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Häfker NS, Holcik L, Mat AM, Ćorić A, Vadiwala K, Beets I, Stockinger AW, Atria CE, Hammer S, Revilla-i-Domingo R, Schoofs L, Raible F, Tessmar-Raible K. Molecular circadian rhythms are robust in marine annelids lacking rhythmic behavior. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002572. [PMID: 38603542 PMCID: PMC11008795 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The circadian clock controls behavior and metabolism in various organisms. However, the exact timing and strength of rhythmic phenotypes can vary significantly between individuals of the same species. This is highly relevant for rhythmically complex marine environments where organismal rhythmic diversity likely permits the occupation of different microenvironments. When investigating circadian locomotor behavior of Platynereis dumerilii, a model system for marine molecular chronobiology, we found strain-specific, high variability between individual worms. The individual patterns were maintained for several weeks. A diel head transcriptome comparison of behaviorally rhythmic versus arrhythmic wild-type worms showed that 24-h cycling of core circadian clock transcripts is identical between both behavioral phenotypes. While behaviorally arrhythmic worms showed a similar total number of cycling transcripts compared to their behaviorally rhythmic counterparts, the annotation categories of their transcripts, however, differed substantially. Consistent with their locomotor phenotype, behaviorally rhythmic worms exhibit an enrichment of cycling transcripts related to neuronal/behavioral processes. In contrast, behaviorally arrhythmic worms showed significantly increased diel cycling for metabolism- and physiology-related transcripts. The prominent role of the neuropeptide pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) in Drosophila circadian behavior prompted us to test for a possible functional involvement of Platynereis pdf. Differing from its role in Drosophila, loss of pdf impacts overall activity levels but shows only indirect effects on rhythmicity. Our results show that individuals arrhythmic in a given process can show increased rhythmicity in others. Across the Platynereis population, rhythmic phenotypes exist as a continuum, with no distinct "boundaries" between rhythmicity and arrhythmicity. We suggest that such diel rhythm breadth is an important biodiversity resource enabling the species to quickly adapt to heterogeneous or changing marine environments. In times of massive sequencing, our work also emphasizes the importance of time series and functional tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- N. Sören Häfker
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Laurenz Holcik
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Vienna BioCenter PhD Program, Doctoral School of the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Center for Integrative Bioinformatics Vienna, Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Audrey M. Mat
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
| | - Aida Ćorić
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Vienna BioCenter PhD Program, Doctoral School of the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Karim Vadiwala
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
| | - Isabel Beets
- Division of animal Physiology and Neurobiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Alexander W. Stockinger
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Vienna BioCenter PhD Program, Doctoral School of the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Carolina E. Atria
- Department of Neuro- and Developmental Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform Single-Cell Regulation of Stem Cells, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefan Hammer
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
| | - Roger Revilla-i-Domingo
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Neuro- and Developmental Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform Single-Cell Regulation of Stem Cells, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Liliane Schoofs
- Division of animal Physiology and Neurobiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Florian Raible
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kristin Tessmar-Raible
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), School of Mathematics and Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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2
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Mat A, Vu HH, Wolf E, Tessmar-Raible K. All Light, Everywhere? Photoreceptors at Nonconventional Sites. Physiology (Bethesda) 2024; 39:0. [PMID: 37905983 DOI: 10.1152/physiol.00017.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
One of the biggest environmental alterations we have made to our species is the change in the exposure to light. During the day, we typically sit behind glass windows illuminated by artificial light that is >400 times dimmer and has a very different spectrum than natural daylight. On the opposite end are the nights that are now lit up by several orders of magnitude. This review aims to provide food for thought as to why this matters for humans and other animals. Evidence from behavioral neuroscience, physiology, chronobiology, and molecular biology is increasingly converging on the conclusions that the biological nonvisual functions of light and photosensory molecules are highly complex. The initial work of von Frisch on extraocular photoreceptors in fish, the identification of rhodopsins as the molecular light receptors in animal eyes and eye-like structures and cryptochromes as light sensors in nonmammalian chronobiology, still allowed for the impression that light reception would be a relatively restricted, localized sense in most animals. However, light-sensitive processes and/or sensory proteins have now been localized to many different cell types and tissues. It might be necessary to consider nonlight-responding cells as the exception, rather than the rule.
