en
Scientific article
Open access
English

Modern genomic tools reveal the structural and cellular diversity of cnidarian nervous systems

Published inCurrent Opinion in Neurobiology, vol. 56, p. 87-96
Publication date2019
Abstract

Cnidarians shared a common ancestor with bilaterians more than 600 million years ago. This sister group relationship gives them an informative phylogenetic position for understanding the fascinating morphological and molecular cell type diversity of bilaterian nervous systems. Moreover, cnidarians display novel features such as endodermal neurogenesis and independently evolved centralizations, which provide a platform for understanding the evolution of nervous system innovations. In recent years, the application of modern genomic tools has significantly advanced our understanding of cnidarian nervous system structure and function. For example, transgenic reporter lines and gene knockdown experiments in several cnidarian species reveal a significant degree of conservation in the neurogenesis gene regulatory program, while single cell RNA sequencing projects are providing a much deeper understanding of cnidarian neural cell type diversity. At the level of neural function, the physiological properties of ion channels have been described and calcium imaging of the nervous system in whole animals has allowed for the identification of neural circuits underlying specific behaviours. Cnidarians have arrived in the modern era of molecular neurobiology and are primed to provide exciting new insights into the early evolution of nervous systems.

Keywords
  • Evolution
  • Nervous system
  • Neurogenesis
  • Cnidarians
  • Nematostella
  • Hydra
  • Clytia
  • Single-cell RNAseq
  • Transgenesis
  • Neuronal circuits
Research group
Funding
  • Swiss National Science Foundation - 31003_169930
Citation (ISO format)
RENTZSCH, Fabian, JULIANO, Celina, GALLIOT, Brigitte. Modern genomic tools reveal the structural and cellular diversity of cnidarian nervous systems. In: Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 2019, vol. 56, p. 87–96. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2018.12.004
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
Identifiers
ISSN of the journal0959-4388
482views
175downloads

Technical informations

Creation2019.01.15. 오전 9:23:00
First validation2019.01.15. 오전 9:23:00
Update time2023.03.15. 오후 3:22:46
Status update2023.03.15. 오후 3:22:45
Last indexation2024.02.12. 오전 11:37:41
All rights reserved by Archive ouverte UNIGE and the University of GenevaunigeBlack