Background: The life cycle of scyphozoan cnidarians alternates between sessile asexual polyps and pelagic medusa. Transition from one life form to another is triggered by environmental signals, but the molecular cascades involved in the drastic morphological and physiological changes remain unknown.
Results: We show in the moon jelly Aurelia aurita that the molecular machinery controlling transition of the sessile polyp into a free-swimming jellyfish consists of two parts. One is conserved and relies on retinoic acid signaling. The second, novel part is based on secreted proteins that are strongly upregulated prior to metamorphosis in response to the seasonal temperature changes. One of these proteins functions as a temperature-sensitive "timer" and encodes the precursor of the strobilation hormone of Aurelia.
Conclusions: Our findings uncover the molecule framework controlling the polyp-to-jellyfish transition in a basal metazoan and provide insights into the evolution of complex life cycles in the animal kingdom.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.12.003 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Medusozoan genomes inform the evolution of the jellyfish body plan.
Nat Ecol Evol
May 2019
Marine Genomics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, Okinawa, Japan.
Cnidarians are astonishingly diverse in body form and lifestyle, including the presence of a jellyfish stage in medusozoans and its absence in anthozoans. Here, we sequence the genomes of Aurelia aurita (a scyphozoan) and Morbakka virulenta (a cubozoan) to understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for the origin of the jellyfish body plan. We show that the magnitude of genetic differences between the two jellyfish types is equivalent, on average, to the level of genetic differences between humans and sea urchins in the bilaterian lineage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResearch progress in scyphozoan polyp strobilation-induced factors and regulation mechanism.
Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao
March 2019
College of Fishery, Jimei University/Fujian Province Ornamental Aquarium Engineering Research Centre in Universites, Xiamen 361021, Fujian, China.
Strobilation is a key stage for polyp-to-jellyfish transition. Knowledge about the strobilation-induced factors and the underlying molecular regulation mechanism could help control jellyfish bloom in nature, improve jellyfish artificial breeding, as well as get insight about the ancestral molecular origin of metamorphosis of amphibians, insect and cnidarians. Natural factors, including temperature, illumination, salinity, and symbiotic zooxanthellae, could induce strobilation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComparison of the Inducing Effect of Indole Compounds on Medusa Formation in Different Classes of Medusozoa.
Zoolog Sci
June 2017
3 Kyoto University, Graduate School of Agriculture, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
Scyphozoa, Cubozoa and Hydrozoa are classes in the phylum Cnidaria that undergo metagenesis involving a dramatic morphological transition. In Scyphozoa and Cubozoa, when exposed to species- or strain-specific transition-inducing stimuli, asexually reproducing benthic polyps transform into sexually reproducing planktonic medusae. In Hydrozoa, exposure to species- or strainspecific transition-inducing stimuli causes formation of medusa buds in the polyp's body.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRegulation of polyp-to-jellyfish transition in Aurelia aurita.
Curr Biol
February 2014
Zoologisches Institut, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Am Botanischen Garten 1-9, 24118 Kiel, Germany; Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya naberezhnaya 7/9, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia. Electronic address:
Background: The life cycle of scyphozoan cnidarians alternates between sessile asexual polyps and pelagic medusa. Transition from one life form to another is triggered by environmental signals, but the molecular cascades involved in the drastic morphological and physiological changes remain unknown.
Results: We show in the moon jelly Aurelia aurita that the molecular machinery controlling transition of the sessile polyp into a free-swimming jellyfish consists of two parts.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!