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Affiliation(s)
- Audrey Mat
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- VIPS2, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
| | - Hong Ha Vu
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Eva Wolf
- Institute of Molecular Physiology, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Mainz, Germany
| | - Kristin Tessmar-Raible
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
- Carl-von-Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
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3
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Gąsiorowski L, Dittmann IL, Brand JN, Ruhwedel T, Möbius W, Egger B, Rink JC. Convergent evolution of the sensory pits in and within flatworms. BMC Biol 2023; 21:266. [PMID: 37993917 PMCID: PMC10664644 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01768-y] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Unlike most free-living platyhelminths, catenulids, the sister group to all remaining flatworms, do not have eyes. Instead, the most prominent sensory structures in their heads are statocysts or sensory pits. The latter, found in the family Stenostomidae, are concave depressions located laterally on the head that represent one of the taxonomically important traits of the family. In the past, the sensory pits of flatworms have been homologized with the cephalic organs of nemerteans, a clade that occupies a sister position to platyhelminths in some recent phylogenies. To test for this homology, we studied morphology and gene expression in the sensory pits of the catenulid Stenostomum brevipharyngium. RESULTS We used confocal and electron microscopy to investigate the detailed morphology of the sensory pits, as well as their formation during regeneration and asexual reproduction. The most prevalent cell type within the organ is epidermally-derived neuron-like cells that have cell bodies embedded deeply in the brain lobes and long neurite-like processes extending to the bottom of the pit. Those elongated processes are adorned with extensive microvillar projections that fill up the cavity of the pit, but cilia are not associated with the sensory pit. We also studied the expression patterns of some of the transcription factors expressed in the nemertean cephalic organs during the development of the pits. Only a single gene, pax4/6, is expressed in both the cerebral organs of nemerteans and sensory pits of S. brevipharyngium, challenging the idea of their deep homology. CONCLUSIONS Since there is no morphological or molecular correspondence between the sensory pits of Stenostomum and the cerebral organs of nemerteans, we reject their homology. Interestingly, the major cell type contributing to the sensory pits of stenostomids shows ultrastructural similarities to the rhabdomeric photoreceptors of other flatworms and expresses ortholog of the gene pax4/6, the pan-bilaterian master regulator of eye development. We suggest that the sensory pits of stenostomids might have evolved from the ancestral rhabdomeric photoreceptors that lost their photosensitivity and evolved secondary function. The mapping of head sensory structures on plathelminth phylogeny indicates that sensory pit-like organs evolved many times independently in flatworms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludwik Gąsiorowski
- Department of Tissue Dynamics and Regeneration, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Am Fassberg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Isabel Lucia Dittmann
- Institut Für Zoologie, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Jeremias N Brand
- Department of Tissue Dynamics and Regeneration, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Am Fassberg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Torben Ruhwedel
- Electron Microscopy Facility, Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, City Campus, Hermann-Rein-Str. 3, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wiebke Möbius
- Electron Microscopy Facility, Department of Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, City Campus, Hermann-Rein-Str. 3, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Bernhard Egger
- Institut Für Zoologie, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Jochen C Rink
- Department of Tissue Dynamics and Regeneration, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Am Fassberg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
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Rogers TF, Simakov O. Emerging questions on the mechanisms and dynamics of 3D genome evolution in spiralians. Brief Funct Genomics 2023; 22:533-542. [PMID: 37815133 PMCID: PMC10658181 DOI: 10.1093/bfgp/elad043] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Information on how 3D genome topology emerged in animal evolution, how stable it is during development, its role in the evolution of phenotypic novelties and how exactly it affects gene expression is highly debated. So far, data to address these questions are lacking with the exception of a few key model species. Several gene regulatory mechanisms have been proposed, including scenarios where genome topology has little to no impact on gene expression, and vice versa. The ancient and diverse clade of spiralians may provide a crucial testing ground for such mechanisms. Sprialians have followed distinct evolutionary trajectories, with some clades experiencing genome expansions and/or large-scale genome rearrangements, and others undergoing genome contraction, substantially impacting their size and organisation. These changes have been associated with many phenotypic innovations in this clade. In this review, we describe how emerging genome topology data, along with functional tools, allow for testing these scenarios and discuss their predicted outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thea F Rogers
- Department of Neuroscience and Developmental Biology, Division of Molecular Evolution and Development, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Oleg Simakov
