The Nereid on the rise: Platynereis as a model system

Abstract

The Nereid Platynereis dumerilii (Audouin and Milne Edwards (Annales des Sciences Naturelles 1:195–269, 1833) is a marine annelid that belongs to the Nereididae, a family of errant polychaete worms. The Nereid shows a pelago-benthic life cycle: as a general characteristic for the superphylum of Lophotrochozoa/Spiralia, it has spirally cleaving embryos developing into swimming trochophore larvae. The larvae then metamorphose into benthic worms living in self-spun tubes on macroalgae. Platynereis is used as a model for genetics, regeneration, reproduction biology, development, evolution, chronobiology, neurobiology, ecology, ecotoxicology, and most recently also for connectomics and single-cell genomics. Research on the Nereid started with studies on eye development and spiralian embryogenesis in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Transitioning into the molecular era, Platynereis research focused on posterior growth and regeneration, neuroendocrinology, circadian and lunar cycles, fertilization, and oocyte maturation. Other work covered segmentation, photoreceptors and other sensory cells, nephridia, and population dynamics. Most recently, the unique advantages of the Nereid young worm for whole-body volume electron microscopy and single-cell sequencing became apparent, enabling the tracing of all neurons in its rope-ladder-like central nervous system, and the construction of multimodal cellular atlases. Here, we provide an overview of current topics and methodologies for P. dumerilii, with the aim of stimulating further interest into our unique model and expanding the active and vibrant Platynereis community.

Segment number threshold determines juvenile onset of germline cluster expansion in Platynereis dumerilii

“…setigers) and correlations can be made with developmental transitions and stages of sexual maturation. We use the polychaete Platynereis dumerilii as a model system (Özpolat et al, 2021) for studying germline formation, gametogenesis, and germline regeneration. P. dumerilii has four primordial germ cells (PGCs) that are set aside during embryogenesis (Özpolat et al, 2017; Rebscher et al, 2007, 2012; Rebscher, 2014; Zelada González, 2005).…”

Crosshair, semi-automated targeting for electron microscopy with a motorised ultramicrotome

“…To test the accuracy of this workflow, we targeted a series of 6 day old Platynereis dumerilii samples. Platynereis is a marine annelid, that is an established model system for development, evolution and neurobiology[20–22]. As they can be bred quickly and easily in the lab, and have well-defined tissue morphology, we decided to use them as a test case for targeting regions of interest.…”

Behavioral rhythms are bad predictors of general organismal rhythmicity

“…The worms used in the initial behavioral comparison of strains and individuals (Fig.1) originated from 3 wildtype strains, which all originated from Worms collected in the Gulf of Naples, Italy (40.7°N, 14.2E). The PIN and VIO strains have been in culture for ∼70 years and have been incrossed at least 10 times 40, 45 . The NAP strain was established in 2009 and has been kept as non-incrossed closed culture at Max Perutz Labs (Vienna, Austria).…”

“…1) originated from 3 wildtype strains, which all originated from Worms collected in the Gulf of Naples, Italy (40.7°N, 14.2E). The PIN and VIO strains have been in culture for ~70 years and have been incrossed at least 10 times 40,45…”

“…The marine polychaete Platynereis dumerilii is a molecularly slowly evolving annelid that has emerged as a functional model for marine chronobiology with a life cycle representative for various marine invertebrates [37][38][39][40] . After a planktonic phase during which larvae get dispersed by currents, the worm switches to a benthic lifestyle 37 .…”