Comparative genome analyses of nervous system-specific genes

Co-expression of synaptic genes in the sponge Amphimedon queenslandica uncovers ancient neural submodules

“…A functional synapse evolved through the exaptation of ancient genes with pre-exisiting non-neuronal functions, and the evolution and diversification of new gene families 36,42,44,46,48,70,71 . Together, ancient and more recently evolved synaptic genes were co-opted into a neuronal gene regulatory network that directed the co-expression of all the components necessary for the transmission and reception of synaptic signals; a single cell could have both these functionalities.…”

Evolutionary origin of sex-related genes in the mouse brain

“…2B). We defined each period as an evolutionary time separated by epochmaking branching nodes in eukaryotic evolution as shown by Noda et al (2006). A total of 8 periods of eukaryotic evolution were designated (A) to (H) as shown in Fig.…”

“…In fact, little is known about the evolution of sexual dimorphism in vertebrate brains at the molecular level, with the exception of gonadal hormone-related genes such as estrogen receptor, although molecular evolutionary analyses previously provided novel clues about the evolutionary process in the brain (Mineta et al, 2003;Noda et al, 2006). Yang et al (2006) showed that there are sex differences in gene expression in the mouse brain.…”

“…In our analyses, we divided the entire process of eukaryotic evolution into the eight periods of time as described in Noda et al (2006). Designation from (A) to (H) (see Fig.…”

Early evolution of the nervous system: Insights from synaptic sub-machineries and sensory behaviour in the aneural sponge, Amphimedon queenslandica

“…The neural toolkit of most animal phyla can now be established via at least one fully-sequenced representative species, hence comparative studies are able to reconstruct the tree of neural evolution based on more robust genomic information. It is revealed that many of what would have been considered neural innovations are present in single cell eukaryotes, predating the divergence of the earliest neural lineages, including genes encoding synapse functioning, adhesion, cell signalling, neurotransmitter synthesis and axon guidance (Noda, Ikeo and Gojobori, 2006;Ruiz-Trillo et al, 2007;Sakarya et al, 2007;Richards et al, 2008;Harcet et al, 2010;Richter and King, 2013;Renard et al, 2018;Leys et al, 2019). Yet, reconstructing early neural evolution remains challenging.…”