- Department of Neuroscience and Developmental Biology, Division of Molecular Evolution and Development, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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Ćorić A, Stockinger AW, Schaffer P, Rokvić D, Tessmar-Raible K, Raible F. A Fast And Versatile Method for Simultaneous HCR, Immunohistochemistry And Edu Labeling (SHInE). Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:372-381. [PMID: 36866518 PMCID: PMC10445416 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Access to newer, fast, and cheap sequencing techniques, particularly on the single-cell level, have made transcriptomic data of tissues or single cells accessible to many researchers. As a consequence, there is an increased need for in situ visualization of gene expression or encoded proteins to validate, localize, or help interpret such sequencing data, as well as put them in context with cellular proliferation. A particular challenge for labeling and imaging transcripts are complex tissues that are often opaque and/or pigmented, preventing easy visual inspection. Here, we introduce a versatile protocol that combines in situ hybridization chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and proliferative cell labeling using 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine, and demonstrate its compatibility with tissue clearing. As a proof-of-concept, we show that our protocol allows for the parallel analysis of cell proliferation, gene expression, and protein localization in bristleworm heads and trunks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aida Ćorić
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, 1030, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life,” University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Alexander W Stockinger
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, 1030, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life,” University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform “Single-Cell Regulation of Stem Cells,” University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Petra Schaffer
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, 1030, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life,” University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Dunja Rokvić
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, 1030, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life,” University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kristin Tessmar-Raible
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, 1030, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life,” University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
- Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
- Carl-von-Ossietzky University, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Straße 9-11, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Florian Raible
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, 1030, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life,” University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform “Single-Cell Regulation of Stem Cells,” University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
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6
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Poehn B, Krishnan S, Zurl M, Coric A, Rokvic D, Häfker NS, Jaenicke E, Arboleda E, Orel L, Raible F, Wolf E, Tessmar-Raible K. A Cryptochrome adopts distinct moon- and sunlight states and functions as sun- versus moonlight interpreter in monthly oscillator entrainment. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5220. [PMID: 36064778 PMCID: PMC9445029 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32562-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The moon's monthly cycle synchronizes reproduction in countless marine organisms. The mass-spawning bristle worm Platynereis dumerilii uses an endogenous monthly oscillator set by full moon to phase reproduction to specific days. But how do organisms recognize specific moon phases? We uncover that the light receptor L-Cryptochrome (L-Cry) discriminates between different moonlight durations, as well as between sun- and moonlight. A biochemical characterization of purified L-Cry protein, exposed to naturalistic sun- or moonlight, reveals the formation of distinct sun- and moonlight states characterized by different photoreduction- and recovery kinetics of L-Cry's co-factor Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide. In Platynereis, L-Cry's sun- versus moonlight states correlate with distinct subcellular localizations, indicating different signaling. In contrast, r-Opsin1, the most abundant ocular opsin, is not required for monthly oscillator entrainment. Our work reveals a photo-ecological concept for natural light interpretation involving a "valence interpreter" that provides entraining photoreceptor(s) with light source and moon phase information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Birgit Poehn
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform "Rhythms of Life", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Shruthi Krishnan
- Institute of Molecular Physiology (IMP), Johannes Gutenberg-University, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 17, 55128, Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Ackermannweg 4, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Martin Zurl
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform "Rhythms of Life", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Aida Coric
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform "Rhythms of Life", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Dunja Rokvic
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform "Rhythms of Life", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - N Sören Häfker
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform "Rhythms of Life", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Elmar Jaenicke
- Institute of Molecular Physiology (IMP), Johannes Gutenberg-University, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 17, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Enrique Arboleda
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform "Rhythms of Life", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (IGFL), École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 32 avenue Tony Garnier, 69007, Lyon, France
| | - Lukas Orel
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform "Rhythms of Life", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Florian Raible
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform "Rhythms of Life", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Eva Wolf
- Institute of Molecular Physiology (IMP), Johannes Gutenberg-University, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 17, 55128, Mainz, Germany.
- Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Ackermannweg 4, 55128, Mainz, Germany.
| | - Kristin Tessmar-Raible
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria.
- Research Platform "Rhythms of Life", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9/4, A-1030, Vienna, Austria.
- Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany.
- Carl-von-Ossietzky University, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Straße 9-11, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany.
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7
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Zurl M, Poehn B, Rieger D, Krishnan S, Rokvic D, Veedin Rajan VB, Gerrard E, Schlichting M, Orel L, Ćorić A, Lucas RJ, Wolf E, Helfrich-Förster C, Raible F, Tessmar-Raible K. Two light sensors decode moonlight versus sunlight to adjust a plastic circadian/circalunidian clock to moon phase. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2115725119. [PMID: 35622889 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115725119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The moon provides highly reliable time information to organisms. Whereas sunlight is known to set daily animal timing systems, mechanistic insight into the impact of moonlight on such systems remains scarce. We establish that the marine bristleworm Platynereis dumerilii times the precise hours of mass spawning by integrating lunar light information into a plastic daily timing system able to run with circadian (∼24 h) or circalunidian (∼24.8 h) periodicity. The correct interpretation of moonlight is mediated by the interplay of two light sensors: a cryptochrome and a melanopsin ortholog provide information on light valence and moonrise time, respectively. Besides its ecological relevance, our work provides a plausible explanation for long-standing observations of light intensity–dependent differences in circadian clock periods. Many species synchronize their physiology and behavior to specific hours. It is commonly assumed that sunlight acts as the main entrainment signal for ∼24-h clocks. However, the moon provides similarly regular time information. Consistently, a growing number of studies have reported correlations between diel behavior and lunidian cycles. Yet, mechanistic insight into the possible influences of the moon on ∼24-h timers remains scarce. We have explored the marine bristleworm Platynereis dumerilii to investigate the role of moonlight in the timing of daily behavior. We uncover that moonlight, besides its role in monthly timing, also schedules the exact hour of nocturnal swarming onset to the nights’ darkest times. Our work reveals that extended moonlight impacts on a plastic clock that exhibits <24 h (moonlit) or >24 h (no moon) periodicity. Abundance, light sensitivity, and genetic requirement indicate that the Platynereis light receptor molecule r-Opsin1 serves as a receptor that senses moonrise, whereas the cryptochrome protein L-Cry is required to discriminate the proper valence of nocturnal light as either moonlight or sunlight. Comparative experiments in Drosophila suggest that cryptochrome’s principle requirement for light valence interpretation is conserved. Its exact biochemical properties differ, however, between species with dissimilar timing ecology. Our work advances the molecular understanding of lunar impact on fundamental rhythmic processes, including those of marine mass spawners endangered by anthropogenic change.
