Modularity in vertebrate brain development and evolution

BioEssays ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 1100-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Redies ◽  
Luis Puelles
Keyword(s):  
Brain Development ◽  
Vertebrate Brain ◽  
Development And Evolution

scholarly journals §Using organoids to study human brain development and evolution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wai‐Kit Chan ◽  
Rana Fetit ◽  
Rosie Griffiths ◽  
Helen Marshall ◽  
John O Mason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Development ◽  
Human Brain Development ◽  
Development And Evolution

scholarly journals Emergence of neuronal diversity during vertebrate brain development

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bushra Raj ◽  
Jeffrey A. Farrell ◽  
Aaron McKenna ◽  
Jessica L. Leslie ◽  
Alexander F. Schier
Keyword(s):  
Brain Development ◽  
Single Cell ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Developmental Time ◽  
Neural Progenitors ◽  
Neuronal Diversity ◽  
Gene Markers ◽  
Vertebrate Brain

ABSTRACTNeurogenesis in the vertebrate brain comprises many steps ranging from the proliferation of progenitors to the differentiation and maturation of neurons. Although these processes are highly regulated, the landscape of transcriptional changes and progenitor identities underlying brain development are poorly characterized. Here, we describe the first developmental single-cell RNA-seq catalog of more than 200,000 zebrafish brain cells encompassing 12 stages from 12 hours post-fertilization to 15 days post-fertilization. We characterize known and novel gene markers for more than 800 clusters across these timepoints. Our results capture the temporal dynamics of multiple neurogenic waves from embryo to larva that expand neuronal diversity from ∼20 cell types at 12 hpf to ∼100 cell types at 15 dpf. We find that most embryonic neural progenitor states are transient and transcriptionally distinct from long-lasting neural progenitors of post-embryonic stages. Furthermore, we reconstruct cell specification trajectories for the retina and hypothalamus, and identify gene expression cascades and novel markers. Our analysis reveal that late-stage retinal neural progenitors transcriptionally overlap cell states observed in the embryo, while hypothalamic neural progenitors become progressively distinct with developmental time. These data provide the first comprehensive single-cell transcriptomic time course for vertebrate brain development and suggest distinct neurogenic regulatory paradigms between different stages and tissues.

scholarly journals Human-specific changes in two functional enhancers of FOXP2

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Benítez-Burraco ◽  
Raúl Torres-Ruiz ◽  
Pere Gelabert Xirinachs ◽  
Carles Lalueza-Fox ◽  
Sandra Rodríguez-Perales ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Brain Development ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Ancestral Allele ◽  
Vitamin D Metabolism ◽  
Development And Evolution ◽  
Human Specific

AbstractTwo functional enhancers of FOXP2, a gene important for language development and evolution, exhibit several human-specific changes compared to extinct hominins that are located within the binding site for different transcription factors. Specifically, Neanderthals and Denisovans bear the ancestral allele in one position within the binding site for SMARCC1, involved in brain development and vitamin D metabolism. This change might have resulted in a different pattern of FOXP2 expression in our species compared to extinct hominins.

scholarly journals Unraveling Human Brain Development and Evolution Using Organoid Models

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Fernandes ◽  
Davis Klein ◽  
Maria C. Marchetto
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Development ◽  
Brain Region ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Transcriptional Signature ◽  
Human Brain Development ◽  
Advanced Stages ◽  
Brain Organoid ◽  
Development And Evolution ◽  
Human Specific

Brain organoids are proving to be physiologically relevant models for studying human brain development in terms of temporal transcriptional signature recapitulation, dynamic cytoarchitectural development, and functional electrophysiological maturation. Several studies have employed brain organoid technologies to elucidate human-specific processes of brain development, gene expression, and cellular maturation by comparing human-derived brain organoids to those of non-human primates (NHPs). Brain organoids have been established from a variety of NHP pluripotent stem cell (PSC) lines and many protocols are now available for generating brain organoids capable of reproducibly representing specific brain region identities. Innumerous combinations of brain region specific organoids derived from different human and NHP PSCs, with CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing techniques and strategies to promote advanced stages of maturation, will successfully establish complex brain model systems for the accurate representation and elucidation of human brain development. Identified human-specific processes of brain development are likely vulnerable to dysregulation and could result in the identification of therapeutic targets or disease prevention strategies. Here, we discuss the potential of brain organoids to successfully model human-specific processes of brain development and explore current strategies for pinpointing these differences.

scholarly journals Murine Otx1 and Drosophila otd genes share conserved genetic functions required in invertebrate and vertebrate brain development

Development ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 125 (9) ◽  
pp. 1691-1702 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Acampora ◽  
V. Avantaggiato ◽  
F. Tuorto ◽  
P. Barone ◽  
H. Reichert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Development ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Brain Evolution ◽  
Mammalian Brain ◽  
Gene Products ◽  
Functional Conservation ◽  
Vertebrate Brain ◽  
Functional Differences ◽  
Mutant Phenotypes ◽  
Insight Into

Despite the obvious differences in anatomy between invertebrate and vertebrate brains, several genes involved in the development of both brain types belong to the same family and share similarities in expression patterns. Drosophila orthodenticle (otd) and murine Otx genes exemplify this, both in terms of expression patterns and mutant phenotypes. In contrast, sequence comparison of OTD and OTX gene products indicates that homology is restricted to the homeodomain suggesting that protein divergence outside the homeodomain might account for functional differences acquired during brain evolution. In order to gain insight into this possibility, we replaced the murine Otx1 gene with a Drosophila otd cDNA. Strikingly, epilepsy and corticogenesis defects due to the absence of Otx1 were fully rescued in homozygous otd mice. A partial rescue was also observed for the impairments of mesencephalon, eye and lachrymal gland. In contrast, defects of the inner ear were not improved suggesting a vertebrate Otx1-specific function involved in morphogenesis of this structure. Furthermore, otd, like Otx1, was able to cooperate genetically with Otx2 in brain patterning, although with reduced efficiency. These data favour an extended functional conservation between Drosophila otd and murine Otx1 genes and support the idea that conserved genetic functions required in mammalian brain development evolved in a primitive ancestor of both flies and mice.

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