Johanna E M Kraus, Henriette Busengdal, Yulia Kraus, Harald Hausen, Fabian Rentzsch
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The complex morphology of neurons requires precise control of their microtubule cytoskeleton. This is achieved by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) that regulate the assembly and stability of microtubules, and transport of molecules and vesicles along them. While many of these MAPs function in all cells, some are specifically or predominantly involved in regulating microtubules in neurons. Here we use the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis as a model organism to provide new insights into the early evolution of neural microtubule regulation. As a cnidarian, Nematostella belongs to an outgroup to all bilaterians and thus occupies an informative phylogenetic position for reconstructing the evolution of nervous system development. We identified an ortholog of the microtubule-binding protein doublecortin-like kinase (NvDclk1) as a gene that is predominantly expressed in neurons and cnidocytes (stinging cells), two classes of cells belonging to the neural lineage in cnidarians. A transgenic NvDclk1 reporter line revealed an elaborate network of neurite-like processes emerging from cnidocytes in the tentacles and the body column. A transgene expressing NvDclk1 under the control of the NvDclk1 promoter suggests that NvDclk1 localizes to microtubules and therefore likely functions as a microtubule-binding protein. Further, we generated a mutant for NvDclk1 using CRISPR/Cas9 and show that the mutants fail to generate mature cnidocytes. Our results support the hypothesis that the elaboration of programs for microtubule regulation occurred early in the evolution of nervous systems.
期刊介绍:
Neural Development is a peer-reviewed open access, online journal, which features studies that use molecular, cellular, physiological or behavioral methods to provide novel insights into the mechanisms that underlie the formation of the nervous system.
Neural Development aims to discover how the nervous system arises and acquires the abilities to sense the world and control adaptive motor output. The field includes analysis of how progenitor cells form a nervous system during embryogenesis, and how the initially formed neural circuits are shaped by experience during early postnatal life. Some studies use well-established, genetically accessible model systems, but valuable insights are also obtained from less traditional models that provide behavioral or evolutionary insights.