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Ancestral regulatory mechanisms specify conserved midbrain circuitry in arthropods and vertebrates.

  • Bridi JC Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 9RT, United Kingdom.
  • Ludlow ZN Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 9RT, United Kingdom.
  • Kottler B Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 9RT, United Kingdom.
  • Hartmann B University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.
  • Vanden Broeck L Laboratory of Behavioural & Developmental Genetics, Department of Human Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 6023000 Leuven, Belgium.
  • Dearlove J Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 9RT, United Kingdom.
  • Göker M Leibniz Institute German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
  • Strausfeld NJ Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721; Frank.Hirth@kcl.ac.uk flybrain@arizona.edu.
  • Callaerts P Laboratory of Behavioural & Developmental Genetics, Department of Human Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 6023000 Leuven, Belgium.
  • Hirth F Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 9RT, United Kingdom; Frank.Hirth@kcl.ac.uk flybrain@arizona.edu.
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  • 2020-08-05
Published in:
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - 2020
brain
evolution
gene regulatory network
homology
neural circuit
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Brain
Drosophila
Evolution, Molecular
Fibroblast Growth Factor 8
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
Gene Regulatory Networks
Humans
Mesencephalon
Mice
Nerve Tissue Proteins
Neural Pathways
Paired Box Transcription Factors
Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid
Rhombencephalon
Signal Transduction
English Corresponding attributes of neural development and function suggest arthropod and vertebrate brains may have an evolutionarily conserved organization. However, the underlying mechanisms have remained elusive. Here, we identify a gene regulatory and character identity network defining the deutocerebral-tritocerebral boundary (DTB) in Drosophila This network comprises genes homologous to those directing midbrain-hindbrain boundary (MHB) formation in vertebrates and their closest chordate relatives. Genetic tracing reveals that the embryonic DTB gives rise to adult midbrain circuits that in flies control auditory and vestibular information processing and motor coordination, as do MHB-derived circuits in vertebrates. DTB-specific gene expression and function are directed by cis-regulatory elements of developmental control genes that include homologs of mammalian Zinc finger of the cerebellum and Purkinje cell protein 4 Drosophila DTB-specific cis-regulatory elements correspond to regulatory sequences of human ENGRAILED-2, PAX-2, and DACHSHUND-1 that direct MHB-specific expression in the embryonic mouse brain. We show that cis-regulatory elements and the gene networks they regulate direct the formation and function of midbrain circuits for balance and motor coordination in insects and mammals. Regulatory mechanisms mediating the genetic specification of cephalic neural circuits in arthropods correspond to those in chordates, thereby implying their origin before the divergence of deuterostomes and ecdysozoans.
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  • English
Open access status
hybrid
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https://sonar.ch/global/documents/289045
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