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First published online December 22, 2008

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Ciona brain patterning pushes back boundaries

The elaboration of the complex vertebrate brain is thought to depend partly on a unique signalling centre known as the midbrain-hindbrain boundary (MHB) organiser. But now (on p. 285), Kaoru Imai and colleagues report that an MHB-like organising structure patterns the central nervous system (CNS) of the invertebrate sea squirt, Ciona intestinalis. Ciona is a tunicate, which, like vertebrates, belong to the chordate phylum. Its larvae closely resemble frog tadpoles and possess a simplified CNS with at least four morphologically distinct compartments. By characterising gene expression and function in the Ciona larvae CNS, the researchers assemble a provisional gene regulatory network (GRN) for CNS development in Ciona. This GRN reveals that an FGF, called FGF8/17/18, has a central role in Ciona CNS compartmentalisation, similar to that of FGF8 in patterning the vertebrate MHB. Based on these findings, the researchers propose that FGF8-mediated CNS patterning was present in the last common ancestor of tunicates and vertebrates, and served to delineate two regions of the chordate brain.

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Related articles in Development:

Gene regulatory networks underlying the compartmentalization of the Ciona central nervous system

Kaoru S. Imai, Alberto Stolfi, Michael Levine, and Yutaka Satou
Development 2009 136: 285-293. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?