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Rock A, Wilcockson D, Last KS. Towards an Understanding of Circatidal Clocks. Front Physiol 2022; 13:830107. [PMID: 35283768 PMCID: PMC8914038 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.830107] [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: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Circadian clocks are an intrinsic element of life that orchestrate appropriately timed daily physiological and behavioural rhythms entrained to the solar cycle, thereby conferring increased fitness. However, it is thought that the first archaic ‘proto-clocks’ evolved in ancient cyanobacteria in a marine environment, where the dominant time cues (zeitgebers) probably would have been lunar-driven and included tidal cycles. To date, non-circadian ‘marine clocks’ have been described with circatidal (~12.4 h), circasemilunar (~14.8 days), and circalunar (~29.5 days) periodicity, mostly studied in accessible but temporally complex intertidal habitats. In contrast to the well-described circadian clock, their molecular machinery is poorly understood, and fundamental mechanisms remain unclear. We propose that a multi-species approach is the most apposite strategy to resolve the divergence that arose from non-circadian clockwork forged in an evolutionary environment with multiple zeitgebers. We review circatidal clock models with a focus on intertidal organisms, for which robust behavioural, physiological, or genetic underpinnings have been explicated, and discuss their relative experimental merits. Developing a comprehensive mechanistic understanding of circatidal clocks should be a priority because it will ultimately contribute to a more holistic understanding of the origins and evolution of chronobiology itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Rock
- Department of Science, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, United Kingdom
| | - David Wilcockson
- Institute of Biological, Environmental, and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: David Wilcockson,
| | - Kim S. Last
- Department of Science, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, United Kingdom
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Abstract
Opsins, the protein moieties of animal visual photo-pigments, have emerged as moonlighting proteins with diverse, light-dependent and -independent physiological functions. This raises the need to revise some basic assumptions concerning opsin expression, structure, classification, and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Feuda
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, UK
| | - Anant K Menon
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College New York, USA
| | - Martin C Göpfert
- University of Göttingen, Department of Cellular Neurobiology, Germany
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10
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Revilla-i-Domingo R, Rajan VBV, Waldherr M, Prohaczka G, Musset H, Orel L, Gerrard E, Smolka M, Stockinger A, Farlik M, Lucas RJ, Raible F, Tessmar-Raible K. Characterization of cephalic and non-cephalic sensory cell types provides insight into joint photo- and mechanoreceptor evolution. eLife 2021; 10:e66144. [PMID: 34350831 PMCID: PMC8367381 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhabdomeric opsins (r-opsins) are light sensors in cephalic eye photoreceptors, but also function in additional sensory organs. This has prompted questions on the evolutionary relationship of these cell types, and if ancient r-opsins were non-photosensory. A molecular profiling approach in the marine bristleworm Platynereis dumerilii revealed shared and distinct features of cephalic and non-cephalic r-opsin1-expressing cells. Non-cephalic cells possess a full set of phototransduction components, but also a mechanosensory signature. Prompted by the latter, we investigated Platynereis putative mechanotransducer and found that nompc and pkd2.1 co-expressed with r-opsin1 in TRE cells by HCR RNA-FISH. To further assess the role of r-Opsin1 in these cells, we studied its signaling properties and unraveled that r-Opsin1 is a Gαq-coupled blue light receptor. Profiling of cells from r-opsin1 mutants versus wild-types, and a comparison under different light conditions reveals that in the non-cephalic cells light - mediated by r-Opsin1 - adjusts the expression level of a calcium transporter relevant for auditory mechanosensation in vertebrates. We establish a deep-learning-based quantitative behavioral analysis for animal trunk movements and identify a light- and r-Opsin-1-dependent fine-tuning of the worm's undulatory movements in headless trunks, which are known to require mechanosensory feedback. Our results provide new data on peripheral cell types of likely light sensory/mechanosensory nature. These results point towards a concept in which such a multisensory cell type evolved to allow for fine-tuning of mechanosensation by light. This implies that light-independent mechanosensory roles of r-opsins may have evolved secondarily.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Revilla-i-Domingo
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform "Single-Cell Regulation of Stem Cells", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Vinoth Babu Veedin Rajan
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Monika Waldherr
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Günther Prohaczka
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Hugo Musset
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Lukas Orel
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Elliot Gerrard
- Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, University of ManchesterManchesterUnited Kingdom
| | - Moritz Smolka
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Center for Integrative Bioinformatics Vienna, Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna and Medical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Alexander Stockinger
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform "Single-Cell Regulation of Stem Cells", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Matthias Farlik
- CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of SciencesViennaAustria
- Department of Dermatology, Medical University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Robert J Lucas
- Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, University of ManchesterManchesterUnited Kingdom
| | - Florian Raible
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform "Single-Cell Regulation of Stem Cells", University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
| | - Kristin Tessmar-Raible
- Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
- Research Platform “Rhythms of Life”, University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenterViennaAustria
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