Current directions and future perspectives from the third Nematostella research conference

Tarrant, Ann M.; Gilmore, Thomas D.; Reitzel, Adam M.; Levy, Oren; Technau, Ulrich; Martindale, Mark Q.

doi:10.1016/j.zool.2014.06.005

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…The precise mechanisms by which mesenteries are formed during embryonic and larval development are poorly described. A first report proposes that these structures are formed by a combination of the pharyngeal ectoderm and body wall endoderm (Aman and Technau, unpublished in [ 46 ]). These observations suggest that in the regenerating polyp resulting from adult physa isolation, the mesenteries form in a similar way to those that form during embryonic development, from the already formed pharynx (the origin of which is unclear) [ 30 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Morphological and Cellular Events Underlying Oral Regeneration in the Sea Anemone, Nematostella vectensis

Amiel

Johnston

Nedoncelle

et al. 2015

IJMS

104

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Cnidarians, the extant sister group to bilateria, are well known for their impressive regenerative capacity. The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is a well-established system for the study of development and evolution that is receiving increased attention for its regenerative capacity. Nematostella is able to regrow missing body parts within five to six days after its bisection, yet studies describing the morphological, cellular, and molecular events underlying this process are sparse and very heterogeneous in their experimental approaches. In this study, we lay down the basic framework to study oral regeneration in Nematostella vectensis. Using various imaging and staining techniques we characterize in detail the morphological, cellular, and global molecular events that define specific landmarks of this process. Furthermore, we describe in vivo assays to evaluate wound healing success and the initiation of pharynx reformation. Using our described landmarks for regeneration and in vivo assays, we analyze the effects of perturbing either transcription or cellular proliferation on the regenerative process. Interestingly, neither one of these experimental perturbations has major effects on wound closure, although they slightly delay or partially block it. We further show that while the inhibition of transcription blocks regeneration in a very early step, inhibiting cellular proliferation only affects later events such as pharynx reformation and tentacle elongation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Morphological and Cellular Events Underlying Oral Regeneration in the Sea Anemone, Nematostella vectensis

Amiel

Johnston

Nedoncelle

et al. 2015

IJMS

104

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“…Similar to traditional terrestrial models (e.g., Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans ), aquatic animals are amendable to both field and laboratory experiments. A rising aquatic model species in the fields of evolutionary ecology and genomics is the estuarine cnidarian Nematostella vectensis (Darling et al, 2005 ; Tarrant et al, 2015 ). Recent studies using laboratory populations have shown that the microbial diversity associated with N. vectensis individuals is influenced significantly by developmental stage, temperature, and salinity, as well as the geographic location from which individuals were collected, despite ten years of laboratory culture (Mortzfeld et al, 2015 ).…”

Section: Toward Nature's Laboratorymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Hologenome Across Environments and the Implications of a Host-Associated Microbial Repertoire

Carrier

Reitzel

2017

Front. Microbiol.

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Our understanding of the diverse interactions between hosts and microbes has grown profoundly over the past two decades and, as a product, has revolutionized our knowledge of the life sciences. Through primarily laboratory experiments, the current framework for holobionts and their respective hologenomes aims to decipher the underpinnings and implications of symbioses between host and microbiome. However, the laboratory setting restricts the full spectrum of host-associated symbionts as compared to those found in nature; thus, limiting the potential for a holistic interpretation of the functional roles the microbiome plays in host biology. When holobionts are studied in nature, associated microbial communities vary considerably between conditions, resulting in more microbial associates as part of the “hologenome” across environments than in either environment alone. We review and synthesize empirical evidence suggesting that hosts may associate with a larger microbial network that, in part, corresponds to experiencing diverse environmental conditions. To conceptualize the interactions between host and microbiome in an ecological context, we suggest the “host-associated microbial repertoire,” which is the sum of microbial species a host may associate with over the course of its life-history under all encountered environmental circumstances. Furthermore, using examples from both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, we discuss how this concept may be used as a framework to compare the ability of the holobiont to acclimate and adapt to environmental variation, and propose three “signatures” of the concept.

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“…The starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis , has emerged as a powerful cnidarian model with a sequenced genome and a growing suite of available molecular resources and tools 11 12 . Nematostella is widely distributed in brackish environments and unsurpassed for the ease with which its entire life cycle is maintained in the laboratory 13 14 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Profiling molecular and behavioral circadian rhythms in the non-symbiotic sea anemone Nematostella vectensis

Oren

Tarrant

Alon

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

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119

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Endogenous circadian clocks are poorly understood within early-diverging animal lineages. We have characterized circadian behavioral patterns and identified potential components of the circadian clock in the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis: a model cnidarian which lacks algal symbionts. Using automatic video tracking we showed that Nematostella exhibits rhythmic circadian locomotor activity, which is persistent in constant dark, shifted or disrupted by external dark/light cues and maintained the same rate at two different temperatures. This activity was inhibited by a casein kinase 1δ/ε inhibitor, suggesting a role for CK1 homologue(s) in Nematostella clock. Using high-throughput sequencing we profiled Nematostella transcriptomes over 48 hours under a light-dark cycle. We identified 180 Nematostella diurnally-oscillated transcripts and compared them with previously established databases of adult and larvae of the symbiotic coral Acropora millepora, revealing both shared homologues and unique rhythmic genes. Taken together, this study further establishes Nematostella as a non-symbiotic model organism to study circadian rhythms and increases our understanding about the fundamental elements of circadian regulation and their evolution within the Metazoa

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Current directions and future perspectives from the third Nematostella research conference

Cited by 6 publications

References 56 publications

Characterization of Morphological and Cellular Events Underlying Oral Regeneration in the Sea Anemone, Nematostella vectensis

Characterization of Morphological and Cellular Events Underlying Oral Regeneration in the Sea Anemone, Nematostella vectensis

The Hologenome Across Environments and the Implications of a Host-Associated Microbial Repertoire

Profiling molecular and behavioral circadian rhythms in the non-symbiotic sea anemone Nematostella vectensis

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