Slit-Robo expression in the leech nervous system: insights into eyespot evolution.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Slit and Robo are evolutionarily conserved ligand and receptor proteins, respectively, but the number of slit and robo gene paralogs varies across recent bilaterian genomes. Previous studies indicate that this ligand-receptor complex is involved in axon guidance. Given the lack of data regarding Slit/Robo in the Lophotrochozoa compared to Ecdysozoa and Deuterostomia, the present study aims to identify and characterize the expression of Slit/Robo orthologs in leech development.

Results

We identified one slit (Hau-slit), and two robo genes (Hau-robo1 and Hau-robo2), and characterized their expression spatiotemporally during the development of the glossiphoniid leech Helobdella austinensis. Throughout segmentation and organogenesis, Hau-slit and Hau-robo1 are broadly

SUBMITTER: Kwak HJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10071614 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature