The epithelial and interstitial stem cells of the freshwater polypHydraare the best characterized stem cell systems in any cnidarian, providing valuable insight into cell type evolution and the origin of stemness in animals. However, little is known about the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that determine how these stem cells are maintained and how they give rise to their diverse differentiated progeny. To address such questions, a thorough understanding of transcriptional regulation inHydrais needed. To this end, we generated extensive new resources for characterizing transcriptional regulation inHydra, including new genome assemblies forHydra oligactisand the AEP strain ofHydra vulgaris, an updated whole-animal single-cell RNA-seq atlas, and genome-wide maps of chromatin interactions, chromatin accessibility, sequence conservation, and histone modifications. These data revealed the existence of large kilobase-scale chromatin interaction domains in theHydragenome that contain transcriptionally co-regulated genes. We also uncovered the transcriptomic profiles of two previously molecularly uncharacterized cell types, isorhiza-containing nematocytes and somatic gonad ectoderm. Finally, we identified novel candidate regulators of cell-type-specific transcription, several of which have likely been conserved at least since the divergence ofHydraand the jellyfishClytia hemisphaericaover 400 million years ago.
The epithelial and interstitial stem cells of the freshwater polyp Hydra are the best characterized stem cell systems in any cnidarian, providing valuable insight into cell type evolution and the origin of stemness in animals. However, little is known about the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that determine how these stem cells are maintained and how they give rise to their diverse differentiated progeny. To address such questions, a thorough understanding of transcriptional regulation in Hydra is needed. To this end, we generated extensive new resources for characterizing transcriptional regulation in Hydra, including new genome assemblies for Hydra oligactis and the AEP strain of Hydra vulgaris, an updated whole-animal single-cell RNA-seq atlas, and genome-wide maps of chromatin interactions, chromatin accessibility, sequence conservation, and histone modifications. These data revealed the existence of large chromatin interaction domains in the Hydra genome that likely influence transcriptional regulation in a manner distinct from topologically associating domains in bilaterians. We also uncovered the transcriptomic profiles of two previously molecularly uncharacterized cell types, isorhiza-containing nematocytes and somatic gonad ectoderm. We identified novel candidate regulators of cell-type-specific transcription, several of which have likely been conserved at least since the divergence of Hydra and the jellyfish Clytia hemisphaerica over 200 million years ago. The resources generated in this study, which collectively represent the most comprehensive characterization of transcriptional regulation in a cnidarian to date, are accessible through a newly created genome portal, available at research.nhgri.nih.gov/HydraAEP/.
He is a member of the editorial board of the Invertebrate Survival Journal and the European Journal of Zoology, and is a founding member of the Italian Association of Developmental and Comparative Immunobiology (IADCI). His main research interests are the evolution of innate immunity and the study of the cellular and molecular basis of immune responses in marine invertebrates, with particular reference to the role of hemocytes/coelomocytes in immune defense and, more generally, in the stress response. Most of his studies were carried out using the colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri as a model organism. His interest in stem cells is directly related to their role in hematopoiesis, as they assure the continuous renewal of the circulating immunocytes of marine invertebrates. He is the chair of the COST Action 16203 MARISTEM "Stem cells of marine/aquatic invertebrates: from basic research to innovative applications" that supported the publication of this book. He is the author or co-author of more than 130 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, co-editor of scientific books, including "Lessons in immunity: from singlecell organisms to mammals" (Elsevier, 2016), and guest editor of Special Issues, including: "Ancient immunity. phylogenetic emergence of recognition-defence mechanisms" (Biology (Basel), 2020-2021).Baruch (Buki) Rinkevich has been a professor and senior scientist at the
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.