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Anatomy and development of the nervous system of Nematostella vectensis , an anthozoan cnidarian
Author(s) -
Marlow Heather Q.,
Srivastava Mansi,
Matus David Q.,
Rokhsar Daniel,
Martindale Mark Q.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
developmental neurobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.716
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1932-846X
pISSN - 1932-8451
DOI - 10.1002/dneu.20698
Subject(s) - biology , lernaean hydra , gastrulation , anatomy , nervous system , neural development , homeobox , evolutionary biology , neuroscience , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , embryogenesis , transcription factor , genetics
Nematostella vectensis , an anthozoan cnidarian, whose genome has been sequenced and is suitable for developmental and ecological studies, has a complex neural morphology that is modified during development from the larval to adult form. N. vectensis ' nervous system is a diffuse nerve net with both ectodermal sensory and effector cells and endodermal multipolar ganglion cells. This nerve net consists of several distinct neural territories along the oral–aboral axis including the pharyngeal and oral nerve rings, and the larval apical tuft. These neuralized regions correspond to expression of conserved bilaterian neural developmental regulatory genes including homeodomain transcription factors and NCAMs . Early neurons and stem cell populations identified with NvMsi , NvELAV , and NvGCM , indicate that neural differentiation occurs throughout the animal and initiates prior to the conclusion of gastrulation. Neural specification in N. vectensis appears to occur through an independent mechanism from that in the classical cnidarian model Hydra . © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2009