted influence on the expression of these clock genes. However, a number of genes, such as AjArnt1 and AjCry1, maintained their circadian rhythmicity even under continuous light conditions. Moreover, we further investigated the circadian patterns of melatonin (MT), serotonin (5-HT), and dopamine (DA) secretion in A. japonicus, data that underscored the tissue-specific regulatory differences and the inherent adaptability to dynamic light environments. Collectively, these findings will provide the molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm in echinoderms and the candidate tissues playing the role of central oscillators in sea cucumbers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqing Ye
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316022, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Wei
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316022, People's Republic of China
| | - Guangbo Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316022, People's Republic of China
| | - Lifei Ge
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316022, People's Republic of China
| | - Chenqian Wu
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316022, People's Republic of China
| | - Yucheng Ren
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316022, People's Republic of China
| | - Jixiu Wang
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316022, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiuwen Xu
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316022, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingwen Yang
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316022, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianming Wang
- National Engineering Laboratory of Marine Germplasm Resources Exploration and Utilization, Marine Science College, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan, Zhejiang 316022, People's Republic of China.
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McCulloch KJ, Babonis LS, Liu A, Daly CM, Martindale MQ, Koenig KM. Nematostella vectensis exemplifies the exceptional expansion and diversity of opsins in the eyeless Hexacorallia. EvoDevo 2023; 14:14. [PMID: 37735470 PMCID: PMC10512536 DOI: 10.1186/s13227-023-00218-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Opsins are the primary proteins responsible for light detection in animals. Cnidarians (jellyfish, sea anemones, corals) have diverse visual systems that have evolved in parallel with bilaterians (squid, flies, fish) for hundreds of millions of years. Medusozoans (e.g., jellyfish, hydroids) have evolved eyes multiple times, each time independently incorporating distinct opsin orthologs. Anthozoans (e.g., corals, sea anemones,) have diverse light-mediated behaviors and, despite being eyeless, exhibit more extensive opsin duplications than medusozoans. To better understand the evolution of photosensitivity in animals without eyes, we increased anthozoan representation in the phylogeny of animal opsins and investigated the large but poorly characterized opsin family in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. RESULTS We analyzed genomic and transcriptomic data from 16 species of cnidarians to generate a large opsin phylogeny (708 sequences) with the largest sampling of anthozoan sequences to date. We identified 29 opsins from N. vectensis (NvOpsins) with high confidence, using transcriptomic and genomic datasets. We found that lineage-specific opsin duplications are common across Cnidaria, with anthozoan lineages exhibiting among the highest numbers of opsins in animals. To establish putative photosensory function of NvOpsins, we identified canonically conserved protein domains and amino acid sequences essential for opsin function in other animal species. We show high sequence diversity among NvOpsins at sites important for photoreception and transduction, suggesting potentially diverse functions. We further examined the spatiotemporal expression of NvOpsins and found both dynamic expression of opsins during embryonic development and sexually dimorphic opsin expression in adults. CONCLUSIONS These data show that lineage-specific duplication and divergence has led to expansive diversity of opsins in eyeless cnidarians, suggesting opsins from these animals may exhibit novel biochemical functions. The variable expression patterns of opsins in N. vectensis suggest opsin gene duplications allowed for a radiation of unique sensory cell types with tissue- and stage-specific functions. This diffuse network of distinct sensory cell types could be an adaptive solution for varied sensory tasks experienced in distinct life history stages in Anthozoans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J McCulloch
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Leslie S Babonis
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
- Whitney Lab for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL, 32080, USA
| | - Alicia Liu
- John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellowship Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA , 02138, , USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Christina M Daly
- John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellowship Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA , 02138, , USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Mark Q Martindale
- Whitney Lab for Marine Bioscience, University of Florida, St. Augustine, FL, 32080, USA
| | - Kristen M Koenig
- John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellowship Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA , 02138, , USA.
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
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Aït-Ali N, Léveillard T. The Emergence of Rod-Cone Cellular Interaction. Front Genet 2022; 13:900849. [PMID: 36017494 PMCID: PMC9396122 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.900849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
We studied the origin of rod-derived cone viability factor (RdCVF) during evolution. In mammals, the nucleoredoxin-like 1 gene (NXNL1) produces a truncated thioredoxin-like protein, RdCVF, by intron retention in rod photoreceptors of the retina. This protein prevents the secondary cone degeneration in animal models of rod-cone degeneration. Extracellular RdCVF binds to a complex at the surface of the cones, composed of the basigin-1, a photoreceptor specific alternative splicing product of the basigin gene, and GLUT1, the glucose transporter. RdCVF accelerates glucose uptake allosterically. Glucose is either metabolized by aerobic glycolysis to sustain cone outer segment renewal or by the pentose phosphate pathway to support redox power to the thioredoxin RdCVFL. RdCVF signaling predates the appearance of the eye and evolved through two alternative splicing events. RdCVF signaling is observed first in hydra where it regulates an unknown signaling. A scallop RdCVF protein is produced by ciliated photoreceptors of the retina and binds its receptor, BSG1, the first occurrence of RdCVF/BSG1 signaling. In the lamprey, RdCVF metabolic signaling between rod and cones is fully operational. In the mouse, the production of BSG1 is regulated through alternative splicing. This signaling was extended to other regions of the brain, via its paralogue NXNL2.
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Garm A, Svaerke JE, Pontieri D, Oakley TH. Expression of Opsins of the Box Jellyfish Tripedalia cystophora Reveals the First Photopigment in Cnidarian Ocelli and Supports the Presence of Photoisomerases. Front Neuroanat 2022; 16:916510. [PMID: 35991966 PMCID: PMC9389615 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2022.916510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cubomedusae, or box jellyfish, have a complex visual system comprising 24 eyes of four types. Like other cnidarians, their photoreceptor cells are ciliary in morphology, and a range of different techniques together show that at least two of the eye types—the image-forming upper and lower lens eyes—express opsin as the photopigment. The photoreceptors of these two eye types express the same opsin (Tc LEO), which belongs to the cnidarian-specific clade cnidops. Interestingly, molecular work has found a high number of opsin genes in box jellyfish, especially in the Caribbean species Tripedalia cystophora, most of which are of unknown function. In the current study, we raised antibodies against three out of five opsins identified from transcriptomic data from T. cystophora and used them to map the expression patterns. These expression patterns suggest one opsin as the photopigment in the slit eyes and another as a putative photoisomerase found in photoreceptors of all four eyes types. The last antibody stained nerve-like cells in the tentacles, in connection with nematocytes, and the radial nerve, in connection with the gonads. This is the first time photopigment expression has been localized to the outer segments of the photoreceptors in a cnidarian ocellus (simple eye). The potential presence of a photoisomerase could be another interesting convergence between box jellyfish and vertebrate photoreceptors, but it awaits final experimental proof.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anders Garm
- Marine Biological Section, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- *Correspondence: Anders Garm
| | - Jens-Erik Svaerke
- Marine Biological Section, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Daniela Pontieri
- Marine Biological Section, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Todd H. Oakley
- Department of Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
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